A glimpse into my atelier

I have been patiently tidying up – & crafting – my work space. I finally got around to put together a nice mood corner & desk. Here is a little glimpse.

I see myself as organizationally-challenged, but I am slowly & very patiently learning how to put everything in its place. You have no idea what this used to look like… and, em, no, I don’t think sharing a “before” photo is a good idea (ehem)… believe me,  imagine the worst ciaos and that would be “it”  –   hehe!

The challenge in putting together this atelier is that almost everything is handmade, and so it took some time to finish creating. The handmade items are:

• Mood board (right): I used burlap, which I glued (using glue gun) on a piece of cardboard, and added the ribbon. At the bottom I stuck a piece of cork behind the ribbons.
• Chicken wire mood board (left): I basically rolled some chicken wire around an old canvas frame, that I actually had since school. I didn’t staple or glue anything, just scrunched it round the frame.

• Thumbtacks: Made those using several materials… including coins. Added a dab of E6000 to plain tacks and glued on some coins, plastic things from broken things, a bear’s face…
• Chicken-wire lampshade, which I shared in a previous post right here.
• Other handmade items are: White wire basket (for the pencils) and a mini wire-sculpted chair. Mini Chalkboard and chalkboard stand (a tutorial is on it’s way, hopefully!). Mini wire birdcage. Hand-painted tins (the ones under the lamp). Handmade flower magnets (using corn flour dough). Cement votive (it’s next to the tins, which are under the lamp). The botanical watercolor sketches are also mine. And other stuff.
• Handmade bunting: Recycling old fliers I had into rectangle bunting, and there’s the mini paper flower garland, too.

So basically a bit of recycling, painting, and re-styling, went into there. What helped to tie the whole look together is the neutral shades of burlap, wood, and cork. As for the theme,  I went for a bit of British-chic in celebration of the Olympics.

Please do share links to your mood-boards, ateliers, or craft rooms if you feel like it.

Have a lovely day

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• DIY | Mini Canvas & Chalkboard Stand {From Popsicle Sticks}
• Inspiration Board: Chalkboard trends & DIY

DIY Prettier Magazine Files

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In the spirit of continuing the theme of pretty organizing, I noticed that when I place things in beautiful containers and storage solutions, they get an instant promotion around the craft room: From being a merely functional “thing” to a piece of “love” that you want to place in a prime location.

In this DIY, I basically upgraded 3 magazine files by attempting a wall-paper look. This is inspired by the lovely bird magazine files that are at the bottom of this post, and which I mentioned previously.

This is how these poor black files got their promotion up into a much nicer shelf at my workspace. The files are a bit unsteady since they are old, and I did stack up more magazines than they could hold, so they are puffy at the edges.

I had a difficult time deciding whether to decoupage the files or paint them. I had some nice damask wall-paper, but it looked too patterned, too well-finished for the look I was looking for.

So I decided to use:

• Acrylic paint (white, pink, green)
• Foam stamp (Motif: Grapes)
• Brush

Method:

1. I started by free-handing the shape of a pink bird, as if perched on a branch. I found an illustration of a bird and placed it in-front of me to help me keep the proportions right while I painted. I decided to paint the bird on two magazine files (I just had to hold them real tight as I sketched the shape). This is so that the final image would give the impression of a whole big painting that was cut into 3 parts (just like the original wall-paper idea was).
2. I stamped the grapes around the bird arbitrarily after dabbing acrylic colors on the foam stamp (pink on the grapes, green on the leaves), but the lines were too thin, so I decided to take advantage of this and add a vintage-y touch by dabbing paint here and there, on the leaves, around the grapes themselves, and around the bird.
3. I touched up some areas with light pink or white to hide mistakes.

The inspiration

Yes, here it is… the beautiful inspiration that got me thinkin’ about changing the look of my files.

The design of the files in the above pic is by British stylist Marie Nichols, whose blog  is so inspiring.

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Related Articles:

• Inspiration Board: DIY Shelves using Baskets & Crates
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Inspiration Board: Cork bulletin boards & display ideas

Showcasing jewelry at a local craft show using cork board as a display stand. The board is supported with a guitar stand from back in my music years ~ by Karboojeh Handmade Jewelry

Hello all, It’s been a while since I blogged, I’ve been quite busy, but I’m glad I’m here again to share some inspiration. I just came back from a Pinterest tour, and I would like to share with you all a few new pins celebrating one of my most loved themes: Display ideas – using one of my most favorite materials: Cork.

Before I start I just want to say the daily hits I’m getting on this blog have gone up considerably in the few days I’ve been away. First, I’d like to thank all my readers, and all the people who “like” my posts from around the WordPress community. There is a saying that boils down to the idea that when you don’t watch a kettle, the water boils faster, and I guess it’s true when it comes to most things in life. You need to switch focus every now and then and to leave things take their natural course. Sometimes not pushing things around gets you the best results; we just need to learn not to control everything, I guess.

OK, back to our topic. Here are some lovely cork bulletin boards & display ideas via BHG.

Character

Let’s start with the unconventional one: Bottle corks. These can hold up pins just like flat cork trays, but they have got much more character, don’t you think?

 Source: bhg.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

Jewelry Display

Source: Uploaded by user via Karboojeh on Pinterest

 

Using the same bottle corks idea, this beautiful display idea (above) is fascinating for the display of jewelry.

Jewelry Display 2

I have used this idea in displaying my handmade jewelry in craft shows – as shown in the first picture in this post. But what I like about this one is the small detail: using pearl-head pins instead of ordinary push pins, which can add to the overall look.

Source: bhg.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

Classical Modern

This one is about marrying classical vintage with natural-looking cork. I love the effect.

 Source: bhg.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

Functional

This one is a first. I haven’t seen this idea before, and I think it’s brilliant: Using small sealable plastic bags and colorful push pins to store small craft supplies.

Source: bhg.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

Good looking push pins

I love the way these push pins are embellished with glass pebbles and fabric scraps.

Source: bhg.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest