New Craft Table

I saw this table in Home Decorator's catalog. 

It is part of their Martha Stewart collection and has a hefty price tag:  $499!!  There is no way I can justify that kind of money for a craft table, plus it seems like an awful lot to pay for melamine covered particle board.

Still, I liked the idea of a table that I could open up for projects and tuck out of the way when I didn't need it.  What to do, what to do!

Then inspiration struck!  I remembered that last year I'd given Charming this Ikea table for use in his new apartment.  (I bought the table three years ago for roughly $150.  Mr. & Mrs. R were in Portland at the time and were kind enough to swing by and pick it up for me.  Wasn't that sweet of them?) 

Anyway, a quick call to Charming confirmed that he was amenable to a trade, so while Superman was home, we made the switch.  (I needed Superman...this table weighs 100 pounds...solid wood, anyone?!)

Six castors later, I have my own craft table for a fraction of the cost!   That Superman!  He's so handy to have around!  It opens up on both sides, or just one.

And when I'm done, it just sits under the window until the next time.

Pretty cool, isn't it?  I just love repurposing things and giving them a new life.

Copying an Easy Ikea Hack

Yes, despite the fact that I am now 5 hours from the closest Ikea, I still torture myself by reading Ikea Hacker. I love to see what clever things people come up with using the inexpensive things they find at Ikea. This post inspired me to tame the tangle under my desk for free! All I needed was some patience, a cardboard box (I did have an Ikea box), empty toilet paper rolls, and some duct tape.

Before:

All of this was visible under my desk, which means my feet were always bumping up against something.Wireless Alarm Monitor: With my desk, computer, and sewing machines in the basement, I like hearing when my doors open and close. With this little unit, a tone sounds when one of the doors is opened. With kids heading in and out all day, I like having a feel for where they are. Also, a tone chimes if a door has been open for a long time.

Universal Power Supply ("UPS"): When the power goes out at our home, for any reason, this baby keeps my computer safe and sound.

Bouncy, Bouncy Ball: A present from someone.

Chamois: Just in case we had some water come in again this winter. Thankfully, it remained unused.

Wires that hook everything together: Too much peripheral stuff means a lot of wires.

Network Cable: What?! You don't have a server at your house?

Power Strip: Obviously, we need far more plugs than a standard outlet gives us. Doesn't everyone have one of these under there desk?

(Oh, and can you guess where we ran out of orange paint when we painted this room?)


After:

Look at this! The only things that aren't still under my desk are the Bouncy, Bouncy Ball and the Chamois. Everything else is still there!! Doesn't it look so much neater? (Now I really need to get more 'mango madness' paint to finish up that "under desk" area!)


So, this turned out to be easier than I thought. I cut two holes in the back of the box. One to feed the heavy cords through (like the power strip cord or the UPS cord) and the other for the smaller gauge cords. One of the holes needed to be pretty big because of the transformers that are at the end of some of the plugs. Finally, since the UPS generates heat, I drilled holes in the lid of the box to allow for the heat to dissipate. I also made one of the holes bigger so the antenna for the wireless alarm wouldn't have issues.

Then I just took my time and threaded everything neatly through the holes and hooked them back up. Then I cut open three toilet paper rolls (you can only see two in the photo) and fed the wires into the sliced holders and closed them up with the duct tape.

Instead of using toilet paper rolls to tame the wires (I know they're so glamorous, but not everyone is enamored of them), Sew Many Ways uses split flexible tubing that she found at Home Depot for approximately $2. If I get around to it, I might switch mine over, but for now, I like free and here even better than $2 and trip to HD.

I love it and I love that it was done with stuff I had around the house. I can actually put my feet under my desk without worrying about pulling out cables or getting tangled up in cords. Sometimes the simplest things make the biggest impact.

How I store unfinished projects...

I almost always have a few projects going simultaneously. It just seems to work out that way. With my "craft room" being a corner of our family room, I've found it vital that I clean up my projects if I walk away for any length of time. It took me awhile to find a system for cleaning up my stuff that allows me to dive right back into the project when I have a chance. Now that I have a system that works well, I thought I'd show you what I do.

First, I have the flat Ikea storage boxes (the ones you assemble yourself). I know they're cardboard, but they're tough. The boxes I'm using were originally in Buttercup's room to help her store pictures she drew, small little toys she'd collect, etc. I'm guessing these are about 7 years old and they still look pretty good, so the boxes really are terrific (and inexpensive!). The great thing about these Ikea boxes is that they come in a variety of sizes and colors, so they work well for different types of projects.

When I'm not working on any project, the boxes are in a nice little stack on my shelf. (I know I should probably label them every time I begin a new project, but I don't seem to have projects going long enough to make it worth my time.) Each project gets a separate box that I can pull out when I have time to work on the project. In each box, I place everything for that project...all in one place and all together!

Currently, I've got Buttercup's pajama pants, the Valentine's wreath from Little Birdie Secrets, and some Valentine's bar towels I'm embellishing. As you can see, all the stuff for each project fits in its box, so I never am scrambling for the elastic for the pajama pants or the glue when I have time to work on the wreath...everything is right there. When I am done working for that session, I just pack it all back up and slide it back on the shelf. By doing this, my projects are ready for me whenever I have the time to work on them...I don't spend a lot of time looking for missing elements, etc.

Maybe this was obvious to you and you already do this, and if it was, good for you! For me, however, doing this has made it much less stressful to work on my projects. For all you moms, this is a great way to lead by example...how many times have you heard your children protest that they can't clean up because they're RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF whatever it is they are doing? If they see you do it, too, they'll be much more likely to follow your example.

Do you have any clever ideas for keeping your stuff safe and organized when you aren't done with it? Do tell!

P.S. Have I mentioned how much I miss Ikea?