Sarah Youde

Decorations

This year the decorations went up very early!  I had them up before the 1st December.

Here are a couple of (grainy instagram) shots of my tree and mantlepiece decorations :)

My favourite item is the Harrods teddy bear globe in the centre of the mantlepiece that Kim bought for me a few years ago.  I love it!

The Scrapbook Magazine Issue 45

It's out!  I was thrilled to be asked to create a cover layout for this issue, I think it looks really nice.

 

I don't normally scrap with orange very much but I don't know why because I really enjoyed making this layout and the Making Memories papers are, of course, gorgeous paired with the Hero Arts Heart Winged Butterfly stamp that I adore!  I think I have a sketch and a layout in this issue also but I don't have a copy yet so I am not certain about that. 

I have been really busy for the last couple of weeks, Mark has re-painted the front door and decorated the bedroom which in turn meant that I have been doing a lot of cleaning and sorting out.  Geoff has laid our hallway floor and that also looks great, it's such a relief that I don't have to worry too much about the kids getting their shoes off in our tiny vestibule before messing up the carpet, now we can walk right through to the kitchen and sort out the mess later - bliss.  I have also sorted out every cupboard and drawer in the house and am feeling quite smug at my organisational prowess!

I have been doing a bit of cross stitch again which is lovely to get back into and I have some great plans for getting that sewing machine stitching something other than paper again!  I have been looking on the internet at the Bernina Aurora 440QE sewing machine computer, it is a dream machine but the £1,395 price puts it right out of my league unfortunately - my sister Carol has one (or one very similar), you can really go off people can't you? 

I still have to finish knitting Sack Boy (from Little Big Planet) for Ben and Charlotte, they were supposed to be in their stockings at Christmas but they are still unfinished in my knitting bag, althouth I have almost finished the first one.  Oh well, now the house is sorted out again I may sit down and get some of the things done that I want to.

Ben and Charlotte had a play at school this week and it was brilliant.  The play was retelling the Easter story but was called The Sonflower.  Ben told me that he was a sunflower in the play and I knew that Charlotte was in the choir however, Ben failed to tell me he was The Sonflower!  He was amazing and Charlotte's was singing at the top of her voice with such joy on her face that I was almost in tears watching them both despite being sat on a child sized seat in a packed hall with a (very heavy) Amy wriggling around on my lap.  It was the best school production I have been to and I didn't even take my camera!!  It started straight from dropping the kids off in the morning and it is so manic getting them out of the house for school I didn't even think about picking up the camera - gutted!

Craft Room - The Details

I have had a lot of people asking me lately about the exact furniture used in my craft room.

All the items are from Ikea.  Here is a list of the actual pieces I have used, including links to them on the Ikea UK website:

5x5 white expedit unit

Vika Amon worktops

I can't remember the exact sizes I have used but if you just get the ones that will fit your space it will look great!

Vika Curry table legs (3)
Vika Annefors (the white shelf unit under the desk)

Vika Alex (the white drawer unit under the desk)

Red Helmer Drawer Unit (under desk)

Snille Swivel Chair

Kassett Storage Boxes in various sizes

Rajtan Spice Jars (for my buttons)

Fira Mini Chest (the little drawer units on my desk)

Bygel rail and wire basket

Traktor Stool on casters
Bekvam step stool

I hope this helps :)

The Craft Room

Well, I finally took some much better photographs of my craft room.  It really is finished now apart from some window blinds but I really need to find the right ones so it may be a while before I get those.  The light streams in the windows and at times it is difficult to see the computer screen so the blinds are a must, I just haven't seen any I particularly like yet.

I love my little room though, it is great having a (labelled) place for everything and makes tidying up so much easier.  I do love organisation so I must admit I really enjoyed all the labelling!

Here are some (well, 20) pictures for you, I know that I love looking at craft room pictures so I though I would do plenty so that nosey people like me are satisfied - isn't it horrible when you see a craft room but can't quite make out what that lovely looking piece of stash is laying on the table?

This is an overview of the room

If you have visited Jennifer McGuire's blog (link in the sidebar) then you will recognize the wall art :)  I loved it so much that I just had to have it - however, as the company are in America I didn't really want to wait for it to arrive so I made it myself by creating the words in photoshop and then cutting them with sign vinyl in my Quickutz Silhouette.  I won't pretend it was simple to put the word 'Creative' on the wall in a straight line whilst it was curling up and sticking together but to be honest the whole process took about 2 hours and I love that I made it myself.

The television on the wall is a godsend and I love that it is on a swivel and tilt fitting so that I can position it just right and pull it out from the wall.

The other side

This is the other side of the room.  There is a high area which is housing my sewing machine but is also where Ben and Charlotte can sit and do some crafting whilst I am scrapping at my desk.  The boxes underneath hold the childrens craft supplies (they have nearly as much as I do!).

Little Red Cabinet

I love this little red cabinet from Ikea.  I holds A4 paper perfectly and you can fit about a ream in each draw.  Here begins my labelling mania!  I use this to hold printer paper, photo paper, envelopes, labels (of course!), postcards, SD cards and other small items - did I say how much I love it?  It holds loads, I emptied out an entire sideboard cupboard into it and still had space!

Storage Boxes - Ikea strikes again!

I just adore these storage boxes from Ikea.

Sweetie Jar

I keep my tiny ink pads in this sweetie jar which is great for being able to find the one you want quickly and it looks so pretty!

Yep!  It's from Ikea :)

I love this little rail above my workspace which holds paints and tools, great to have the stamp cleaner at hands reach.

Making Memories Carousel holding more tools

Creative Memories Layout Frame

I love this layout frame from Creative Memories, I bought this ages ago whilst having a craft room was a distant dream - I am so glad I did, although I think I am going to cut off the ribbon that runs along the front of the frame (for pegs) because I never use it and would rather see my layout.

A fairy watches over me

Buttons in little spice jars

I have finally organised my buttons by colour, it is great.  I used a glue dot to adhere a corresponding coloured button to the top of each jar, it just makes it that bit quicker to grab the correct jar.

Mini books in a basket


Paper holders from Muji

I just couldn't find anything that I liked to hold my paper until I saw that Paula Pascual and used these suspension file holders from Muji, they are absolutely perfect!  I am going to cover the fronts and add labels but I currently have 8 of them and have yet to sort my paper properly so I can't do that just yet. 
The one on the left of the photograph is actually holding a pile of layouts that need to be filed into albums.

Wood mounted stamps

I have to confess that I haven't had time to actually organise the inside of the boxes holding my stamps yet but I wanted to show you how much they hold, the large ones are amazing.  Sorry about the Amy in the photo but I think she finds all this 'stuff' more exciting than toys.

Chipboard Alphabets

This is another of the large boxes, great for holding all those chipboard alphabets.

Acrylic Stamps

I currently have my acrylic stamps in one of these boxes, the plan is to put them into binders and then keep the binders in the box.

Copic Markers

I was thrilled that my copic markers fitted perfectly into the DVD sized box.

Amy's Area

Amy's little desk fits perfectly between my desk and the expedit unit.  Now I just need to get her to sit in it whilst I craft, she currently prefers to sit on my desk which sort of prevents me from doing anything!

Letter Stickers


Little drawers

These little drawers are brilliant for holding all your bits and pieces.  They are also one of the first items I have found that I can fit my Marvy Le Plume pens in (they are quite long those pens!).  Again, this is on my desk so I have used the drawers for frequently used ink pads, pens, pencils and acrylic blocks.

I love the colour of the room it is Dulux's Melon Sorbet, it is exactly the colour I was hoping for.  All the furniture is Ikea (surprise, surprise), I'm so happy they started a delivery service as our nearest Ikea is in Bristol, we did have to travel up to buy the boxes, jars etc because they don't deliver all those items but getting the furniture delivered was a big help (but, be warned, there is a £60 delivery charge!)

Heaven

So, there you have it, my little piece of heaven!  I love having a craft room and I can't tell you how thankful I am to my step-dad (who is like a real dad to me) for making this dream room for me (from this) and to Mark for helping Geoff every step of the way and, of course, paying for everything :) I love you both so much xx

ETA:  For detailed information on the pieces of furniture used in my room see THIS post :)

 

Craft Room Pictures - A Work In Progress

Sorry no posts but things have been a bit hectic here at home!

The craft room is finished enough for me to be using it right now :)  I still need to get some blinds, put up some pictures and sort out all my stash but I am still having such fun in here!  Oh, I need some shelves and to tidy up the wires under the desk as well!!

Here are some photographs so far...

The computer area (and my very old sewing machine!)

The scrapping desk (my cutting mat needs a good scrub!), I love that I can just whizz over to the computer and then back to my scrapping.

The TV corner, please excuse the nappy boxes holding my stash - I will be changing these and sorting out the top of the unit as soon as I can get to Ikea for my storage boxes and shelves.

My lovely big expedit unit!

The high worktop area.  This is where the kids sit and craft but is also going to be a great extra area for me as I do like to stand up and scrap sometimes, also it is an extra desk for when someone else comes to scrap with me :)

I can't wait to 'pretty it all up' a bit, my stash has just been literally chucked in the shelves and the moment and nothing is sorted or stored as I have planned yet, I will get there eventually!

Talking of having fun in my craft room, Design Objectives have sent me a Quickutz Silhouette SD (did you spot it in the photos?) and I love it so much, I hope they don't want it back because I am not sending it!!  I can't wait to try out the glass etching technique with it, I definitely need to create some vinyl wall art and I just love that you can auto trace anything you like to create your own designs for your cards and pages.  On top of all that you can access the Quickutz library of shapes and download them for use again and again at the bargain price of $1.99 each!

Well, I am going to sign off so that I am all ready to watch The Apprentice.

It's Certainly Green

We painted the craft room on Saturday night and I love the colour, it is certainly green!  It is going to look lovely with the white furniture - I can't wait until the wood floor goes down!

Here are some photographs taken mid-paint but it is all done now.  My desk is going to be 'L' shaped and go under the two windows.

This is the corner that will have my 5 x 5 Ikea Expedit unit :)  The plugs on the wall are where the TV is going to be mounted.

Also on Saturday I went to the Plymouth crop and had a great time as usual :)  I did this layout of Ben whilst I was there.

I have used the gorgeous Jellybean Soup papers and I love them - I am beginning to love this manufacturer.  The edges of the layout have been distressed with some orange chalk ink which the scanner has cut off but it looks lovely in real life.

Craft Room Update

The craft room is coming along nicely :)  The furniture is being delivered on Wednesday and the flooring is also coming this week (enough to do the kitchen and hallway too) so things are really moving on.  Most importantly we now have a proper roof and the walls are going up :)  I have chosen the paint colour, it is the green in this picture (pinched from the Dulux website):

The plugs on the wall are for my TV, we have finally got a decent aerial so I know I am going to have a decent picture in there - always a plus.  In fact I love the fact that I am getting plug sockets exactly where I want them.

I have been spending so much of my time thinking about organisation of all the 'stuff' that I want to go in the room and basically getting nowhere!  I think I need to wait until the storage unit and desks have arrived so that I can buy the appropriate storage solutions.  The trouble is I just want it all done now :D

We have a door!

Just a quick photo to show that there is now a door in the kitchen which will eventually lead to my craft room.

:) so happy!

Phew!

It has been one of those months were I have had loads to blog about but just haven't had the time to do it!

We have had Bens birthday, he is now a big boy seven.  He got the Heelies that he has wanted forever!  He even had enough birthday money to buy himself a new big boys bike!  Lucky boy :)

I have had the Plymouth crop and had a lovely day.  I have just tried to take some photos of the layouts I did but the light is awful so I will post those another day.

Work is still going on for my craft room and the kitchen wall now has a large hole in it ready for a doorway.  It is a mess in the kitchen.  It is beginning to look like a room and the electrics are being laid so I am getting even more excited.  It should be finished by the end of April.

Oh *#*?*#!

Here is a little card that I made recently, I love the Sugar Nellie stamps but this is my favourite one!  Coloured with copic markers and the papers are from the Once Upon A Time stack by DCWV.

Just Sat Here...

...waiting for Mark to get home from Totem Timber so that I can go into town and buy a certain little boy some birthday pressies!

Why Totem Timber you may ask!  Well, work started on my craft room yesterday - not that it looks much like a craft room at the moment.  When Charlotte came home from school yesterday she said 'Mummy, your craft show looks rubbish!'.  I told her that when it was done she was going to be very jealous and want to be in there with me all the time :)

Here are some pictures so far, the roof frame is being installed.

 

 

Mmmm, quite a bit of work to be done then!

Here is a layout which I made from the WR Memory Keepers Nonsense range, it has to be one of my favourite ranges of paper for a long time!

I am re-reading Ken Follett's "Pillars of the Earth', I bought the sequel "World Without End" and I read Pillars so long ago that I wanted to refresh my memory before reading it.  I am so glad I did because I have only just started it and I am loving it all over again!

Have a good Tuesday :)