Tuesday, February 14, 2012

The Great Craft Studio Clean Out of 2012

Yep, that's definitely what it is.

We are 3 days into it so far, and I think that, finally, the light that I see ahead of me, isn't an on-coming train.

Unfortunately, in my enthusiasm to get started, I didn't wait long enough to take decent before photos.
Just take my word for it, it was a mess.

And did find these photos, but it is way too tidy, compared to what it looked like recently...



Take note of the brown dresser in the background.  If you could see it close up, you would note the drips of dark-stained varnish where the previous owners did a botched job.
And the desk with the chair in front of it is covered in every colour paint you can imagine (only myself to blame there.)






The desk above was rescued from a junk pile by my daugher.  It is very functional, but a bit ugly.  Hence the tablecloth covering it up.





Ok.  First off, I pulled everything out.
Do you notice how it isn't raining?
That is a miracle.  Plain and simple.

We have had months of rain.  Constantly.
I told my dear heart, that we were going to paint the shed furniture.
He laughed.
He then told me that it was forecast for more rain, and that it would rain for the next 4 days.  Heavily.
Not one to be put off easily, I quickly put a word in to Him.

"Dear God, I need dry weather.  So would you be so kind as to stop the rain until I get the job finished."

The rain stopped.

The next two days I sanded and scrubbed and painted.
Yesterday morning I had all the furniture outside drying.

Just when I thought that the paint was dry and started to bring it all back in, guess what?
Yep, thats right - huge thunderstorm.  And it's been raining since.
No, I don't think it was a coincidence.




Just thought I'd show you some of the paint colours close up.




Empty shed.  Notice the new bench?  That was in the house, but no longer needed, so dearest one moved it out here for me.






Vacuum cleaner (or as they say in the old country 'the hoover').




Now, I found a sampler pot of paint that my daughter was going to paint her room with.  The walls.
I thought I'd see how it would go on this very rustic cupboard.  It was used to store a relative's gardening supplies in on a verandah for years.

Now don't let the colour in this photo fool you.  It didn't turn out that soft a colour.



No, it was MUCH more retina burning than that.
Bear in mind that she was going to paint her walls in that colour!
It doesnt show up that much in this photo either, but it is nearly fluro...


....so out came the pale pink for another coat.
When it dried, I sanded it to let the red show through a bit.
It is now VERY rustic looking.  But I like it.





I have to say that I absolutely love how the dark-stained drippy dresser turned out!
I removed the top doors.  Much better.
No knobs put back on the bottom doors yet.



The colour is Island Cruise - wattyl brand I think.




I can see that I am going to be spending way too much time arranging and rearranging things on this dresser.

And I love my folk art painting next to the dresser. 
Amazing how a bit of paint can transform things.





Now, I picked some hydrangeas this morning, just for the photo shoot - :) - and I must say they are looking spectacular.
Don't they look brill next to the blue colour?



Also, I think I am going to have to chuck my digital camera.
I took these photos with my phone, and they have turned out far better than I can get them with the camera.

I am very proud of these hydrangea photos.
Very.


















And this photo - I can't really believe I took it - and with a phone!  Amazing how technology is increasing.






Another one of the dresser - can you tell I like it, lol?




But back to reality - this is the mess I had to sort out once everything was brought  back in!




I'll need some heavy duty supplies to deal with this lot....





More of the mess..... 



......and even more of the mess.






Ahhh...... finally, a bit of organisation.








Has to be time for a reward....



I will point out, that the cake is a healthy sourdough chocolate cake. :)



cheers
Fi

8 comments:

  1. Well done, what a marvellous project to get your teeth into! I would so dearly love the opportunity to do some decorating!

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  2. Oh my. What an amazing person you are. To have that much energy, motivation and inspiration to do all that in such a short time! That would have taken me at least 2 years and one of those would have been for planning! All the funiture looks amazing and I ADORE the blue dresser! That style never dates and it's eye candy no matter how down you're feeling! Well done you! lol x p.s. you deserve as much choc cake as you want!!!!

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  3. I do not know what kind of breakfast you ate before you tackled all that work, but I need some of that! All I can say is WOW!!!! It would have taken me a week to paint that big dresser alone and another month for the rest of the furniture. Everything turned out so pretty and I bet you stand and look at those flowers on that dresser just about every spare minute you have. Back in the day when I use to wallpaper I would hang a piece and then sit and admire it 10 minutes, then hang another piece and admire that, I think you get the picture. It is so much better to be able to walk into a clean organized room and not have to think about the mess and to spend all of your energy creating. You have managed to make a room that is a pleasure to work in (rain or shine). Cheers to you Fi! It doesn't matter if that cake is low calorie or not, I would still eat it, ha ha ha! Enjoy your week.
    (((HUGS))) Susanne :)

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  4. Wow! You have been busy! I really like that dresser too. And thanks for showing your room because I was thinking the bakers rack I have might not work in the new house, but on second thought, it'd provide great shelving for some material and yarn! I have that same book, Crochet Motifs. And girl...you haven't seen messy. I just started packing up the craft room last night. After some friends came over a few months ago and emptied out the closet! And I emptied out the filing cabinets. Then it sat there in a heap on the floor for months. {heavy sigh} Healthy? chocolate cake! Recipe please.

    Cindy Bee

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  5. Hi Fi I love your work space, lovely and airy.
    Love your painted furniture too.
    Be ready for more mess if you're getting into paperpiecing LOL
    xx

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  6. You have worked very hard and it looks lovely! How nice.
    Danette

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  7. Hey Fi, I have dresser envy....... what a difference a coat of paint makes, it's stunning, ♥♥♥ the colour.

    You certainly transformed your studio with some wonderful furniture . It will be a pleasure to work in once you've got it just so.....

    The Hydrangeas are beautiful, gorgeous colours and yes, wonderful on the dresser....
    I have just turned the spare bedroom into my sewing room and it was a massive job going through all the storage containers, seeing what I had collected over the years..

    No coincidence there with the timing of the rain either......

    Sourdough chocolate cake, sound delish and looks it too...definitely time for a reward.

    Claire :]

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  8. Fi, nothing creative ever happened in such a tidy space!I know all this cleaning up is just a diversion from the REAL issue...TO START PAINTING!!!!!

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I love reading your comments. You made the sun shine brighter today.