on the crafting nook...

So, I've pretty much been promising a tour of my crafting nook forever. I'm not sure why it took me so long to get around to taking photos, but here I am! It's surely not the most brilliant space you've seen, but I'm proud of it. It's cozy. It's unusually small. It's decorated to my delight. It is my own space - which is slightly amazing to have, considering we have a rather quaint one-bedroom duplex.

This little nook used to be a laundry room, from what our landlord tells us. But apparently the last tenants set it on fire (I would like to know how this happens, by the way) so, they took out the washer and dryer and left a random little room by the back door. Perfect for a crafting nook. (Or for an eerily small nursery, but considering that isn't happening any time soon, I decided go with the crafting nook.)

To give you an idea of how ridiculously small this area is, I decided to take a photo from the kitchen. Yes, that's our back door. Yes, it's always locked, so if you try and murder me while I'm crafting I will definitely have time to get a steak knife before you can pounce. (Am I the only person who thinks about these things? Anyway.) As a side note, I really want to get some sort of pretty curtain for the doorway. We'll see if that happens any time soon.

Here we have a few books, an adorable lamp shade from Ikea, the top of my sewing machine (which I seriously need to learn how to properly use), some framed scrapbooking paper, and a lovely page out of an Anthropologie catalog

Here is one corner of the room. (For the record, I totally reorganized my bulletin board before taking photos. I'm thinking that my OCD has passed the point of no return.)

This wall is pretty much my favorite of all time. Usually, when I have to commit to putting a nail into the wall in order to hang something, it makes be break out into hives because I am such a non-decision-maker. But for this wall, since it's something that pretty much only I see on a regular basis, I had no issues with it.

The birds on the wall are an ebay steal, inspired by a project from Love is Blonde (but I have yet to spray paint them). The adorable mini-deer plaque is from Nice, over on etsy (something I bought myself last year because I couldn't handle the cuteness without purchasing it). The camera is a hand-me-down from my parents - it is the first camera they bought as a couple (I don't think it works properly right now, but I'm determined to use it someday).

Oh, how I adore this wall. It's true. Especially that tiny vase with two (obviously fake) poppies.

These wall-hangings are pretty much the most simple and inexpensive thing you'll ever make. I feel like I saw something like these embroidery hoops on another blog at some point, so during my last trip to Michaels I decided to pick up a couple of them. (They're under $2 each!) I had a bunch of fabric leftover from projects that I started but never finished, and a mason jar full of buttons waiting to find a good use. It took me about five minutes to make each of these - which I find so delightful.

I'm kind of obsessed with hanging things from string. This little banner-ish contraption holds a card from a Go Fish set my sisters and I played with when we were little, a list of things to make for the craft show, a photo of my dad as a wee child, some doilies, and a couple quotations. Again, such a simple and unique decoration!

I adore these metal wall baskets I found at Ikea! Simple, cheap and a perfect way to hold all my bits and bobbins. I found the metal letters in the dollar bins at Target and borderline did a happy dance when I was able to find both a "K" and "W"! You'll notice that I have a bunch of random baskets holding other crafting items, shipping supplies and other miscellany. And there are entirely too many things hidden (and not-so-hidden) under the table because I kind of ran out of space for everything.

But you're obviously never going to see that, so, let's move on...

I'm rather obsessed with bakers twine, and have most colors of the rainbow. That, and Japanese washi tape - I would spend an entire paycheck on it. (I wish I was kidding. Or maybe I don't.)

I spy...a giraffe that is tiny beyond all reason! And some envelope seals from K is for Calligraphy! And a bunch of leftover cinnamon sticks from Christmas that I only now realized are still in that jar (I'm judging myself right now)!

So, there you have it! The elusive crafting nook. The place where the magic happens. The place in which I was hiding most of the weekend in order to complete all these items for the tiny craft show.

Sometimes I have to stop and think about how lucky I am to have this little crafting space. It's all I need, really, and it is definitely inspiring and cozy. Someday I'll have an entire room to paint blue and line with bookshelves and hang bright curtains and such - but for now? I'm perfectly fine with the nook. It's been good to me.