Repurposed Studio Organizing Ideas and More Links to Share

I am back from vacation and feeling refreshed. We spent a week in Colorado and I spent a few days on Ragbrai (bicycle ride across Iowa). I actually spent a couple days travelling, 3 nights camping and 2 days riding. Great fun! Before I left home I put up this hanging vintage light cover. I will probably use it to hold my beaded fringe, the kind you buy by the yard/foot. I draped some over the edge because I love the look!

This particular glass cover had 3 holes. I ran a heavy wire through large clear glass beads and formed a ring on the underside onto which I hung crystals. The top ring was attached to the chain. So its (in order, top to bottom) chain...ring...clear glass bead...glass cover...clear glass bead...ring...hanging crystal. The chains can be as long or short as you like and can be adjusted to the height most convenient to you. It's both pretty and practical!

I have had these domes for such a long time and decided I needed to use them or get rid of them. I found the post by Jo at Jos2ndact (see link below). She had made a birdbath out of her light cover that I thought you might like to see. I started thinking about my remaining dome with a single hole in the center and what I could do with it since I was now inspired to use it. If I can work out the logistics, I think I have a good idea. I am going to figure out a way to add one of my glass door knobs to the top center to use as a handle and actually use this piece as a food cover. I will let you know what I come up with and post photos.

While in Colorado, we went to an antique shop in Leadville and I found the silver footed dish shown below. It was a great deal at $4.95. The center inside had a damaged finish, but since I will use this to hold supplies, I didn't care. It was a great piece.

My last idea for this post is shown below. I was looking for a place to hang my crystal creations out of the way and also had some glass leaves that I wanted in a place I could see them so I wouldn't forget I had them. As you can see, My shelf support has a couple of openings. I simply run my cafe curtain rods through the openings and instantly had plenty of room for my hanging ornaments. These would work great for spools of ribbon or lace and other things you may want to drape over them such as yarn, doilies, individual ribbons, etc. I would suggest using a clip, cotter pin or something on the outer ends to secure them and keep them from slipping off.

I hope you found these ideas useful. Below are links to other ideas I have found on the Internet that may inspire you. I would love some feedback as to if you found these ideas useful or other ways you have used them. I just love comments...period.

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As I was going through the blogs I follow to see what was going on, this post caught my eye. It reminded me of the project I had done before going on vacation but had not yet posted. I thought I would share Jo’s idea with you while I was on the subject. This wouldn’t have to be a birdbath either. It could be a stand used for holding art/craft supplies!

http://jos2ndact.blogspot.com/2010/07/lampshade-birdbath.html

Below is a link to a great video on creating a portable beading studio. I have posted my little portable beading kit that I take with me, but there are some great tips on this. I would think it would work for those of you that work on scrapbook projects or small needlework projects as well.

http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-make-portable-lap-sized-beading-studio-for-beading-go-388494/

On this June 21 post at ‘In My Own Style’ Diane shares instructions for a colored pencil holder she uses in her studio. It is made up of multiple sections which are hinged on one end and opens up like a book. I notice she has also cleverly added the color name and a color swatch below each pencil to identify what belongs in each spot. My thoughts as I look at it is that one could hinge the sections so the entire piece would fold up like a fan to be set aside when not in use or spread across in front of you for easy access. It appears to me this holder could be made almost any size (height/length) to accommodate crochet hooks, paintbrushes, thread spools, acrylic paint bottles and other items. If you come up with other ideas, I would love to hear about them.
http://inmyownstyle.com/2010/06/how-to-make-the-almost-perfect-pencil-holder.html
While there, check out some of the other ideas. This is a great idea for ribbon…
http://inmyownstyle.com/2010/06/how-to-make-an-easy-ribbon-organizer.html

This is a link to a studio blog hosted by Patti. She has shared a variety of her unique storage ideas for stamps, ribbons, etc. that I thought you might enjoy popping over to see.
http://peppermint54.blogspot.com/2010/06/my-craft-studio.html


Link to instructions for beaded beads:

http://candiecooper.typepad.com/savvycrafter/2010/01/beaded-beads.html

As always, I appreciate it when you let them know I sent you. Have a great weekend! It's good to be back with you all.

Connie