rePURPOSING Things: Picture Frame

The crafter we met earlier put her skills to good use creating a functional framed piece of art:

She rePurposed both a frame and some pegs to create this very sweet home for her threads.

Finishing What She Started

Remember the craft room we were cleaning out? It looked like this:

When I went back to help again it looked like this:

This is one of the many things I love about rePurpose - once I get someone started they invariably get on a roll and complete the job themselves. You get in a rhythm evaluating, eliminating and integrating and you just keep going.

She went from this...

...to this:

She was able to let go of some craft supplies she is no longer interested in, made plans to complete a few projects and got inspired to try some new ones now that she has a bit of space to stretch out in.

Nothing makes me happier than inspiring someone to take control of their environment. My work here is done.

Clean Floor Obsession?

I am embarrassed. This was ridiculous. These were my vacuum cleaners:

Count them. FIVE! Insane. I had one since the 80's, inherited two, was gifted one and splurged on the Roomba. Our house is only 1200 square feet but has varied floor coverings and no one vacuum took care of them all. But five?? Out of control.

So I got rid of four, saved the Roomba for upstairs (there is nothing like it for getting under the beds) and took advantage of a Christmas sale to get this:



What do you have variations or duplicates of that you can give up and free some space?

rePURPOSING things: Antique Ceiling Light Fixture

Replaced when she remodeled, the owner wanted to keep this out of the dump and decided she liked the shape. She turned it upside down and  - voila! - one-of-a-kind a jewelry holder.  Besides holding her earrings, it holds happy memories of the home she loves.

Quick Closet Clean Out

This Nevada City house is bursting with materials for the couples huge array of projects and interests. Although it is stimulating to visit, guests can stumble on the stuff.

Our objective was to make room behind closed doors to store some things that were taking over their living area. 

The hall closet seemed like the best candidate for this. It was fairly well organized but it could be better. Plus we suspected it housed things that the couple no longer needed.

And we were right. We emptied it, evaluated all the contents and eliminated quite a bit. Boxes were packed for garage sale, recycle, return and donate.

We were able to get the bedding off the floor and onto the shelves, use the floor space for luggage and, with the freed-up space, store the folding tables that had been stacked in the hall way.

Not only did they gain some serenity in the living area, but now they know where everything is. 

Total time: 1 hour.

Corner to Corner Craft Room Clean-up

A few days ago we finished the first corner of this room. The edge of the clean and neat bookshelf can be seen on the far right. Now we are moving around the room counter clockwise.

The next thing to tackle is this cute hutch. It sits in front of the window and blocks the light and, along with the printer table, takes up space that could be used for relaxing or for guest seating. The owner has decided that the best thing is to remove it altogether so we need to relocate or discard all it holds.

We did it! She consolidated the jewelry displays with others on the first bookcase, tossed a bunch of stuff and identified an entire stack of hardback craft and decorating books she can sell. Now the hutch is ready for sale, too. Someone is going to love it.

Next: remove the printer table.

We made space for the printer on the desk and wound up with more light from the unblocked window and room for a bench she already owned. It is great spot to TEMPORARILY stack items to take to classes and to read a book to her grandkids.

We have  conquered the northeast corner!  Total time: one hour.

Next up: the northwest corner desk. Stay tuned.

A New View

Talk about rePurposing! Look at this table and guess what it is made from...

...broken car windows! Encased in whole glass are shards from Ford escorts, a Taurus and a 63 Buick Riviera rear window.

The creator is in the media and entertainment industry so using stage truss for the legs was a stroke of genius.

He is wants to fill it up with more broken glass but I think it is brilliant - in all definitions of the word - just the way it is.

Craft Corner Clean-up

Oooh this challenge is really FUN!  This woman has her own craft room filled with lots of fun.. and lots of goodies that she needs to sort, purge and organize:

She does everything: sewing, scrap booking, jewelry making, paper crafting, flower arranging, wedding planning, you name it. She sells her work and even sells supplies to other crafters. But her sweet little studio was overflowing and she needed to get it under control. Her goal was to create some open space to work on her projects and to have easy access to the supplies and materials she sells.

Our strategy was to tackle it in manageable chunks. So we started with the top half of this corner bookshelf:

It is amazing what a bookshelf can hold. We discarded these piles of recycling, donations, yard sale items - plus another box of things to return to family members.

Then we had the pleasure of emptying another shelf in her bedroom of the supplies it held and moving it here:

Wow. Look at the difference! Room to breathe! Total time: 2 hours.

Stay tuned for solutions for the rest of her sweet craft room.

Saving the Shirts

This client had a baby while she and her husband were on assignment in London. When they moved back home his button-down business shirts were far too formal for the casual California life style. They decided to commemorate their happy time in London by commissioning a quilt for their baby.

Here are the shirts...

cut into strips...

pieced...

and quilted.

The fee for this transformation was donated to Shakti Rising http://www.shaktirisingnp.com, an organization that transforms the lives of young women. Their motto is "Create Change" and this is just what we did with these shirts.

reThinking the Kitchen Cabinets

When the owners of this kitchen moved in, they put things in the cabinets where they thought - at the time - they should go. Food storage in an corner under-counter turntable...

... and the pots and pans next to the stove. 

This certainly seems logical but after months of frustration trying to find small cans in a crowded corner it was time to rethink this arrangement,

Simply swapping the two areas made life easier. The pans and small appliances were easy to the see in the corner cabinet...

...and there was much easier access to the the canned foods now that they are on the pull out shelf.