Procraftinating: The art of doing fun stuff when you should be doing other things!

What an amazing year it's been.

A new house, a new studio and OMW moving!!!

A couple of decades in the same house and putting everything  you own in a box is a huge process and quite frankly a shock. Sorting through all your things and deciding what to keep and what to part with can be overwhelming. Sometimes you need a break in the process and that's where the Procraftinating comes in!
 
I love using ordinary things in a new and cute way and this waste bin is the perfect way to upcycle something that might have otherwise ended up in the trash.  Those holiday popcorn tins are popular and we enjoy the contents but did you know with a little spray paint, a little quilt theme decoupage and you have the perfect waste bin for your sewing room?  

 First make sure it's clean inside and out. Then break out the spray paint.  My absolute favorite is Rust-oleum Universal. It's paint and primer in one and comes in many colors but the one I used the most for decoupage is the Matte French Cream. I love the way the paint goes on and my hand never tires while painting like it can when using traditional style spray paint.  The can has a spray pattern more like a professional paint sprayer and I love how evenly it goes on.  (No endorsement deal here, just about 50 or so cans of the stuff under my belt.) I don't seem to get any runs with this paint and I can't say that about others I've tried.

Several years ago I found these nifty spray paint helpers.  They are little plastic pyramid triangles that keep the item you are painting (in this photo a vintage weathervane) off the cardboard or drop cloth so you can keep all the edges nice and neat. I swear by these.  Found them at Ace hardware.

 Next gather the images you want to use for the decoupage. These can be things you have cut out of quilt magazines or images you find online.  I have a ton of vintage sewing theme graphics on my Pinterest page and they can be printed out and used for this project. Text images from magazines are a nice touch that I placed on top of the quilt images.  Just remember that if you use an ink jet printer to print your images, the ink can smear unless you seal them first with a clear spray sealer and let them dry completely. If you use a laser printer you can decoupage without any sealer.

 I just pick a spot and start gluing the images to the popcorn tin.  I mix up the sizes and they are placed randomly with some images overlapping others. I try to keep smaller size images handy to fill in gaps. It's all pretty random.

Boxes can be up-cycled too.

Shoe boxes!  Who doesn't have shoe boxes?  My favorite are the ones that Clarks come in as they seem to be pretty sturdy and hold up well over time. Oh and there is the fact that I love wearing them and have a gazillion pairs so I have easy access to plenty of them.  Anyway I just found cute tissue paper (wrapping tissue) and glued it to the box and cover using Mod Podge.  To really seal it I added a coat of Minwax Polycrylic and because I like to know what is in the box I added some metal label holders on the end of the box. I found them in the scrap booking section of my local Joann's store.  Punch a hole in the cardboard and use the little brads to hold them in place. 
A cheap and easy way to add some fun storage to your sewing space (or anywhere really!)

I've gotten in the habit of making the binding (or at least cutting the strips) for any quilt I make at the time the top is completed.  This way no matter what decade the quilt is completed in, I have the fabric/binding to match. Clearly, since both these "binding" boxes are full, I need to spend a bit more time machine quilting!

A while ago I found some cool boxes at IKEA.  They are white plain and a bit larger than a shoe box. TJENA is the name and  I bought a few of them and covered them as well.  They are the perfect size for supplies.  I have purse hardware in a couple of them currently. 


The one thing I do like about using the TJENA boxes is the fact that they are all the same size. That keeps my Type A personality pretty happy when I see them all stacked neatly in my closet. 


As we head into a new year with a list of goals or resolutions, be sure to keep in mind that "Procraftinating" can be a good thing! Since I still have plenty of unboxing and organizing to do in my new studio, you can be sure there will be more procraftinating in my future!


Blessings,
Linda