This week, we’re introducing you to our new columnists! Last week you met Tracy Porter and Chris Olsen. Today, meet Jerusalem Greer, the talented and creative craft artist and self-professed “nest fluffer” behind Jolly Goode Gal! For a sample of her unique style, check out her home featured in our July 2010 issue. As a mom, she’s perfected DIY projects on a budget, and we knew she would be a great fit for the At Home in Arkansas blog.
Jerusalem’s monthly column on crafting begins today with tips on creating your ideal craft space.
Everyone loves a great make-over story! A fun, and often inexpensive, makeover is to create a craft space in your home.
Whether you have a whole room to dedicate, a closet or perhaps a small corner of an existing room (dining room, family room, kids room,) you can achieve an adorable and inspiriting craft zone that will fit your personality and your pocket book, and bring some order to your crafty chaos.
So, how do you go about creating the perfect craft space for your needs, space and budget?
Here are a few easy steps to get you started:
1) Decide where your craft space is going to be based both on what space is available in your home, and what kind of crafting you do there. Reflect on what type of crafting you enjoy most. If you enjoy machine sewing your space will need to access to a table surface and an outlet. However, if knitting is your forte then perhaps you just need easy access to ample storage for your yarn and needles and a portable craft bag or box that can travel with you from room to room as you work.
2) Once you have decided on the type of space you need and the location, you can begin the fun task of gathering and collecting inspiration pictures. The Internet, catalogs and magazines are full of inspiring ideas. One tip: don’t just look at “craft rooms†and storage pictures per se; look at everything that inspires you, from floor to ceiling. I have found great inspiration for craft storage in farm & feed stores, education supply catalogs and many other unlikely places.
Here are some of my all-time favorite craft areas:
Photo via here
Photo via here
Photo via here
Photo via here
3) After you’ve chosen your inspiration pictures, you can begin narrowing down the exact items you will need to purchase, re-purpose or re-store for the project, and those that even thought you love them, maybe are not the best choice for this project.
4) After you have narrowed down your choices. you can create an inspiration board (like the one above, featuring a patchwork theme) to help keep you on track as you forge ahead. Having an inspiration board can help motivate you to take the steps necessary to accomplish your project goal, such as saving those pennies, only purchasing what will fit your space, and staying true to your design.
So, regardless of how big or how small your craft space is, now is the perfect time to jump in and give it a make-over that both inspires and encourages you, turning your craft dreams into craft realities!
