26 May 2013

The Room of Doom Part 2

So onwards and upwards with the great clearing out operation!
Shelves next.... sort, empty, sort, empty....


Actually this didn't take as long as I thought...


And before long they were clear! Sort, sort and more sorting...


Ah dismantling those shelves really did make me happy!


And....done!!! Mind I do have to confess that carrying those blasted shelves downstairs and into the front garden was a chore in itself!

So all the dismantling, sorting and tidying was done. Next step was to order the skip! I had around 17 bin bags in the back garden awaiting said skip which was delivered and filled in one day....


I couldn't quite believe that all of that junk came from one small room AND there was still a stack of goodies to sell and donate left!

Now onto the fun bit.... I had ordered an Expedit bookcase from good old Ikea to give me some useful storage. Time to start building! Now all over the boxes it said TWO persons to assemble! But me being me decided that I would give it a shot by myself and if I got stuck I could always give my neighbour a shout for a hand.... 



Hmmmm....the side panel was a little tricky...


But not that tricky!!!


Oooh....look what I just made!


Absolutely perfect and bags and bags of storage space!

Ok so in an ideal world it would've been easier with two people...but hey! I managed!!! And I love my new shelves. Next I need to decorate. I have this vision in my head of how this room will look when it's finished. I've opted for Annie Sloan Original chalk paint and I plan to wallpaper one feature wall. 
Oh and make lots of yummy crafty goodies for this newly cleared space.

In fact my head is exploding with ideas! Best go and mull them over with a glass of chilled wine :-)

25 May 2013

The Room of Doom...Part 1

I have this room. It used to be my workspace in a former life. It was called the craft room.
Then my life changed. I no longer was a full time crafty person. I went back to nursing and shock horror! I no longer had the spare time to potter around creating all manner of gorgeous crafty goodness.

So the craft room stood there neglected. Very sad and unloved. Then I found a use for said room. I know *she clearly said to herself at some point in time* I shall use it to throw all manner of junk into and then I can shut the door and pretend it doesn't exist! Well this junk throwing practice continued for some years...yes...I kid you not...YEARS!!! The poor sad unloved room continued the be filled and filled and filled until one day it was christened THE ROOM OF DOOM!

Well clearly something had to be done about this. It was stifling my creativity and, quite frankly, making me feel very down in the dumps. Dear, dear friends attempted to assist me in the clear out process but you've seen that TV programme Hoarders? Hahaha....Well I got all stressy and quickly realised that this room didn't only contain junk...but also a whole heap of hidden treasures and memories too. I needed to tackle this on my own!

So weeks annual leave was booked and I made a date to start tackling the ROOM OF DOOM!
Scary stuff!!!

Wanna see some photos???
Ah go on then....



The view from the door...


Cover me....I'm going in!


Hmmm.....not as easy to go in as I thought!


Although Mika seemed to manage just fine! I think at this point she's wondering where all this crap came from, as was I!!!!

Arrrgggghhh!!!! Where to start???? I know...I'll make a cup of tea and ponder a little on my plan of attack! Cue a huge amount of chin wobbling and a few tears!!! Come on Maria!!! You can do this!



Slow and steady was the best attack! Along with plenty of tea breaks and some good music to work along to!


I loved seeing the progress and actually (but don't tell anyone) I kind of enjoyed the sorting process. 


So end of day one! Shelves from wall removed, old computer desk dismantled and my big work desk moved to another part of the room!

Well done me!!! I sorted into 4 piles: keep, throw, donate and sell. This made it much easier and I was very surprised at the end of day one to see that my keep pile was teeny! And you know what? I actually felt a little lighter....like a huge weight was being lifted off my shoulders :-)

I'm not saying it was easy. Oh no! I came across so many memories on that first day and many a tear was shed but I had survived!

Maybe day two would be easier....

24 May 2013

Promises...

I, Maria, promise not to neglect this blog like I have others.
I promise to post regularly...and that means not every three months but a little more frequently!
If these promises are not kept, I will willingly by taken to the Kingfisher Blue room (much nicer than red don't you think?), be tied up with chunky acrylic yarn and flogged with a cashmerino aaron weight until I beg for mercy!

Hehehehe...... I think you can tell how this blog will pan out! Innuendo coupled with all things colourful and delicious!

If you, like me, have a fetish for colour, design, texture and all things crafty in general...then welcome to my little corner of blogdom!

I thought I would kick off this first post with a recent ta daaaa!!! share....

My colourful bedroom granny square blanket. Made from a delightful sport weight 100% cotton, it's bright and cheerful and makes me smile every time I look at it!


Newly joined squares awaiting a border! The finished blanket is single bed size.


 And drapes beautifully over the bottom of my bed.


I added a simple scalloped border so it wasn't too fussy. 

So there it is... a simple granny square blanket in zingy colours to liven up my bedroom and complement the bright wallpaper! 

Next time I'll share the ongoing transformation of the room formerly known as the room of doom. It's a work in progress! Providing I can shake off this lurgy that has confined me to barracks today, I shall be slapping some delicious Annie Sloan chalk paint about this weekend!

Excited!!!

Until next time x



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