Welcome to the Blog

Hi I’m Pauline, this blog is where I share all the latest Funky Friends Factory News, Giveaways, Competitions plus LOTS of toy-making tips & tutorials to help you sew the cutest soft toys EVER!

Week 1 ~ Creative Spaces Blog Hop ~ Sewing Studio before and after!

Jul 16, 2018 | A day in my life, Blog

I am so excited to be involved with such a creative bunch of talented designers for the Creative Spaces Blog Hop!

 

There are 16 designers that have teamed up to bring you 6 weeks of fun-filled, themed blog posts. Each day of the week the designers post about that theme for the week.  (Sunday’s are MY day so I’ll be getting to share a little bit about me and my creative space with you then!)

The themes of the Blog Hop have been chosen to give you lots of creative inspiration and the chance to win some great sewing prizes! There are awesome giveaways on all the blogs, including MY GIVEAWAY, which you can find out at the end of this post!!!

Week 1: Studio Clean Up – before and after pics
Week 2: Favorite Tools
Week 3: Organizing Tips
Week 4: Dealing with Scraps and/or Fabric
Week 5: Dealing with Embellishments/Buttons/Thread
Week 6: Dealing with Tools/Rulers

AND Look who will be part of this fun hop:

Mondays

Tamarinis

Cherry Blossom Quilting

Tuesdays

Morning Glory Designs

Sew Many Creations

Wednesdays

Seams Like a Dream

Poor House Quilt Designs

Desert Bloom Quilting

Thursdays

Canton Village Quilt Works

Cranberry Pie Designs

Fridays

 Avery Lane Designs

Christa Quilts

Saturdays

Quiltoni

Swan Amity

Sundays

Simple Arts

Joanne Sharpe

Funky Friends Factory

 

OK, here goes ~ Week one: 
Studio Before and After

I know the theme is meant to be a before and after post about a studio clean up…. BUT I’m not the world’s best tidier at the best of times and these last few weeks have been crazy as we are renovating, getting ready to sell and move house, plus I have had a huge big Sew-Along happening for the relaunch of my Sew Many Funky Friends Club… so I haven’t has a chance to TIDY, let alone take photos of my tidy sewing room!!!

Yike’s!!! I hit a bit of a panic…then I decided ~>

Life’s too short to worry about a messy sewing studio, right???

So I’m going to show you photos from the time when my studio WAS the tidest it’s ever been! 🙂

This was just shortly after we renovated my hubby’s shed to create my sewing studio.

So here’s the BEFORE photo. You can see the workbench and tools still in there. Looking at this now I remember what a huge job it was. Knowing this now I don’ know if I would have the energy to do it all again!

I can’t find the photo of all the ‘man-cave’ stuff hubby had in his shed but it was bulging at the seams so he was quite happy to let me have his shed because I said he could have a bigger one! What is it with men and the size of their sheds??? LOL

 

It gets really hot here in summer so here I am cutting insulation to line the walls – cool goggles hey! 🙂

 
Here I am putting the last of the insulation up… I remember what a pain it was cutting those triangles for the back wall – not quite as much as fun as cutting fabric! 😀

 

Here we’ve lined the walls with gyprock, plastered and sanded all the joints… it’s starting to look like a room rather than a shed at this stage.

 

And a lick of paint confirms it – this is going to be perfect for a sewing space!!!

 

Just add some second-hand sliding doors…

 

And some click-together wooden flooring from IKEA… really quick and easy to install. AND this is it…

My AFTER photo ~>

LOOK HOW NEAT IT IS!!!

(I am certain it was downhill from this moment! LOL)

 

If you were to swing to the right… there is the corner I have set up to sew…

 

…and also take videos of me sewing and that’s where I do my sew-along live calls from!!!

 

Then…

If you were to swing around to your left, this is the ‘pattern corner’ where I have all my printed patterns. Isn’t hubby clever to make such perfect custom-made shelves?! 😀

 

Puss-cat has settled in and thinks he owns the place!!!

 

AND… swinging around to the left some more… This is where I spend most of my time – at the computer!!! You can’t see it but I am sitting on 2 cushions as I get such a sore b@##@m sitting here for so long!!!

 

Swinging around to the left some more, here’s a pic of where I photograph my softies for my pattern covers (in the background of the photo). See, the messiness has already begun! LOL

 

Look, I wasn’t kidding…. it will truly NEVER be as neat as it was that day!!!

 

AND I will leave you with this pic which I a friend of mine (thanks Korina!!) sent to me because it reminded her of my studio…

I think they call it a creative mess? I won’t be showing you any photos of the studio in it’s current state but looking at this picture, I’m sure you’ll get the idea – haha!

*Somewhere on the floor you can see someone painting – look closely!

 

And now for…

A FunkyFriendsFactory Giveaway!

I am giving away a complimentary Membership of my Sew Many Funky Friends Club as a prize for this Blog Hop.

What IS the Sew Many Funky Friends Club?

It’s a super cool community for people who love to sew Funky Friends Soft Toys and you can find out more about it  on https://sewmanyfunkyfriendsclub.com/

 

SEW MANY FUNKY FRIENDS

 

I will draw a winner just before my last post of our Blog Hop from all the comments on my posts…

So be sure to leave a comment on this blog post  – to let me know if you have a very TIDY or a very CREATIVE sewing space –  to be entered to win a complimentary Membership for the Sew Many Funky Friends Club!!!

Thank you for letting me share my creative space with you!

Pauline McArthur
. .

bye for now,

Pauline

xxx

8 Comments

  1. Kathy L

    My sewing room is never neat because I’m always in the middle of something.

    Reply
  2. Sharon d

    What a wonderful space! I try to keep mine clean,but it usually gets messy before I tidey it up.

    Reply
  3. Sue Holman

    I have to clean up my sewing space after every project. In between times it is a mess. I enjoy the clean space for a short time before I drag things out for the next project.

    Reply
  4. Debra Miller

    I have tried really hard but I just can’t create in a tidy space. Maybe it is because straightening all the stuff gives me creative ideas and I just have to make it right then! Great redo of the man cave to a she shed!

    Reply
  5. Kirsten

    Very good article.Thank you for sharing such a useful information.

    Reply
    • Pauline

      Thanks Kirsten! 🙂

      Reply
  6. Jenny C.

    My ‘sewing room’ is such a ‘creative’ place that I don’t fit in there to create! Instead I have a sewing/cutting table in our family room! I really must learn how to put all of my sewing pretties away so that the room stays tidy!

    Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *