Tour of my Ikea Craft Room !

 

For the last 4 years, we stayed in the newly developed Al Warqa area of Dubai.

We went from a community living in Arabian Ranches to a stand alone 12,000 sqft villa.

Visit here for my craft room in Arabian Ranches.

What was spectacular about the villa, is that it was designed by an Emarati for an Emarati lifestyle. Whats different about Arabic styled houses ?

Well, Arabic style houses generally have two main entrances to the main building, one for the family, and another one for the male guests. The men guest entrance is greeted by a very large hall which is called the Majlis. This comfortable large space is generally where the men of the family entertain their male friends, hence it is lavishly large.

Another significant thing about the villas’ is that every bedroom is ensuite. Which meant, my 5 bedroom home had 7 bathrooms !!! (1 extra for the lounge room and another for the dining room)

Cleaning such a large house is not for the faint of heart ! But Thank heavens for the abundance of easily available part-time help in Dubai.

Another aspect, which we were lucky, we did not have, is the presence of an entire block of an adjoining building which houses the maids and drivers of the house.

Most of the times, the kitchen is also a part of that building block. But we were lucky, our kitchen was in the main building.

That was too much space for a family of five, however, it would benefit, the constant arrival of relatives and feline friends ( fostering that me and my family volunteer for.)

Thanks to alot of persuasion and prodding – We decided to convert the majlis into my craft Studio.

Was it a dream ??

Absolutely YES !!

For someone who started crafting 12 years back from a modest desk  placed at the  corner of her bedroom … here I was, in a HUGE studio with craft supplies and goodies, I could have only dreamt of years back !!

The studio took nearly three months to be shelved, stacked, stored and organized.

As you will notice from the pictures below, 100% furniture and 95% storage items (like boxes, pots ) are from #Ikea !!

I think, for artists, Ikea is a PERFECT !! They cater to each and every need of ours brillaintly and I have NOT been compensated to state so 🙂

Don’t they look organized ? Even the white pots holding markers are from Ikea.

The large striped boxes as well as the white bookshelf is Ikea.

These wired racks make it easy to locate ribbons etc

Different sizes of #Trofast boxes

The white cookie or cupcake , wire stand is also Ikea.

This PVC rack was designed and constructed by yours truly !

Ribbons, twine, yarn, embellishments all stored in the ikea wire racks

Linnamon study desk ! Notice my delicious pinking shears ! Over the years, I have picked quite a few diecut machines, as you will notice, there’s the Silhouette, Revolution, Cuttlebug, and Big shot !! What ?? Hoarder, you say ???? No way – just moving with time !

4 Glasholm glass tables !! Every shelf counts as storage !!

The two drawer racks on the left of my chair, houses all my rubber stamps and diecuts. My throne is the Marcus swivel chair from Ikea

I picked these white storage boxes from Ikea as well as the Trofast shelf and storage boxes.

Unfortunately these wire racks have been discontinued by Ikea !! The newer version are not as sturdy as these.

Trofast storage combination

This stores my jewelry making supplies

Most of those colored plastic drawers have paints and glue

10 Snille swivel chairs.

My precious books and notes – one of my fav Ikea cubby cupboard

Felt, fabric and more stored in the Ikea cupboard

Another Ikea cupboard

Was the craft room a  good idea ?

Absolutely !!

How long did it take ?

Very long to organize it all ?

what happened next ?

We moved out of this house this January (2016)  !!!!!!!!

How do I feel about it ?

Miserable !! I miss the sprawling length and breadth of that room so much, so dearly 😦

It was perfect in every way and the  best possible gift, my husband could give me !!

Our new home is in the area called The Villa – Dubailand. Its a modern villa and the added benefit of the majlis is deducted in the form of a pool. We have converted the 5th bedroom into the craft studio – but it is still a project under progress.  Will share with you the development in another post.

I hope you enjoyed my craft studio tour and found inspiration in some of the ways in which I manged to store some supplies.

I’m sharing this post at the following parties here.

and

• Home Matters linky party
• Making Memories Monday Link Party
• Inspire Me Monday
• Keeping it Simple Block Party (9pm EST)
• Making Your Home Sing Monday
• Mommy Moments ~c
• Motivational Monday ~
• The Mommy Monday Blog Hop
• Merry Monday Linky Party
• Tot School Gathering Place
• Simply Sundays Link Party
• The craft corner link party
• Inspiration Galore project party
• Nifty Thrifty Sunday
• One project at a time 
• Sneakerdoodle-Create Bake make party
• Sunday’s Best link up
• Bloggy Brunch – share favorite posts (new or old!)
• Happiness is Homemade
• Small Victories Sunday Linkup
• Sunday Features
• Sustainable Sundays – Eco friendly, sustainability, upcycling, homesteading, gardening, organic food, and similarly green topics
• Craft schooling sunday
• Link party Palooza

Monday
Inspiration Monday – I Should Be Mopping the Floor
Inspire Me Monday – Create with Joy
Clever Chicks Blog Hop – The Chicken Chick
Monday Funday – That’s What {Che} Said
Craftastic Monday – Sew Can Do
Mix It Up Monday – Flour Me With Love
Munching Mondays – Nibbles by Nic
The Creative Corner – Curly Crafty Mom
Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop – A Blossoming Life
Block Party – Rae Gun Ramblings
Create and Crave – Pink Heels Pink Truck
Melt in Your Mouth Monday – Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms
Best of the Blogosphere – It’s Me DebMCb
A Round Tuit – Creating My Way to Success
Something To Talk About – 2 Bees in a Pod
Inspire Me Monday – My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
The Scoop – Worthing Court
Create Link Inspire – Naptime Creations
Dream Create Inspire – Whimsy & Hope
Much Ado About Monday – Huckleberry Love
Monday Madness – How to Get Organized At Home  

Tuesday
Turn It Up Tuesday – A Peak Into My Paradise
Treasure Box Tuesday – Memories By the Mile
Lou Lou Girls Fabulous Party – Lou Lou Girls
Project Inspire{d} – Yesterday on Tuesday
Two Cup Tuesday – Pint Sized Baker
Simple Supper Tuesday – Hun What’s For Dinner
Show and Tell – Sugar Bee Crafts
Tutorials & Tips Link Party – Home Stories A to Z
Totally Terrific Tuesday – Live Randomly Simple
Two Uses Tuesday – Sarah Celebrates
Tuesday at Our Home – Our Home Away From Home
Tip Me Tuesday – Tip Junkie
From Dream to Reality – The DIY Dreamer
Hit Me With Your Best Shot – Just a Girl and Her Blog
Fluster’s Creative Muster – Fluster Buster
Create and Share DIY and Recipe Party – A Simple Pantry
Moonlight and Mason Jars – Cherished Bliss
A Little Bird Told Me – The Life of Jennifer Dawn
Tutorial Tuesday – Hope Studios
Inspire Me Tuesday – A Stroll Thru Life
Awesome Things Tuesday – My Craftily Ever After
Tasty Tuesday – Creative Kids
Share It Link Party – The Winthrop Chronicles  

Moonlight Mason Jars link Party – The newly wed Pilgrimage

Friday
Friendship Friday – Create with Joy
Friday Flash Blog – The Jenny Evolution
Craft Frenzy Friday – Craftdictator
Freedom Fridays – My Turn For Us
Kitchen Fun and Crafty Friday – Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons
Foodie Friends Friday – Walking on Sunshine
Foodie Fridays and DIY – A Dish of Daily Life
Weekend Bites – Homemaid Simple
Friday Feature – Oh My Heartsie Girl
What To Do Weekends – Crafts a la Mode
Friday Favorites – Diary of a Real Housewife
Pretty Pintastic Party – Coffee With Us 3
Weekend Potluck – Sunflower Supper Club
Pinworthy Projects – Just Us Four
Inspiration Spotlight – Dear Creatives
Weekend Recipe Link Up – Gator Mommy Reviews
Pin Me – Diana Rambles
The Creative Collection – Lolly Jane
Link Party Palooza – Tater Tots and Jello
Weekend Wind Down – Snippets of Information
Linky Party DIY Inspired – The Girl Creative
Dare to Share – Pam’s Party and Practical Tips
Simple & Sweet Fridays – Rooted in Thyme  

Thank you so much for taking the time to visit and comment.

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Upcycled chalk board tray.

Hey friends ! How’ve you been ?

If you’ve been following me, then you know, that the past couple of weeks have been nothing short of a roller coaster ride for me. I have been participating in several weekend fairs and exhibitions. Not only has it been exhaustive but for a change, we have been such an “outdoorish” family !!

I have been loving the fairs, interacting with people, getting little hands to try out crafts and just having a blast letting these events dry the creative juices out of me !! Its been fun.

I am one of those people who works best under pressure. I have a tendency to try out a dozen projects for a couple of days, and then there are those ‘slumpy’ days when I am glued to pinterest/fb and almost never enter the studio for weeks.

This particular chalk board tray was from ELC, I think. The boys used it for a couple of years until we moved into Warqa House and then, it gave in 😦  I loved the thin wooden tray used to keep chalks and dusters on both sides.  It was a shame to let it go, given it was made of wood and I really like those cheerful snakes/worms. So I unscrewed the trays and it remained as a stationery organizer sitting parallel to eachother on Sawaab’s desk.

Long story short. While the past few weeks have been full of finding dumped tree trunks and branches and utilizing them in various ways.  I decided, I could give that tray a facelift. The best way to organize on a busy study desk is to go vertical  ! I cut out two chunks of wood trunks and used the drill machine to drill some holes in them from above and bottom.

From not having a place to keep the pair, we not have 2 boys quarreling over who gets to keep it to display their stationery !!

I decided against painting the trunks ~ Love the rustic look against the comical child-like colors of the trays.

I love how the little branch protrudes from the main trunk. I deliberately trimmed it and kept it that way. I feel it adds character to piece. Do you ?

This was one of my fastest projects to date !! It was over in just a matter of minutes. So if you too have any two pieces of shelves that could be given a similar look, please share it with me.

I am sharing this project with my friends at the following parties including Creativity unleashed & Funky Junk Interiors

Thank you for visiting me today & I hope you enjoyed my little creative idea.

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Ikea Pigeon Hole Organizer Makeover Tutorial

I love the Ikea pigeon hole organizer.  Not necessary for functionality but I just love the look of tiny pockets ! This pigeon hole organizer  has been in the family for a couple of years.

Buddy would keep his hot wheels cars in them.  Eventually He outgrew the toys and I was only too happy to be the next recipient. Ofcourse, by now, you already know, that few things get dumped in our home, until and unless the cats chew on them or pee on them !!!

A little tender, love and makeover is all it kept screaming out to me for ~ until finally I decided to decoupage it.

Decoupage sounds like a very fancy French word but in reality, it just means to stick objects with paper cut outs. So don’t let the French term, intimidate you 🙂

The surface needs to be cleaned and sanded well. A layer of modge podge or any such medium can be applied. Then you can cut out pieces of tissue or paper and stick it on carefully. Make sure to get any air bubbles out.  When your certain, that its dried, apply another coat of modge podge to seal it. This is the tutorial in a nut shell.

Here’s the pictorial 🙂

Hideous, isn’t it ??? Whats the connection between little boys and the skull face with two cross bones, still remains a mystery to me !!

Ugly paint sticking out from our previous wall paint on its edges.

First, I gathered design paper, in various patterns and colors and decided how the collage should be placed. This project is excellent at getting rid of good by small scraps of paper !

Took measurements and decided which cutouts would contrast with which patterns. Then came my drawer of amazing edge punches ! Oh how I love Martha stewart 🙂 ok ok Fiskars, I love you too 🙂

One after the other, I distressed the edges and kept covering them all with modge podge. (I am quite the distress-addict 🙂

For the top, side and bottom, I painted some off-white synthetic paint. Two coats got me the results I wanted.

Finally, I coated one layer of modge podge on the pigeon holes.              AND ………………………………………….. VOILA !!!!!!!!

Talking of decoupage, If your looking for decoupage supplies in Dubai. I am happy to recommend the decoupage specialist, Creativa Middle East. Located at Times Square, they have a huge array of art and decoupage supplies. Definitely the go-to place for Decoupage.

 

I love the transformation and hope you liked it too.

If you like what you see at my blog, you could subscribe to my blog using any of the following media or simply ‘like’ me or ‘join’ me on the various platforms below 🙂

                 

I am linking this project to the following parties HERE.

Savvy Southern Style  , Between Naps on the porch.

Have you attempted any transformations lately ? If so, I’d love to hear about it.

Thank you for dropping by.

 

Upcycled Pizza Box into Mixed Media Canvas

Hello friends ! Becoz my sons’ summer holidays as well as the holy month of Ramadhan begins by the end of this month, my posts might be far and few in between from now on.

Today I am sharing with you a mixed media project. I love mixed media (mm) becoz it allows me to experiment without any inhibitions and rules ! I explore with colors, textures and patterns and somehow, it just ties in together.

I, rarely work on a canvas for any of my mm projects ~ being an eco-friendly person, there is always, some effort placed on upcycling or repurposing objects (which can be). Here I have upcycled a pizza box for the mm canvas. I use the back of a pizza box and I love the texture it gives. Two coats of gesso to begin with, and the texture is just so good.

Techniques used are :-

• Sponging acrylics
• Decoupage
• Paper piecing
• Recycled Pizza box

The quote is dear to my heart. Coz any place in the world is acceptable and bearable, just so long as I am with my husband.  ‘He’ is the best gift Allah swt blessed me with.

I hope you like this attempt.

I am linking my mixed media pizza box at the following fantastic parties.

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Thank you for visiting me today.

 

 

 

 

Wooden Crate Makeover ~ Tutorial.

This wooden crate is from ELC had been a resident in Eman’s room (the youngest son)  till last year,  where a couple of Action Men has established their headquarters in it.  As Eman grew older so did his collection. I made him a more suitable place as the headquarters of his Action Men. (that’s another later post)

You already know that very few storage items find their way to my trash can, hence that also meant that the little box was again at the mercy of yours truly.  I decided to work on its appearance before qualifying it to enter the “girl” domain (my craft studio)

Naturally (darlings as they are)  my boys always come to my rescue  (or should I just say, I have my ways of persuading them !!) We got all those hideous stickers out, alittle sanding, 2 coats of matt pink paint, some stencils on the longer edges and some chalk paint on the shorter edge and we have a pleasant looking crate !

 

 

I think, all the pictures are in the way of a self-explanatory pictorial. I hope you like the new look of the charming little crate. It has been housing several tiny buckets of paint brushes, copic markers, and stationery.

I am sharing this crate transformation with the following link parties here.

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Thank you for visiting me today.

Until we meet again in the virtual world,

 

 

Upcycle Cans to 8 Tealight designs.

Upcycling cans is such creative fun. However alittle caution while cutting the cans is necessary.

I have made 8 different designs out of the cans. Ofcourse, there are many more designs which can be created but for now, I am pleased with these designs.

Very straight forward ~ just cut the cans and snipe the ends to leave a pointed end. I masked the end with a little tape and spray painted the rest. After it dried (which is relatively soon). I peeled the tape and here’s what it looks like.

I’ve cut thinner stripes here. Once cut and spread on a flat surface. I folded the stripes inwards in half. Its quite simple but has a lovely effect. Then I spray painted it.

This one is probably the easiest. I cut the stripes wider and then spread it on a flat surface. Then I masked tape at two random measurements and spray painted it. when dried, I had the tapes removed to leave me with this lovely effect.

This probably looks abit complicated but its really quite easy. Like the rest, I cut thinner stripes and instead of folding it inward, I had them fold inward horizontally and hide behind the alternate stripe. kept continuing till all of them were folded and then spray painted it.

This one is slightly tricky. Cut 1/3 of the can ~ all except two stripes on the sides. Attach those stripes on the top with a stapler and spray paint the can.

Here I have just curled the stripes slightly down wards to give it a spider effect.

Using the end of a paint brush, roll the stripes inward and voila ! Spray paint.

Around 1 cm from the bottom of the can, make straight cuts toward the top. continue to do so. Once you have cut enough stripes, just squeeze the can gently to form the lantern shape. Give a gentle pull to help get the stripes out. Spray paint.

The tab of the drink can be used to hang it from a branch or a stand.

          

I’m sharing these tealight holders with my  favorite parties here.

Do you like to recycle ? Have you made any lanterns or tealight holders lately ?

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Easy Spring Wreath from recycled material ~ Tutorial.

Making a wreath does not and cannot get easier than this !!!

This simple wreath is made from cardboard from cartons, magazine paper, some ribbon and a few handmade flowers from paper, a can of spray paint and some hot glue !! This is again one project that is all about RECYCLE, REUSE, REPURPOSE !!

Cut a cardboard using a bucket rim as stencil and the inside using a large plate. Using a blade make the cut. Apply a thick layer of wood glue and adhere thick stripes of magazine paper rolled up to form a loop. Place the outer circle first followed by the inner circle.

Once they are all adhered to the wreath, spray paint some color of your desire on it. I have not covered the entire space coz I wanted parts of the print peeping thru the green. Let it dry.

I made a bunting with some leftover pieces of design paper and ribbon. Adhereing it to the bunting randomly with some hot glue.

I rolled up some scrap paper and made some flowers and attached them using some hot glue.

If you liked this spring wreath, kindly follow me at any one of these media platforms for all my future projects :-

I’m linking this wreath at my favorite hangouts  here.

Thank you for visiting me today. I leave you with one of my favorite quotes today :-

Repurposed Bedside table to a CAT TREE / Tower.

Hello friends. My last post was about the cat tree that I built with some left over wood.

You already know, there  is no dearth of cats in my home as well as outside my home. Hence, ‘ONE’ cat tree/scratching post is not going to suffice all our needs.  I’m always on the look out  for stuff that can be improvised/repurposed/upcycled and used as a cat home or shelter.

Summers in Dubai can be rather cruel. The stray cats around the house, find protection from the scorching heat under cars or the few trees in our area.

I knew that this summer, I wanted to provide Charlie and Oreo, the kittens outside our yard, a safe space to hide in the afternoon.  The first cat tree had been quite a hit with all my fur babies and it was time to try out something different and better !  God helps those who help themselves couldn’t be far from reality in this case. I found this red bed side table and knew instantly, this was my answered prayer.

That afternoon, I got to work on it ~ ofcourse with my super helpful sons (those lovely boys who are constantly lending a hand to their madly creative mom 😦  )

So this is how we found it. We removed the leftover drawer and the steel rails too.

The table was sturdy but missing two drawers. My base had to be very strong so that when the cats jumped on the higher levels, it shouldn’t knock the base and this easily qualified it.

 

Ofcourse, I dived into my pile of wood and pallets and came up with some pallet wood which was then cut to equal size and glued and nailed to a large piece of thin cork wood. (the kind that forms the back of Ikea Billy bookcases )

After gluing and nailing all four wood supports, I cut an MDF wood similar in size to the one already used with the same dimensions.

We then drilled 2/3 screws into the MDF and adhered it the four supports. My son is hammering some nails on the corners for extra strength, This guy is my wing man 🙂

……..and its already turned night 😦 We nailed the thin side of the ‘trunk’ onto the side table. Then we stapled the pieces of left over carpet onto the two, bases, above.

Ofcourse we do have a quality inspector, without who’s consent, the product is not released forward 🙂

Voila !!! There you have it !!

I stapled a tiny cat toy, made with some yarn ~ Just to lure them into trying out the new ‘hangout’

My youngest had it trolleyed to the main gate. That’s my Dad in the background. He’s one of my biggest inspirations, whom I have watched for years, churning out amazing projects.

Found its resting place close to the gate.

That’s Sofu, sharpening his nails on the carpet ~ exactly like I wanted him to do with it !!

Miscki is third in line, to inspect the “watch tower” 1st level # checked !

Second level # checked !! Miski has given her approval too 🙂

 

I love it when a project works out as I had envisioned it.  I am happy to report that the cat tree/watch tower has survived for the last three months but is inhabited totally by Pepper – my Tom. He has laid his claim on the watch tower. Its his throne becoz its placed at the point of entry into the house. He guards the house from atop the tower !!!  There are times, when I believe, there is a watch dog somewhere inside Pepper and at other times, I convince myself that he’s just a very very very territorial Tom.

What started out as an attempt to make Charlie and Oreo comfortable, turned out to be Pepper’s new turf. Oh well, that just means, I have to work on another cat tree in the near future 🙂

I am linking this cat tree idea to the following link parties here.

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Best wishes

Upcyle Pallets to Sign Boards.

Hello friends !  Since the majority of my visitors are from USA, I hope you guys are enjoying the spring. Bet all your soil beds are ready and the herbs planted already.

Today, I’m sharing a few sign boards, I made, from pallets.

I have a brand-spanking-new silhouette machine which has found its way out of the box and 8months later, I am still no closer to using it than I was, the first time, I pulled it out of its carton 😦      Any guidance, inspiration or ‘push’ will be highly appreciated 🙂

I have free-handed the writing. It was rather difficult becoz I wrote with the sharpies and the wood was not smooth. I cant say, I’m very pleased with them but I liked the ” herb garden” quite a lot.

I am sharing these sign boards with my friends at the following parties here.

Have you upcycled any pallets this week ??

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I’m so glad you stopped by my little blog corner. Please stay a while and be a part of my creative adventures.

Peace