Review: Pretty Organised

This month we were given the opportunity to review the Pretty Organised book by Jane Hughes.  It popped through the doors of Sammy's shop, Sew Crafty and was a pleasure to leaf through and gain inspiration from.

There is a lovely index with small pictures of the projects divided into the rooms in which the projects would fit.  This is a great way to divide up the different ideas and so it gives you a great excuse to see what that next-room-you-just-have-to-get-finished needs.  There is a mix of quick simple achievable projects and things that would take a little longer, so something for everyone.

The projects themselves are clear and easy to follow.  Each project has written instructions and a few pictures to help you along, aswell as the tools and materials you will need.  We loved this wall box and H found a very similar box in Homebase the other day for all of you that fancy having a go.

This Wall pocket organiser is so good to use up those little bits of fabric left over for the pockets and would look great in a children's bedroom or an adults of course.  You could make as many pockets as you like and make it fit all your bits and pieces too.

Just look at this storage trolley too!!!!  Everyone was going crazy for the Ikea Raskog trolley last year, but you could make your own!  Perfect for the laptop to have a rest or just to look oh so pretty in the corner!  Perhaps a drinks trolley for parties?  I know, so retro, but we are in those times, right?!

Next up is a project that I think Sammy might love and its not just due to the stickers involved!  The Meal planner, we all know that leaving it till the evening to decide on what your having for dinner is a recipe for disaster and so planning not only saves you time, but money aswell, alongside throwing away less food and that is no bad thing.  If you have a family it can be a godsend to fend off any 'what are we having for dinner' questions too.

All in all, the Pretty Organised book is lovely.  Some great projects and easy to understand instructions all really help, along with the lovely paper it is printed on and the fact that it is just a book which, well, just has our kinds of projects in.  This would make a great gift for someone who is moving home or trying to get organised.  But then, there are also some great projects so that they can make them for you too, so its a win win if you buy it as a gift!  The main problem is choosing which one to do first!

H & Sammy


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Craft Storage Sammy's Craft Room

You may remember back in January, H and I shared our Craft Spaces.

Recently I have had a few people asking questions about how I store my craft supplies and wanting a closer look at my craft room so I thought I would share a few of my storage solutions with you today.

I am a person who needs to see everything I have, otherwise I forget and supplies go unused. My mum once bought me a card that said "My room is not a mess, I just have have everything on display...like a Museum'' meant to be a joke, I'm sure, but totally my way of thinking.

Most of the storage I have accumulated over the years have been charity shop finds. Pots and bowls, mugs and jars, trays and boxes all collected with storage in mind.

I keep my pens in a collection of jars and mugs, I love my S mug from Anthropologie but the handle is a little small to use as a mug so I popped my craft tools in it. As you can see I keep small buttons and random bits and bobs in glass bonbon dishes so I can pick out little embellishments when I need them.

Old school letter holders are a great for things like stickers, I can easily flick through to get what I need.  I also keep all my alphabet sets together in a clear box next to them so all my stickers are together. These are both on my windowsill in front of me so I have decorated them with little trinkets and gifts from friends that make me smile.

I have a crazy amount of buttons! I have collected them all my life, so when I found this set of massive glass storage jars for £1.00 each in my local charity shop I pounced.  I have organised my shelves by colour, so I have my buttons organised by colour too. It is so much fun going through my collection to find just the right one, like rummaging in a sweet shop!

I use silicone cupcake cases for collecting together little bits for projects or for sorting out sets of buttons. The ribbon boxes were a gift from my mum, I keep all my skinny ribbons in those as they get so tangled otherwise. You could easily punch holes into some small storage boxes to create something similar. Kilner jars are great for storing small embellishments because they are clear you can see things easily and you can normally pick them up for a pound or two in charity shops.

My wider ribbons are all wound onto these little kraft bobbins I found from boqinana

 on Etsy.com and stored in these fabric drawers I found in a charity shop. Another piece of storage I love is this cake stand where I store my favourite handle stamps, fabric labels, my bucket pincushion, clips and pins. It is a great space saver.

This little shelving unit thing I have had since I was little, it used to hang on my bedroom wall with lots of little ornaments in, I found it in my parents loft a while ago and gave it a lick of paint, so I can store all of my most used stamps and punches in.

This is a ceramic paint mixing tray, it has cute little segments, perfect for little jewellery findings and odd beads. I can separate them by theme or colour so when I have a little collection together I can make something that is co-ordinated.

I hope you enjoyed that little close up tour of my favourite craft storage. 

How do you store your crafts? We would love to see! Put a link in the comments and we will come take a look.

Sammy xxx