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Come for a #CraftRoomTour around Candice Ayala's sewing corner in Los Angeles.
My most favorite thing about my sewing space would have to be my “Happy Shelf”. It’s a little shelf right in from of my sewing table where I put all my little trinkets and memorabilia of things that make me happy.
Tell us about your space
For now, I’m sharing my space with the dining room, so really all I have is one wall and two corners. My sewing machine and serger sit on one table in the left corner and my embroidery machine sits on the cutting table on the right corner. All my fabric, crafting and sewing supplies sit in between those two tables. I do all my sewing and crafting in this space but if I’m working on a particularly big project or if I am tandem sewing, I will sometimes clear off the dining table and use there too. While everyone else is asleep tho, otherwise I'd have tiny finger prints of food and paint over everything.
What have you done to make your space cosy, beautiful or inspiring?
There’s really not a lot you can do with just two corners in a craftsman type home, but along with my happy shelf, I’ve hung up some of my favorite artwork from my kids, and a couple inspirational frames. One I got as a birthday present, and the other I DIY’ed myself using my embroidery machine and glitter!
On the nights when I’m crafting or sewing late into the night, I like to put on my lighted heart garland (I found it at Target) and it makes my corner feel a little cozier. I also enjoy having fresh flowers on my cutting table, something about fresh flowers just makes me happy and puts me in a good mood.
How do you keep organized?
With the very limited space, the one thing that has made my sewing space more efficient is using a lot of clear plastic binds and drawers. A LOT. When I started “collecting” fabric I had two solid colored plastic bins and I would make such a mess trying to find a specific fabric because I couldn’t remember which one they were in. I soon learned that clear plastic bins were the way to go! With the clear bins and drawers, I can tell what’s in there with just a simple glance. The drawers and bins are also stackable, so they make wonderful space savers. Storing my supplies this way also protects them from elements like dust or pet hair but most importantly it keeps my spirited three-nager out of my supplies and out of trouble. (haha)
Any tips & tricks for organising supplies?
One really great trick or tip beside using the plastic bins, is using comic boards to create mini bolt for storing fabric. Comic Boards are inexpensive and they worked out beautifully if you have small yardages of fabric. I was able to store twice as much fabric using comic boards than I would have if I had just folded them normally. And look how pretty it looks, I’m able to see everything here all at once without having to dig up the bin and make a mess.
Which are your favourite possessions and are there any of your own creations on display?
Gosh this is a tough one. I have so many favorite possessions in this small space. If I had to choose one from my Happy Shelf it would have to be the Willow Tree music box my husband gifted me one Christmas. Whenever I’m feeling overly stressed, I just wind it up and let it play. I have a couple pieces of fabric that I treasure and will probably never cut into because they are so pretty and no longer in print. As far as tools go, I love my curve rulers and my glammed up scissors and magnetic pin holder ( I DIY'ed those myself!). Something about golden tools makes me happy! (haha) I don't have any projects on display at the moment because I had to clean up my room to take pictures for you (bwahaha!)
How do you organise your inspiration and ideas?
You know, I’m still working on getting better at this. I have a notebook I usually jot stuff in and I’ve started using Google Calendar to help me map out my blog posts and projects and that has been really helpful. But I think this year I’ll try to make better use of my Pinterest board too.
Where do you look for inspiration?
90% of the time it’s my daughter. She really is my muse. The other 10% would happen as I am working and an idea will come to me as going through my patterns matching fabric to trim. Whenever this happens, I have to bring it to life, or my mind won’t let me sleep. #truestory
If you had three wishes, what would you do to make it the dream space?
Wow, gosh…if I had three wishes to create the dream crafting/sewing space, my first wish would be to actually have a room just to myself, just for me. My second wish would be for the room to be big enough to also have a space designated for indoor photoshoots (because sometimes the weather doesn’t permit us to leave the house) and my third wish, I’d ask for a cozy, quiet reading nook in the last corner of my room, because besides sewing and crafting, I do very much enjoy reading a good book.
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