Cheryl's Craft Room

Come behind the scenes at Sew Can Do for a #CraftRoomTour and see Cheryl's craft room.

It's perfectly positioned to get lots of natural light, but set back with some plants in front so there's no outside distractions.

Tell us about your space

My room is a former laundry room/galley kitchenette that's about 8ft x 11ft plus a 4ft x 4ft alcove. When we moved in, the alcove was a louver doored closet (sized for holding a washer & dryer) on one side and along the other wall there were a bunch of basic cabinets and a small counter with sink and a stove. We removed the closet doors and added a desk to create a sewing nook and added an additional desk along the same wall for more crafting space and storage. I still do all my oven baking/cooking with the stove and half the cupboards house various cooking and baking items I don't have room to store in my kitchen. To maximize the remaining space, I added white beadboard shelves for storing & displaying my smaller supplies and made a less-than-useful sink into a built-in ironing surface by removing the faucet and cutting a piece of MDF to fit the sink. I upholstering it with Insul-Bright™ and a layer of cute canvas fabric on top. Since it rests in the lip all the way around the sink it's perfectly lined up with the counter for extra workspace. I share the space with my 8 yr old daughter these days - she's taken over the cabinet under the sink area to keep her own scraps, mini dress form and sewing machine in so she can "work" with me when I'm sewing.

What have you done to make your space cosy, beautiful or inspiring?

This space is the one room in our house that's just for me, so I've decorated it with happy colors - lots of sunny yellow, aqua, pink. It's got a bit of a retro vibe to it with some fifties housewife decorations, geometric & floral prints and a vintage photo of my grandma, who was a seamstress extraordinaire. It's my little bit of cheery escape from the everyday.

How do you keep organized?

My organizing desks have been key. They're from The Original Scrapbox and designed to have loads of places to store craft and sewing supplies and lovely plexiglass tops so you can see what's inside the tops drawers. I saved up for a while to splurge on them and they were totally worth it. They don't make the sewing desk anymore, so I'm glad I got it when I did. To keep cleaning up minimal, I make sure to always put things away in the same place. It saves me loads of time since I don't have to dig around looking for things or struggle to remember where something is if I haven't used it in a while. I also got spool racks to mount to the wall and a big revolving thread rack to store all my threads neatly. Not only do they add some color & a bit of themed decor, but they make it easy to find exactly what I need for a project instead of digging through bins like I used to. I've got 4 kids now, so saving time and keeping things as neat as I can is a must!

Any tips & tricks for organising supplies?

Stop hoarding! Crafters fall into this trap a lot. I've been super guilty of this. For a while I practically collected supplies and saved every bit of scrap anything with the "I might be able to use this someday" mentality. I impulse bought things A LOT too. All it did was create clutter and make less room for things I used regularly. Now, I try to assess what I have every few months and if I haven't used something in a year or more or can't think of a clear plan of what I can make with it in the coming months, I try to give it away. Last summer I donated a huge box of things I wasn't using to a local home for the developmentally disabled and not only did it free up some much needed space, but it felt good knowing they'd use and enjoy the materials that were just collecting dust in my craft room.

Which are your favourite possessions and are there any of your own creations on display?

My sewing-themed knick knacks: a vintage Strawberry Shortcake figurine sewing, some My Little Pony sewing character figurines, a sewing machine USB drive and my tape dispenser shaped like a sewing machine. I love whimsical pincushions too and made a few of my own - one that looks like a little dessert cake and another that's my "Pin Garden" so the pins in it decorate the felt flowers on top and the walnut hull filling is scented with lavender. I've also got a few of bags I've designed out and about too.

How do you organise your inspiration and ideas?

I have a Pinterest board for things that inspire me and I add some notes on the pins with my project plans for them. I also keep a spiral journal where I sketch and note details for ideas when they strike, so even if I don't have time to do something, I can keep a record about it for when I can get to it.

Where do you look for inspiration?

I'm pretty eclectic when it comes to finding inspiration. Sometimes I see something in a store or catalog and thinking I could make a version of my own, other times it's just looking at a fabric or supply and envisioning it as something. Some of my best projects have actually been just random thoughts kind of out of nowhere. I try to write them down as soon as those strike so I don't forget.

If you had three wishes, what would you do to make it the dream space?

New cabinets - mine are very basic in look and design & the configuration isn't the best. Being very short means I can't reach most things in them without a step stool, so changing that would be great.

More space - it would be great to be able to spread things out more while working.

Adding a cutting counter. Right now I have a large mat in my basement since there isn't room in here, but it would be great to have it all in one room.