#MichaelsMakers - Make a Tiny Closet a Functional Closet

2016 is a year of new beginnings for me.  The #MichaelsMakers Challenge this month is to get organized, and I can't tell you how desperately I needed this.  I use to have my own craft room, a big space just for me and my art... and then life happened.

Divorce brought me to living temporarily with my parents (at the age 34, I know...), but it's been a blessing and is allowing me to get back on my feet and find myself.  As a result, though, I've lost a lot of space and have had to minimize my crafting supplies.  I went from a huge room to a tiny little closet.  And honestly, it's been SO GOOD.  I'm much more considerate when creating.  I don't hoard anymore.  It's less stressful when going through my things trying to find what I want.  However, this little closet had no shelves, so everything was just organized stacks of chaos.

When Michaels told us about their new line of organizational products, Cre8ted Spaces, and challenged us to get organized, I was so stoked!  ESPECIALLY when I saw this awesome little cart!  It fits PERFECTLY in my itty bitty closet.  It's also on wheels so I can just pull it out when I'm working on a project.

Check out the before photo and then the transformation!  I'm in love with my new tiny little creative space.  It definitely inspires me to create a little bit more!

I was able to make my yarn winder accessible, set up a little calligraphy station, store all my paints and painting supplies, sketchbooks, markers, scrapbooking supplies and leather.  All my favorite mediums so easily accessible!

Unfortunately, this line is not available on-line, so get your butt to a store.  Click here for a 40% off coupon!

For those of you that have been with ESM since the beginning, you know that sharing aspects of my personal life is not something that I do here.

The reality is, I want to share, but so many times I’ve started writing what I want to say and then I think, “nobody will care”.  So I delete it.  And then I post something completely impersonal that tells you nothing about who I am except what style of décor I like.

2016 is the year that sh!t gets real here.  I’ve been through some crap in my life.  And I know every single one of you has, too.  We already have something huge in common, something that unites us and has created a bond and that is our creativity.  So why not get real and raw about  all the things in life that inspire our creativity?   The joy, the trials, the down-hills and the up-hills. 

Maybe, once you see what’s behind the things I create, the ideas I foster, it will inspire you a little bit more.  Once you see that I’m a survivor of domestic violence, that I’ve been divorced, that I’ve lost a baby, that I have multiple health issues… you’ll realize that even though you see these organized and gloriously styled projects and photos on here, life is not, in face, perfect for me, but I am perfectly happy and incredibly grateful for every single thing in my imperfect life. 

This year, 2016, I want to be about connecting with all of you, because, quite honestly, if it wasn’t for all of you, for this community, some days I’m not sure how I’d go on.  So thank you. 

Happy New Year, friends!  Here's to a year filled with laughter, crying, growing and learning.

An InLinkz Link-up

DIY Entertainment Shelf

For the longest time, our TV in the bedroom lived on top of a cheap, ugly, Ikea dresser.  The Blu-ray player and cable box were stacked on top of each other and it was just... unpleasant.  The before is at left... it's wretched, I know!  I couldn't stand the empty space above the tv, the harsh lines of the dresser completely clashed with the rest of the room.  I just hated it.  So, we made a change.  It started with mounting the TV and concealing the cables.  We found a strip to hide the cables in that you can paint so it blends in with your wall.  But, then I had to solve the problem of where to put the Blu-ray player and cable box.  I had found these rustic brackets at an estate sale for $10 for the pair.  I had been hanging onto them, kind of unsure what to do with them when I realized they would be a perfect solution for this project.  I bought some wood at the local hardware store, stained all the pieces and screwed them together to make a shelf.  To allow the cords to be concealed within the strip, I fixed the shelf to the brackets leaving a one inch gap between the shelf and the wall.  It worked beautifully!  

Then I was frustrated with the empty space below the shelf, between the brackets.  Simple.  I got some screw in hooks and some baskets with handles... and instant storage!  I didn't even need to drill holes for the hooks, they screwed right into the wood by hand.  

Just a note... make sure your hooks are both facing the same direction so you can lift the basket and slide off the hooks.  Removing the baskets could get tricky if your hooks are both facing inward toward each other.  You can see how I did it below.

Of course, Skilo always has to get in on the photo shoots. That's okay, though.  He only makes them cuter!  I could not be more pleased with that corner, now.  I added a sweet little wicker chair from Ikea, a Nate Berkus blanket from Target, some storage boxes from Target for random documents and a basket for all the magazines I still need to read.  The drawings on the wall were done by my mom when she was a teenager.  I adore them. 

I think this corner looks infinitely better than it did before.  It doesn't make me want to close the door and never look in my bedroom again anymore.