That was the consensus for many people over the last year, and while I had my own hiccups, my year in comparison, was busy, but not as bad as some people.
I spent 7 months rehabbing a completely dislocated elbow from a horseback riding injury, then I had to completely remake my wedding dress (that will be a separate post) since what I ordered and what I received were two totally different things, followed by getting married, and then finding out the property we were renting, was being sold, and scrambling to find our own homestead. WHEW!
All in all, things ended up as they should have! And we can all get back to our way of life!
Since we are only 2 months into the new homestead, I thought you all would like to see some of the projects we do, as we do them!
The first thing on the list, was building my cutting table for the sewing room. Well, and getting the rest of the room in order. It's currently full of boxes, and pieces, and trims, and bolts, and, and, and, well... you get the idea.
After scouring the internet, stalking my Dear Friend Casey's sewing room, and eyeballing my space and the things I wanted, this is what was settled on:
For the base, I used three of these 9 cube organizers. You will need to adjust for your needs based on the size of your room:
9 Cube Organizer
Mr Pirate was pretty awesome, and put these together for me while I was at the office during the day. The Powder Monkey was so proud of her daddy, that when I got home she dragged me by the hand with closed eyes to show me! So sweet!
Here's what they look like together, and how I configured them:
I set them this way, with the intent that I could easily get to the plug, and still be able to have some storage underneath the table. I have not yet put the backing on the shelves, as I'm not sure I want it there.
After leaving them set up for a few days, and making sure that's what I still wanted for the final product, I took length and width measurements. 77"X 36" is what was needed.
Saturday morning, I left Mr Pirate at home with the Powder Monkey, and headed over to Home Depot to get my MDF cut.
MDF is "Medium Density Fiberboard". Don't let the name fool you, this stuff weighs a TON. It's heavy. This is the size board I had to buy and I had the guys at Home Depot cut it for me. They cut for free, and you get to keep all the pieces!
And I have to be honest. This bad boy ALMOST didn't fit in the back of my Pilot. Almost. Had to move both from seats forward, and had two very nice contractors in the parking lot help me load the pieces into my SUV. THANK YOU FOR THAT!!!!! When I got them home, Mr Pirate helped me unload, and the Powder Monkey helped by holding open doors.
Here's what it looks like unpainted:
The next thing to do, was to paint that bad boy. It just so happens, that when we bought the homestead, the contractors who painted EVERY SINGLE WALL flat white, left their giant contractor sized bucket of paint. So, rather than buying more, I just used that. It took three coats total, since the MDF was soaking the paint up very quickly and eagerly.
Here it is after two coats:
Here it is after three coats: (Not sure that you can really tell in the photos, but I assure you, there are three coats of paint:
While I waited for the paint to dry, I packed up Mr Pirate and the Powder Monkey, and we headed over to Joann Fabric.
I picked up 2 1/2 Yards of 4guage Vinyl, and two of the biggest size cutting mats that they had. Be sure to look for coupons people! I got a $5 rebate from Ibotta as well as the cutting mats were on sale, and I had more coupons from the Joann Fabric app.
Here's a pic of the vinyl going on, as well as it applied and the table top in place:
And then last thing I did, was to lay the Cutting Mats up there:
And there she is! The final product!!!!!!!!
The only other thing that I have planned to do now, is to mount some heavy duty brackets to the wall above it and add a dowel rod. That way, when I am pulling fabric off of a roll, it won't roll off the table. I'll have to add a picture of that once I find bracket that I really like!
I also plan to decorate the organizers themselves, and will most likely use the new vinyl decals you can get. This way, when I get bored, I can peel them off and put up new ones with little effort.
The next project, is to get my fabrics organized and into those cubbies!
So, all in all:
(3) Nine Cube Organizers $100
(1) Sheet MDF: $30
(1) 2 1/2 yards of 4 guage Vinyl $9
(2) 24" X 36" cutting mats: $80
Paint: I had paint on hand, but have been told that a sample size of paint worked well for someone else.
Total: $219 (this price is what it would have cost me without coupons, rebates, and a $40 gift card!)
Easy to do, and can be done in a weekend, or even a day if you are organized!!!
If you try this one, let me know! I'd love to see your variation of it!
