Tag Archives: my studio/office

Home Decor // my studio tour

September 12, 2014

I was just going through some old photos, and I realized that I never posted a full tour of my studio here on the blog.  It makes me a little to sad to look at these pictures since we have since moved to our new home.  I sure do miss that wallpaper.  I just may have to order it for my new studio. It’s Schumaucher Birds and Butterflies.  I hung it up myself, strip by strip.  It was quite the labor of love, so it made it hard to leave it.
I loved the setup of my old studio.  It was just the right size to have two desks agains the wall.  One I used to make armelle jewelry, and the other desk for blogging!  It was perfect!
I stored all of my beads and items to make my armelle jewelry in the cabinet above that I got at Ikea.
And, remember my hutch that was my in-laws that I repainted?  It stored my large collection of bakers twine, books, a fabric stash and a few other fun vintage items.
I kept a few extra tolix stools in the studio in case anyone came over for a craft night! The painting is thrifted.
I blogged about my craft closet organization here, but here are a few shots of how I organized it with wooden dowels.
I know, I am a bit of a craft hoarder, I’ll spare you the rest of the closet, wink.
I’ve talked about my floors a little bit before on the blog.  But, they are stained concrete since this was a basement room.  There is a line of concrete paint at Home Depot that you can tint to any color you want.  You just have to make sure you clean, sweep and mop out the concrete first, then use the concrete primer, then the tinted concrete paint, then a top coat of shiny cement sealer.
The dorothy draper style small dresser I had between my desk was a classified find that I repainted to store my packing supplies.
Part of my washi tape collection.  I have an obsession with tape, and when I found these little containers at Michaels to put them in, I was sold!
I will say that I do miss walking down the hall to see that view.  Sigh.  I think I’m going to have to order that wallpaper again.  Would you recreate the same room because you liked it so much?  I am still deciding on what to do in my new studio, flooring wise etc.  I think my heart is still stuck on that birds and butterflies wallpaper.  So, stay tuned.. we will see what I end up doing.
See more of my old studio here.
Also, I am looking to partner with some home decor brands coming up with some projects and rooms I am putting together in my new home.  If you are interested in a partnership, please email me at: carolinearmelle@gmail.com
{photos by me}

my studio closet …

December 3, 2011

I have been trying to get organized in my little studio/office.

When we finished the room, we built lots of shelves in the closet to store all my junk.  and, trust me, I have a lot of junk (there is a reason i’m only showing half of the closet, ha!)

I like the idea of putting things in clear labeled bins, so that i could see what I needed faster.

I love to use the inside of doors for organization whenever i can.  so, i was thrilled to find this wrapping paper holder idea from bri of the collected blog.

I bought the wooden dowels, and had them cut them to the size i needed in the store.
The metal hooks are from Lowes.  it took me forever to find them, like 4 trips to lowes.
there are in the hardware isle and are 3 1/2″ metal hooks made by stanley national.

I just had the dowels cut to the width of the door, and then i screwed in the metal hooks about two inches in, so the dowels wouldn’t slip off.

i love being able to hand my go to wrapping paper from it, i also hung my freezer paper, and i used hooks from ikea on the lower one to hang my rulers.
i added a magnetic strip from ikea to hold all my scissors and cutters.  (high from my children’s reach)
the wooden thread holder is from joanns.  it has been nice to have all my thread in one place so that i don’t always keep buying the same color because i can’t find it.

the other closet door, i hung a hook set from ikea to keep my broom and my favorite go to brown kraft paper bags.

it feels good to get a few things organized around the studio.  now, i just need to keep it clean… ya wish me luck with that.

{photos by me, caroline armelle drake}

magnetic chalkboard frame …

November 30, 2010

i have had big plans to make a magnetic chalkboard for my studio for a long time.
i’ve had the frame forever, and actually started the whole process over the summer.   so, over thanksgiving weekend, i finally got a minute to finish it!  so, here it is!  with a cute note from the husband i found today!

here’s a little run down of how i did it.

DIY / how to make a magnetic chalkboard frame:
what you need:

  • frame
  • sheet metal, cut to frame size with tin snips. {all found at a hardware store}
  • spray paint {if painting frame}
  • primer paint
  • sponge paint brush
  • chalkboard paint
  • small nails or industrial strength glue
instructions:
  • spray paint your frame the color of your choice.
  • cut sheet metal to size of the inside of the frame using tin snips.  
  • wipe off sheet metal with a cloth and let it dry.
  • paint one coat of primer onto sheet metal.
  • let dry for at least two hours or overnight.
  • paint one coat of chalkboard paint.  let dry overnight
  • paint one more coat of chalkboard paint, and let it dry for 24 hours.
  • rub chalk all over the chalkboard painted sheet metal and rub off all the chalk to set the chalkboard.
  • place sheet metal in frame, and set it in with small nails, or you can use industrial strength glue.
  • hang up and go crazy with your new chalkboard / magnet board!
  • voila!
it’s great that it is not only a chalkboard, but also you can use magnets to hang whatever you want on there!  {i even hung up my chalk with a little glue and a magnet!}
let me know if you have any questions!