My sewing room (closet) re-organized (somewhat)

I mentioned that I was cleaning my sewing room a while back. I'm ready to share. It may look a lot like what I have shown in the past. What you don't see is how crammed full of stuff it had gotten. I wouldn't want to show you that!! Seems like I just kept adding and adding and I needed to take some things away. Now, I can breathe in here again. It's a small space (7 1/2 ft X 9 1/2 feet). Too small to be a room, but to me it's nice and cozy. It was originally a small cellar, when we remodeled the basement, it became a closet.

Come on in...



This is the wall that I face when I am sitting.


I took down all the flowers and found all kinds of things underneath...baskets etc. that I didn't even remember having!! I rearranged them by color. Below I folded my smaller fabric and I can actually see what I have. I separated them by 1 yard, 1/2 yard and 1/4 yard.


I came across a label maker that I don't even remember buying. So, everything got labeled, well almost everything.


The bigger pieces of fabric are hanging. I measured each pc and refolded, with a note pinned on it with the size.


This hook is where I hang what I am working on. And, it ends up being a reject place as well. It's so hard to give up on something that isn't working. So, I just put them in a box and stuck them away.



I love this shelf. I put up all the odd shaped but cute containers. I wanted to put all my old jewelry in a clear container. This isn't even a fraction of all of it....hey it was the 80's..ya know?


This corner is my yarn. I don't have an enormous collection. Do you see the pretty doll? That's Annabelle. I won her last year during the One World One Heart. She is a beautiful handmade doll and she moves around, she doesn't like to stay in one place long.

This is my pattern collection....I have lots of them!

I don't have a fancy machine. I bought this out of the paper years ago. It suits my needs just fine....I wouldn't turn down a fancy machine mind you, but I am grateful for what I have.


Here is a project waiting to happen. I would really like to create something wonderful in this space. I'm not an artist or a decorater, so it's difficult to come up with an idea. That's one thing I love about blogging, I get to see the wonderful things that others post, then I can use others ideas for my space.

This chest of drawers my daughter left behind when she left years ago (she can't have it back now). On the top I have some books, I tried to purge...the only book I got rid of was one that was all about 80's fashion. I guess it's almost vintage now. The pin cushions are special to me, the blue one on the left I got in Hong Kong, the one next to it was made by a friend, the red one is full of sand that is from my Grandma's pin cushion that wore out, and the silver one is a musical pin cushion also my Grandma's.

A couple of drawers are full of interfacing. This drawer is the one I use the most.

All this thread and I still often don't have the color I need. I try to by thread whenever I buy fabric.

I have a serger, it's from Walmart, so it's not the best one. It drives me crazy actually, I have the most trouble with it. Here is my small collection of serger thread.


I have managed to spill out into the multipurpose room. These two cabinets are now for crafting. Luckily I have plenty of room inside that is still available....shall we go shopping?


Ugh. I loved this wallpaper that I put on them back in the 80's. I wish that they were the original white. That's a project for another day.

Inside the left one I have dedicated the space to all things Wrapping. I told my daughter to always come over to wrap things. I have a lot of stuff to use up!!

So, there you have it. Thanks for taking the tour. Happy crafting to you!


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About me...

I am sitting here in my home office, flying around the world on a magic carpet ride (see my post about One World One Heart). I am amazed by all the wonderful blogs and the intriguing artistry of so many people. My blog began a couple of years ago as I discovered a few blogs that drew me in and as I visited more and more, I was hooked. I love the little peek into the lives of bloggers and I am so happy to learn and grow from the experience. With all the new folks visiting Lulu's Cottage, I thought a quick introduction was in order.

I live in a rural area of Northern California, in the mountains. I was always a City Girl and now I can honestly say that I love the country way of life. I'm a happily married mother of 3 grown kids and 2 beautiful granddaughters. I am truly blessed to be able to work from home with my own business, Isagenix. It's a program of health and nutritional cleansing that changed my life (literally) 6 years ago. (you can read my story by clicking on the box "myskinnystory" on the upper left of my blog) And, I am able to share this business with others who would also benefit from a home based business. In fact, I met my dear dear friend and business partner Emily from my blog. (Hi Emily...I appreciate YOU and our friendship!)

I have 2 doggies and 3 kitties who sometimes find their way into Lulus Cottage. Sewing is my first passion in the crafting world. I love to make garments to wear. Most of my creations end up in the "reject pile", but I can't stop myself! Sometimes I say that I have Crafting Attention Disorder. I see something wonderful and I immediately want to make it! So, add to sewing: beading and all things jewelry making, knitting, crochet and home decorating.

My little blog is a place to share what I'm excited about in the moment. Right now, I am completely consumed by being in a band. This is a long story...but here I am, in a Rock N Roll band. It sounds crazy just telling you about it. I love it and it has been an incredible journey of personal growth. One year ago, I wouldn't even sing in the shower. Now I'm singing into a microphone, is that crazy or what?

Thanks for stopping by, I hope to see you again and call you friend.

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One World One Heart

Welcome to Lulu's Cottage. Lulu here (aka Stephanie). If you are stopping by from the One World One Heart event, nice to meet you. I know you have about a billion blogs to visit, so I will be quick.

I found OWOH last year and I had a BLAST visiting ALL (yes, I went to each and every one!). the wonderful entries. I found some new favorites to follow. I was amazed by the artistry of so many people. I won some fabulous give aways from all over the world. I can't tell you how excited I am that it is time for OWOH again!

If you do not know what the OWOH event is....oh boy are you in for a BIG surprise! click here look at the list of participants and start visiting!

On to my give away. I crocheted scarves for Christmas and I loved them so much I made some just for OWOH. From left to right: light purple multi, navy and light blue, brown and blue multi, lavender and plum, red black and gray. Each scarf will have a winner.

A close up for you.... It got crazy last year....so I will be crocheting away with scarves to add if the amount of entries gets really big. I have a gray and black multi on the way right now.

To enter. Leave a comment with your EMAIL ADDRESS (I have to contact you if you win, right?). If you are a OWOH participant, please tell me your entry number so I can come see you! And, if you like, tell me your favorite scarf color, either from these that I have shown or a color that you would like....who knows?

The winners will be chosen on Feb 15.

Enjoy your trip around the world as you flit from blog to blog...have fun! I can't wait to get started visiting everyone.

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We survived the storm

It's raining again. That is a whole lotta rain! The snow is melting and we avoided any major damage. A friend of mine posted a picture on Facebook of a huge oak tree that fell at his place and that same day the picture showed up on the Sacramento News stations (2 of them!).


In the midst of all this WINTER are signs of spring....the daffodils are starting to come up!


We lost our electricity twice. One day for a couple of hours the other day was six. My handy friend here is my "wind up" radio. It sure does make my arm sore, but it's nice to have. You just wind the crank of the side and the radio comes on.


This is my old phone. I keep it in the cupboard just for when the power goes out. It has a really long cord. I was chatting with a girlfriend and I told her that I couldn't talk anymore because I couldn't keep HOLDING the phone up to my ear. I am so spoiled by my headset!


I found a few things to do while the power was out. This doesn't take any electricity:


Tomorrow the One World One Heart begins! Come back and see what I am giving away!


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New Hat and Scarf

It's raining...no POURING today. I live in California and we are having a DOOZY of a storm! It's okay. It can rain and rain...it can snow...just leave the power ON and I will be just fine!! Everything I had planned for today has been cancelled. It's a nice opportunity to do some blogging, cleaning...and who knows?


This is the same hat I made for my son for Christmas, except mine has the earflaps. I also made his tighter around the face. I love this yarn, it's sooooo soft!


I think it needed a scarf. I tried making it with horizontal stripes, but I couldn't figure out how to keep the sides even. So, I switched to vertical.


Just in time for all this cold weather!

I'm so excited about the coming One World One Heart event that is coming soon!

Stay dry!!


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New Year's Eve

We had a "Groovy" New Year's Eve. Our Band, Crystal Image, performed our show "Hippie Party" at the Schoolhouse. Lot's of fun, dancing and singing along to all the favorites!




The Band plus our friends who helped us man the door.


Far Out.


Happy New Year. 2010. Going to be a FABULOUS year!!


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2009 A Year in Review

What a year. Time to reflect and review. I am joining with Cindy at My Romantic Home to look back over the year and share.



I had a wonderful year in my home based business as a Health and Cleansing Coach. I have personally coached many many folks in to Improved Health, Better Sleep, More Energy and Released Pounds and Inches like Crazy! I love helping people and hearing those happy comments about how our program has changed their lives is what keeps me going. I have taken on some new business partners in 2009 that have become more than partners more than friends (you know who you are!!).

I look forward to helping more people in 2010 with health and also how to make serious money working from home. more here: www.myskinnystory.com We are beginning a weight loss challenge right after the New Year....would you like to join us? email me.



I found Facebook early in 2009 and I've been hooked ever since. It makes me feel connected to the "outside" world. I work from home and live far from town, so it's nice to have friends that are constantly there. Are you on Facebook? Come find me isastephanie@yahoo.com

In Feb I found the One World One Heart Giveaway event. It was pretty much at the end and I was so happy that I found it. I gave away a crystal necklace that I made. I visited each and every participant, I think it was over 900. Wow. That was a blast.

And, I won several wonderful handcrafted items. My favorite was Miss Annabelle. You will see her again when I show you my finished (well it's not finished yet) sewing room reFRESH.

I did alot of sewing, mostly Refashion. Did some beading, knitting and decorating.

Then in March, I started guitar lessons. I wanted to learn to play for our camping trip in June. In April, my teacher asked me to sing with his group. I thought he was crazy. By June I was performing at the local Farmer's Market. That continued through the summer.


By Fall I was in the band and doing Gigs (that what we call a show....who came up with that anyway?). Music has dominated ever since. Hubby joined the band with his harmonica. We are both learning new instruments (more about that in the future). Here is the band: www.crystalimagemusic.com



Over the summer we lived for those wonderful family BBQ's!! And, brunches and sitting on our deck just enjoying where we live.


I also participated in Pink Saturday pretty consistently up until mid summer. I'm hoping to jump back in, I really miss my pink friends!


Family vacay in June...that was so fun. And, yes, I did play my guitar. We are really looking forward to this year.

This was the year of rafting for us. We love to raft in Yosemite, but that season is very short. This year we found a cool place close to home. I can't wait to go again!






At the end of summer we were graced with a visit from our beautiful Granddaughters. Aren't they precious! This was at our visit to Tea Eras.


In November I actually finished my project for my ASG group "Classic Clothes". I have procrastinated with this project for years. It took a luncheon to make me finish it!! That was so fun, those ladies are truly talented!!

In December I was elected to be President of Amador County Women's Network for 2010. I'm super excited about it and looking forward to a whole lot of fun and networking. It's a fabulous group and it is an honor for me to serve as President. Yay!

We had a wonderful Holiday Season, Thanksgiving and Christmas with our family, and we hope that you did too! Right now, I'm enjoying this quiet time after the holidays. I'm setting my goals and plans for 2010. I just know it's going to be a great year!

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