In My Corner With Running Withe Scissors

Tweet As a mother sometimes a lot is given up to have a family. Sometimes carreers, space in the house for toys ... sanity.  I've never heard that parenting is easy only that it is worth it. As my kids are growing I hope to get to the stage to say it was all worth it and convince young new moms that it does get better because I was there.  As I am writing this article I have or will have to stop at least 10 times for such things as fighting, crying baby that just wants to be held, dirty diaper(s), help my toddler redress from going to the bathroom (at least twice), get drinks, turn on the tv, read a book and lay my baby down for a nap.  I am saying this not because it has anything to do with my next corner but because mother's day is in a couple of days and I think this is the first year I understand what my mother went though.  How truely difficult being a mother can be but how much love it can bring.  And although right now it seems like the only time I can say it is worth it is when I see my two little ones sleeping quiet and soundly at the same time, I am grateful to those mothers out there. The ones who tried/tries their best and gave up at least one thing if not many things to decide to have children.  Having children changes you so Happy Mother's Day.   

I guess in one way Barbara from Running Withe Scissors did inspire my previous paragraph.  She told me that she took over her son's room when he got married and the thought crossed my mind of here is a benfit of children.  They require you to have a home with more rooms and then when they leave you have to do something in those rooms. Why not convert one to a craft room? Barbara also is lucky in love too. She has a wonderful husband who built their house and helps her execute designs for her shop.  It is good to have a companion that is supportive and enjoys your passions as well.

I love all these long tables.  There is a lot of room to work on and leave out stuff if you are stuck on a design.  I also like the tv in her room (although I secretly wonder if this is how she gets her husband to help :) ). 

She also have tons of bins and little jars for all her nick-nacks and more. I like the pegboard she uses to hang her paper punches.

 She loves it when her customers request special orders that challenge her creativity.  She creates in a wide varity of styles for her shop but she calls her style "Shabby Grunge" when she creates for herself. 

Her Tonic Paper Cutter is sharp and accurate and she can't live with out it.  I know when I scrapbooked I hated it when my little cutter's blade got dull in the middle of a project.  I imagine as a business this item is pretty important. 

Her main work station seems to be in front of the window which I like because of the light it allows in the day and it helps to make you not feel cooped up after a long day crafting. I love nature and sometimes it is nice just to look out the sliding doors next to my sewing machine to see my children playing in the yard.   Barbara started scrapbooking her children's childhood and since her youngest is 32 she has lots of experience (even as a mother) under her belt.  She did albums for her kids from birth though highschool.  After that she started to create greeting cards that she used in a Welcome Basket for new hires at the school she worked at.  When she retired she had her first fair and lots of inventory already.

She is inspired by paper patterns, crafts expo's and workshops.  She likes to see new items in the industry and talking to other crafters. She also loves to collect things when she travels and then she incorporates then into wall art that includes photos from her travels.  She takes a journal along with her when she travels and keeps details of the trip which all go into an album, on the wall or into her new designs for her shop.

Pictured above is her storage tips

"1. I store all my unmounted stamps in clear CD cases in racks mounted to the wall.  They’re labeled on the side so I can pull the stamps I need at a glance.

2. I had my husband mount picture wire to the inside wall of the closet, really high up.  I use a LOT of ephemera that goes into projects so most of it is hung on the picture wire where I can see it quickly."

Thank you Barbara for sharing your space and I enjoyed your nice organized areas (I am glad that this article helped you to get inspired to clean and reorganize. Hopefully your cleaning isn't like mine where I can't find where I put it away!!!) 

Enjoy,

Barbara (from Up To My Knees In Crafts)