Skitzo Leezra's New Studio

WooHoo!

The new and expanded Skitzo Leezra is being unveiled! It's been months in making and I am ready to share photos and how-tos from painted floors to fabric covered peg boards.

Take a look at a few sneak peek photos and check back for detailed tutorials and ideas.

The Master Plan

Ribbon Gutters make an appearance

Gotta be organized!

You label me, I label you

In a bind for twine

Ya know I have a ribbon fetish, right?

One day while picking up something at an electrical supply business, I spied a big roll of waxed twine. What the heck waxed twine has to do with electrical parts I dunno but I snatched it up in my greedy little hands and asked the counter guy "what's this used for?" He didn't know. Okay, how much? He didn't know the item number nor description so after a few minutes of tapping on his computer keys, he became exasperated enough to just shove it toward me and growl "take it". WooHoo, if it is FREE, it's for me!! I thanked him and bolted out of there before he changed his mind.

Waxed twine works for gift wrapping and all kinds of little household uses. Not good for macrame, it's too sticky.

Little did I know that there are fancy baker's twine out there in cool colors. Looka! 240 yards for $15.00 ~ that's .06 a yard!

Oh wait, here's a roll of 3,360 yards of packing twine for $17.40!! Available in red/white or green/white.

I smell another obsession~~~

Craft room upgrade

When pressed for space, designers will tell you to look up for storage. My craft room is getting cramped what with all the stuff people give me and the 20 roll lot of serger thread I purchased from eBay. Found 2 aluminum shelves at IKEA and installed them above the closet doors.

Wanna see more pix of the Skitzo Leezra Studio? Click HERE and even more at Flickr.

The best straight pin holder ever

Complained to Chrysanthemum that I wanted a magnetic pin holder but not one of those gosh awful plastic things you see in a fabric store.

YUCK

Nope, instead I wanted something to coordinate with the SkitzoLeezraStudio - lime green, white, black or first preference of shiny silver. (Caw, caw!)

Imagine my surprise when she presented this to me the very next day.





She found it in the automotive section of WalMart. Mechanics use the trays to hold tools and bolts and such.

Surely the utilitarian appeal and magnetic feature was enough to satisfy my wants and needs but check this out, it sticks to my metal bookshelves, vertically!

Guess I won't have to call my brother to come over and rake his bare foot across the floor to pick up stray pins and needles anymore. Those tender feet of his are so good at finding every sharp point.

HE should write Chrysanthemum the thank you note!

My name is SkitzoLeezra and I am a Ribbon Whore

It all started so innocently. Back in the day, I had preppy ribbon to match my headband to the watchband plus an interchangeable ribbon belt. (Heck, that was 20 years ago and I just recently sewed one of those old watchbands into a keyfob.) After my preppy phase passed, then began the ribbon obsession for gift wrapping. Ribbon on sale, clearance, post-holiday sell off, all of it gathered.

No nylon or this horrible shiny plastic ribbon for me. Yuck. Ugh! I just threw up in my mouth a little.

YUCK

Hemp, cotton cord, and waxed linen made the cut and serves as ribbon for men's gifts. Eventually, I began grading gift recipients on their ribbon worthiness. If I feel a recipient will reuse the ribbon, I am happy to share. Should I suspect that the ribbon will go in the trash, I'll retrieve it beforehand. My dad has actually pulled his pocketknife and CUT satin ribbon! No more, he now gets raffia. Then I moved and created the SkitzoLeezra Studio. 20 feet of gutter cut down to four 5' sections and I still needed more space! Added a shelf above gutters. Sorted ribbon in metal baskets and hung ribbon from shelf bars.

I am a ribbon whore. But not ashamed of it.

Much.

To craft or to organize?

Both make me happy but one must be done before I can enjoy the other.

Guess which?

Notion storage

Buttons and more buttons

Trim and more ribbons

Fabric sorting and vintage notions

Tools, pens and pastels

My brother tells me that my craft studio reveals a very sick person. And though is he is very judgmental, he lets me organize stuff at his house.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

NYC, baby!

Checked out the seasonal display change at Ralph Lauren's Rhinelander store. Spied cool vines attached to wall, very organic. Neat quilt composed of menswear wool squares.

Anthropologie store window stopped me in my tracks with a fantasy craft room complete with a zinc topped table, inspiration wall and loot worthy of covetousness. Oh, how I could have "liberated" that stash. Good that it was behind glass. So very good.

This array of Anthropologie tea towels caused me to utter my shopping mantra.

"Wow, that is really cute/pretty/neat.

How much?

Oh, I could make that."

As always, visited a couple flea markets. This ribbon whore had to satisfy her urges by just looking at the absurdly priced vintage ribbon. In all honesty, I would probably just look at it anyway and not bring myself to take scissors near it. A photo sufficed nicely.

Weird horse painting.

Snakeskin boots. Genuine snakeskin boots.

SO real that the head is still attached.

Nice.

And no shopping jaunt is incomplete without my other shopping mantra. Actually, it is more of exclamation.

"Caw! Caw! Shiny stuff!"

Skitzo Leezra Studio

My decorating aesthetic is all about re-purposing things for other than their original or intended use.

Plus, I like shiny things!

And a craft room or studio should be in a color that makes you happy.

These photos were taken before I added more touches, like ribbon tubes covering the black electric cord of wall mounted light fixtures and large glass jars of buttons and yet more ribbon accumulation.

Walls: Laura Ashley Apple Green

Shelving units: Lowe's
Metal table: custom
Aluminum chair: vintage

(need 10 more for the dining room!)

Fabric storage box:
shipping crate + casters + paint + galvanized aluminum panels

Wall mounted wire display:
IKEA Diginet curtain wire

Wire baskets: restaurant supplier

Ribbon storage:
Lowe's, 20' galvanized aluminum gutters, cut into four 5' sections

(Yes, I AM a ribbon whore! AND anal retentive.)