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Creatively Organized Spaces

Wonderful Whites

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I haven’t done Texture Tuesday’s lately where I share here and over at Kim Klassen’s Cafe some images I post process with Kim’s great textures. Today’s been rainy and I’ve been in a creative mood listening to blues and jazz so I was inspired to share some of the wonderful flowers I’ve enjoyed this spring and summer here in Charleston and up at Brookgreen Gardens.   Each has two layers of textures (reverie & love in layers). I don’t like to do a lot of post-processing but with some photo’s it just works!  I’ve also finally jumped on instagram if you would like to check out my daily photo’s you can find me there as hkpowers. I love the square format which I’ve been told “works” with my sense of composition!

Grand Dame in Pink (Magnolia)

Coming and Going (Rose of Sharon or Hibiscus)

Grand Gardenia

Here to heaven (Jasmine)

These four white summer stunners are favorites.  I couldn’t grow Gardenia or Jasmine in the DC metro area but their fragrances are locked into my memory of summer and take me back to my days of living in Savannah and upstate GA where we had Gardenia’s growing outside our bedroom windows.  The sent of both is divine, but my all time favorite flower is Gardenia.  A few years ago I was lucky to be in Argentina on my birthday and they were blooming, what a wonderful birthday gift!  All of these are just about done blooming down here in zone 8 but we still have lot’s of other summer bloomers on the way.  What’s blooming where you live today?

A Tiny Kitchen Makeover

by Filed Under: Organize, Organizing Projects Leave a Comment

First, my apologies, these photo’s are not very good! I think those of you who regularly read my blog know that I’m normally a much better photographer.  These were taken with my new phone and I’m still getting use to the settings.  Okay, on with A Tiny Kitchen Makeover!  This project was in a very small home (just over 800 Sq’) in the historic Byrnes Down neighborhood.  The homes in this neighborhood were built in the 40’s as “war homes” and their sizes reflect this historic fact.  This particular house is the home of 2 adults and 2 kids who love to cook and entertain but their very limited cabinet/cupboard space has made it challenging.   In the 4 hours we worked, we tackled 6 of the 8 cabinets in the kitchen.  These 6 cabinets must hold ALL the food and dishes.  The remaining 2 cabinets are under the sink and above the refrigerator.

Above the sink-Open cabinet

Because this is an open cabinet (i.e. dust will accumulate etc) I wanted it to be filled with frequently used items that were not cluttered looking so we opted for glasses and a few serving pieces.  The top shelf contains seasonal and less used items.

Dishes and Glasses

The daily china and smaller glasses stayed in this cabinet.  Less frequently used barware was moved to the dining room and a shelf riser was installed to double the amount of short glassware and coffee mug storage.  Again the top shelf contains fine china and less frequently used items.

Lower Storage Left

The opposite side of the kitchen (this is a galley style kitchen) only contains 4 cabinets.  This side has a trash can that lives in front of one side so the left had to store less frequently used items such as larger serving pieces and small appliances/accessories.  Whenever possible I like to use containers to keep like items together, this makes it easy to locate the items when you need them and know exactly where to put them away.  We took advantage of the tall space to use another riser for canned goods.  A few frequently used utensils hang on the inside of the door since there are only 2 drawers in this kitchen.

Lower Storage Right

This side (of the oven/stove) holds the cooking items and every day items used to make the kids lunches.  By corralling all the wraps, bags, foil etc. into a door mounted unit these items are now easily accessible without bending down and digging through the cookware.  The deep cabinets allowed for this good size unit to be installed and the other door can still be used if needed.  Doors are a great place to store things when space is tight.

Food Storage Upper Left

All the food staples need to fit into two cabinets less than 30″ wide.  The other drawback to these cabinets is the lack of shelving, with only 2 useable shelves in each it was necessary to bring in shelf risers to accommodate more storage.  The client may install additional risers or shelves in the future to fit even more in but we decided to work within boundaries of only purchasing 4 items (2 shelf risers, one stepped spice rack and the inside the door unit for the foil etc). The top shelf contains baking goods and other less frequently used foods.

Food Storage Upper Right

Lastly the upper right cabinet contains the more frequently used breakfast and snack foods as well as pastas, rice and other staples on the top shelf (where a step stool can be used to access them relatively easily).  When its constantly necessary to use a step stool I recommend finding a small collapsible one that can be mounted on the wall or slid into a tight space for easy accessibility.

Shortly after leaving this client she sent me this email:

“So excited to use our organized kitchen! Thank you Heather!”

As with all organizing projects it’s important to re-evaluate how well the changes you made are working for you.  I will follow up with this client to tweak things and be sure the “system” is working for them.

Women for Women Wednesday

by Filed Under: Inspiration & Education, Wellness & Mindset Leave a Comment

I missed International Women’s day on May 8th but I’ve seen so many fantastic women for women stories and websites recently I thought I’d share a few.  I found this beautiful video about the work that Kate Spade is doing with Women for Women in the latest issue of Lonny Magazine.  Check out the video and the free digital magazine, this issue hits it out of the park-REALLY Fantastic!

“Just think GUNS have a constitutional amendment protecting them and WOMEN don’t.” -Eleanor Smeal

[vimeo 41907299 w=500 h=281]

On a local level, I will be joining ECEW [East Cooper Entrepreneurial  Women] and Center for Women now that I’m in Charleston.  On any level, weather it’s local or international, women have to stick together and support one another.  Especially in light of the recent attacks on women’s rights!

However you are inspired to help other women, in your community or in a community somewhere else around the globe I hope you will find the recent assaults on women’s rights a call to action.  Below are some fantastic organizations doing so much for women.

Women around the world still struggle for equal rights, here in the USA it’s not a matter of life and death for most of us but I hope you will remember that we haven’t gained our equality yet and there is so much more that we need to do, for ourselves and for our sisters around the world!

UPDATE January 2017…This is #WhyIMarch at the Women’s March on Washington! I continue to be concerned about women’s equality and women’s rights and will always stand up and do what I can to help pave the way to progress for women and equality for all!

Creative transformation in action

by Filed Under: Organize, Organizing Projects, Paper management 2 Comments

When I arrived this room and walk in closet were crowded with many years worth of papers (personal, financial, you name it) mixed in with the genealogy papers.  Together we set to the task of sorting through these papers and deciding what to keep, what to toss and what category the keepers fell into. We began working together in one room tackling the transformation of the guestroom into something more comfortable for guests and also creating a functional work space where this client could work on the computer and her family genealogy projects. The practice of Patience teaches us creative transformation in action. It requires a slow and steady approach but by sticking with it we are rewarded in the end! [Read more…]

Textile Tuesday::Stress Reducing Sewing

by Filed Under: Art & Design, Handmade, Inspiration & Education, Textiles & Pattern, Wellness & Mindset 2 Comments

A very talented and good friend of mine, Betz White, sometimes asks me to do a little pattern testing for her when she’s preparing something new and wonderful to publish.  I had volunteered to participate in some testing for her recently and when she sent me the pattern my initial reaction was to be kind of freaked out.  The pattern in question required some piecing involving sewing hexagons.  Oh boy, I am not a quilter and I would consider myself  only a moderately skilled seamstress.  I took a step back and thought/read through the pattern and decided to give  it a shot.  I love hexagons and since they are part of my logo and my brand identity I though it might be cool to be able to sew some hexagons and incorporate them into my art and designs in the future.

Stress Reducing Sewing

I decided to use some scraps of silk dupioni I had done some rust dying on.  The aesthetic of these are very different from what Betz uses but I was working with a limited selection from my stash that I have here in my temporary home.  I choose 2 contrasting colors, the silver and a dark red brown that both had rust spots.  The repetition of the process is quite fun and can be done in batches, first cutting out all the pieces, laying them out, pinning, stitching, pressing, stitching etc…

The only part I got a little unsure of was the back side of the Y shaped union where 3 hexes come together.  It’s a little figity to get them to press flatly.  There can also be a very small hole here which I was worried about but in the end realized it was fine (I’m a bit of a perfectionist!).  There is a certain amount of patience and care needed to do this and I found it stress relieving because it forced me to slow down and focus on the process.  If you have the desire to try piecing hexagons, take some advise from Betz and go check out Lady Harvatine’s video.  I can’t show you the finished piece but go check out Betz’s patterns and keep an eye out for the new pattern she has previewed here that will use hexagons!

I love the way these turned out!  I will be doing more of this, I guarantee it.  Like I said it was a very soothing, repetitive, tactile process for me.  I did this project in the midst of my in law’s kitchen table over a 2 day period with limited space, materials etc…never the less I feel I learned a beautiful new skill and got a beautiful piece from this process.  Maybe you would like to give sewing Hexagons a try?  I’m not saying I’ll be turning to quilting but I will be incorporating this new skill into my work in the future.  Do you enjoying doing repetitive projects to reduce your stress?

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Friday Fieldtrip::Whispering Wings Fancy Flyers

by Filed Under: Inspiration & Education, Photography 3 Comments

As a part of my ongoing training and overview for volunteering at Brookgreen gardens I got to visit the Whispering Wings Butterfly exhibit.  This is one of the areas I want to be trained to work in (along with the sculpture conservation department and horticulture).  There are literally hundreds of butterflies in the exhibit and some I’d never seen.  A few are native to coastal SC but most of these species are not and they have strict procedures for making sure there are no escape artists!

Monarch, Zebra Longwing, Polydamas Swallowtails, Pipevine Swallowtails, Spicebush Swallowtails, Julias, Buckeyes, Queens, Painted Lady, and American Lady are among other species you will see there if you visit.

This  Tiger striped butterfly was among my favorite and was my husband’s favorite (of my photos, he didn’t join me this time).

But my favorite had to be the malachite, I just love anything green!  This exhibit runs all spring and summer, check it out if you are in the area!

PS.  Did you know that this week was/is National Volunteer week?  Do you volunteer?

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Simple Joyful Things

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In honor of the simple joyful things in life!

simple joyful things

10 Simple things that bring me joy…

1. Taking photo’s

2. Sunsets

3. Time with friends (family friends, new friends & old friends)

4. Laughter, especially from children

5.  Chocolate

6.  Neat and organized spaces

7.  Walks on the beach

8. Hugs

9. Waterfalls

10.  Flowers, in the garden, in my house, in photo’s-anywhere

Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple. — Dr. Seuss

The simple life::Living with Less

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Makeover Monday::His & Hers Walk in Closet

by Filed Under: Closets, Home, Organize, Organizing Projects 1 Comment

This was a case of a beautifully designed closet that just wasn’t functioning so well.  Without calling in anyone to redesign the closet or purchasing anything new we made do with what they had and re-organized some things so that more of what was needed fit into the closet in a neat and tidy way.

Her Side (Before left: After right)

About 4 hours later (mostly working by myself on this project) I had this closet finished.  On her side I sorted tops, bottoms and long dresses and jackets by clothing type and color.  I re-located less used special occasion items to a second guest room closet, created drawers designated for specific items such as hats, jewelry, belts and lingerie.  This freed up space for the client to use other bedroom furniture drawers for items that should not be hung such as sweaters, other knits and casual/frequently used items.

His Side (Before left: After right)

On his side I sorted full suits by season putting the warmer season suits to the front since we are shifting towards summer (at least here in the south).  This client also has quite a collection of bow ties and suspenders which I hung on a multi section hangers (often used for scarves or pants).  Again I sorted shirts and pants/shorts by type and color leaving suspenders attached to several pairs of pants in this case.

We got rid of almost everything on the floor and many of the decorative boxes and items cluttering up the shelves.  We used the shelves for shoes (both in and out of boxes and drawer bins), bags, hats (on the top shelves) and photo albums.  She liked keeping these albums in the closet but if she needed more shelving space she could remove them to another area in the future.  The closet is a nice space to keep photo albums if you have the room and you can always pull out a few at a time to have on display in a more public room of the house.

Tip: Store items that are not needed often in the back of deep corner shelves in containers that are easily pulled out.  For example shoe; a shoe shining kit. Label the edge of shelves so you know what’s hiding in the back of each.

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Friday Fieldtrip::Springtime in the South

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I have a lot going on behind the scenes and I’m not quite ready to share as I mentioned in a previous post BUT…I want to share some of what I’ve been doing!  I recently decided to apply to volunteer at Brookgreen Gardens and last Tuesday I was “interviewed” and “oriented” to become a part of that team.  I am so excited, as a Master Gardener in both Maryland and Georgia I’ve been itching to get my hands in the dirt here and begin to learn more about the coastal plants I’m not familiar with.  The Master Gardener program in SC is run through Clemson and I missed the cut off for the first class of the year so while I’m waiting and deciding if I want to continue as a Master Gardener here I opted to jump into the Brookgreen opportunity!  This place is one of my favorite public gardens, anywhere, ever!

Here is the daily display of the flowers in bloom.  This is not a comprehensive display but it represents alot of what’s blooming on any given day.  It’s the sneak peak of goodies to be seen and smelled.

This bottle tree is in the education center garden which includes edible crops such as rice, corn, medicinal herbs, greens and other seasonal crops.  I love the Southern tradition of bottle trees in the garden, they are said to catch evil spirits as they get caught the colorful bottles after being entranced.

Look at all these blooming beauties!  Azaleas, Delphinium, Larkspur, Poppies and many other springtime favorites were in bloom.  With the warm winter and spring we are having, the daffodils were almost done blooming but there were some incredible combinations of flowers not typically in bloom together.  March is typically a “dangerous” month in low country gardens that border marshy areas, snakes and alligators are coming out of hibernation and I was startled by one in an unexpected spot as I was trying to get some shots.  I’ll be learning a lot more about where they like to hang out and I’ll be using extreme caution!  I am typically a pretty fearless gardener but I have a healthy respect for these potentially deadly creatures.  Avoidance will be my main tactic, along with long pants, closed toe shoes and gloves when reaching into hidden areas.

I am thrilled to just be able to go soak in the beauty and contribute to sharing that with all the visitors who come there.  I’m sure you will be hearing and seeing more of my Brookgreen experience over the months to come.  If you ever get to Myrtle Beach or Charleston, it’s worth the little extra drive to visit this garden which also includes a comprehensive sculpture collection and a lot of plantation history.

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