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We head to Tulsa, Oklahoma to go behind the scenes at A Prudent Life and explore Melissa's super organized craft space.

"It’s so hard to pick a favorite, but I love that everything has a designated place. It’s so much easier to complete projects when you know what materials you have on hand and where they are located."



Tell us about your space?
I took over one of our upstairs bedrooms as my craft space. In addition to serving as a craft room, the space is also a guest bedroom for occasional overnight guests. One of my big challenges was blending the two areas together. I didn't want my craft space to feel like an afterthought in a bedroom, and I didn't want guests to feel like they were invading my craft space. I'm lucky enough to have a separate home office, so editing pictures and writing posts generally happens in the office. The craft room is used most often for home decor DIY/craft projects. Lots of gluing, painting, and experimenting happens in that space! 

What have you done to make your space cosy, beautiful or inspiring?
Making the space beautiful and inspiring was important to me, for my own enjoyment and for the benefit of house guests. I used a cohesive color palette between the areas that had bright accents, but was still calming. I love that we were able to include a small reading corner to encourage relaxing. Creating a gallery wall that incorporates art and supplies together was another one of the ways I made the space beautiful.

How do you keep organized?
I stay organized by using lots of bins and labels. When supplies have a labeled home, they are much more likely to be put up when I am done with them. Also, when a space is pretty, I want to keep it that way. So even though adding art and decor items doesn't contribute to the function of the space, it adds to my incentive to keep the room clean.

Any tips & tricks for organising supplies?
It’s a tricky balance between having items in plain view so you don’t forget about them, and having them tucked away so everything looks neat and tidy. My biggest tip is to make sure you are using appropriately sized bins. I used to think buying bigger bins was better, but the opposite is true. For example, the drawer unit I had before was a mess because the drawers were large enough for me to keep shoving unrelated items in them together. Now inside each drawer there are smaller sections for designated supplies. It's so much easier to keep smaller sections organized. A bin within a bin always wins. 

Which are your favourite possessions and are there any of your own creations on display?
In this room, my favorite possessions are definitely the three paintings by my husband’s granny. It is great to be inspired by prior generations in your craft space! The favorite piece I created for the room is the turquoise bird lamp. I found the ceramic bird and clear lamp at separate stores and combined them together into a custom piece of functional art.

How do you organise your inspiration and ideas?
I'm not sure I've perfected this yet! My process while I'm at home is a small notebook that I jot future project ideas in. If I'm out and about, I also tend to take photos with my phone that serve as inspiration. OR if I have an idea, but there isn't a picture involved, I use the Google Keep app to list the idea. I probably should make everything electronic, but I still love writing things in my notebook! 

Where do you look for inspiration?
All around me! I love giving boring products new life, like the plastic popcorn tub I turned into an herb garden. Reading other blogs can bring new ideas – bloggers as a group are the most creative people I've ever seen. I love that we can all build on each other’s ideas to make something completely new. Of course, magazine, catalogs, and fashion are always great jumping off points for ideas as well. 

If you had three wishes, what would you do to make it the dream space?
Oh, fun question! 

1) I’d have a GIANT counter-height island in the middle of the room for big projects.

2) I'd have a separate beautiful gift wrapping station.

3) I'd have really tall ceilings and a gorgeous crystal girly chandelier for the light fixture. Was that 
cheating? It's kind of two things :)
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This week Katy from Sugarlaws recreates the bohemian style of actress Blake Lively:

Blake Lively's Boho-Glam style makes her one of the most gorgeous celebs out there -- but in a relaxed, low-key way that's easily achievable at home. From her long beach waves to her ability to go glam at the drop of a hat, she's a style chameleon who can pull off just about any look!



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Outfit details:

  • Vintage Jacket - Thrifted
  • Dress - ebay
  • Shorts - ebay
  • Sneakers - Spirit
  • Hoodie - Daichu in Harajuku, Japan
  • Bag - Varusteleka.fi
  • Bag accessories - secondhand

DIY Punk Bag & Teru Teru Bozu

Recreate the look with Lara's punk bag and teru teru bozu tutorials:



How would you describe your style?

I don't take fashion seriously at all - I wear what I want. I don't dress age-appropriate and won't do ;). I wear a lot of vintage and thrifted items.

What's your favourite piece in your wardrobe?

Only one? Okay, a Godzilla print tee.

Who are your style icons?

I don't imitate anyone, but I like how David Bowie dressed when he was young, I also like Freddie Mercury's style. And Vivienne Westwood's personal looks. Also ordinary people on the street and style bloggers are great for style spotting.

Do you have any favourite designers?

I'm not so much into designer stuff (I like to go for random and secondhand items), but I do appreciate strange and fun art, especially as prints and as accessories. For example Shiroi Neko team, Simone Legno of Tokidoki, and Junko Mizuno are awesome.

Where are your favourite places to shop for new clothes clothes?

Secondhand and charity shops! Ebay is good too. Harajuku in Japan is awesomeness for granted.

Do you make or customise your outfits?

I customize a lot, I would make too but at the moment I don't have space for the sewing machine!

Do you have any great tips for mixing up and personalising an outfit?   

Forget about style rules, pick random pieces from your wardrobe and mix them together - you might end up liking the result. Play dress up like you might have done as a kid, with an open mind and have fun!

Which other fashion blogs do you love to read?

There are lots of them, but Hel Looks (street style from Helsinki) and Harajuku Street style offer loads of creative looks.
Melbourne, Australia •

The best thing about living in Melbourne is its’ diverse multiculturalism. Melbourne is also known to be the fashion capital of Australia (Sydney tries to lay claim). People flock from all over to the famous Bridge Road in Richmond (on the outskirts of the city centre), which is a major shopping strip as well with its’ heritage pubs, cafes with trendy hipster fashionistas who frequent it.



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We head to Northern Ireland to go behind the scenes at Heart Handmade UK to tour Claire's lovely craft room.

"Honestly, my favourite thing is the amount of natural light that I have. My craft room was previously in a little room right beside my current craft room but it was located at the back of the house which is in a row of terraced houses and was totally dark and grey and rather stiffling creativly!"



Tell us about your space?
My craft room is in my house. It is about 4mx3m and it's a craft room/home office/cat bedroom and greenhouse (it gets all the best light so my plants live in there). It is also my workspace, and the crafting I do most in this room would probably be art journalling or project life. 

What have you done to make your space cosy, beautiful or inspiring?
I like to add vintage touches within all the new furniture and I try to change the items on the wall and rearrange the 'stuff' on my big ikea expedit case with each season. I find having seasonal colours and images surrounding me really helps to get the creative juices flowing.

How do you keep organized?
I tend to give the illusion of organisation. I have a large wicker basket in the bottom of my large basket, inside I have acrylic pen pots that fit the basket perfectly and in there I have all of my pens, pencils, lettering markers and excess office supplies. I use a decorative lolly pop maker to store my paint brushes in the one place and I use little ikea drawers and acrylic drawers to group all of my items together. I have an entire (Moppe) drawer full of glue sticks, one full of versafine ink pads, another full of unmouted rubber stamps and another full of embossing powders!
I used old yougurt pots and hot glued them together to create drawer organisers and I store all my little bits and bobs in those. I had a bit of a sequin accident over christmas, so there are suprise sequins in all the little pots. A nice little sparkly suprise!

Any tips & tricks for organising supplies?
All of the above! I love my food cans covered in decorative paper for storing my most used pens and pencils and craft knives. I use pretty jam jars to store small spools of decorative thread and I try to have a place for everything. Athough, everything is not always in its place.

Which are your favourite possessions and are there any of your own creations on display?
Yes I have lots of my own little decorative items on display. My favourite thing to do is art journalling so I keep those old journals grouped together in a large basket and I have a little 'mini albums' basket so that if I'm feeling nostalgic I can look through them all. I have lots of decorative frames and handmade cushions and crochet blankets of my own that are on display all through my home.

How do you organise your inspiration and ideas?
I use both art journals and pinterest.

Where do you look for inspiration?
Usually pinterest.It's probably my favourite online social media site. I've always been a very visual learner and images have always evoked certain emotions and inspiration in me so I love it!

If you had three wishes, what would you do to make it the dream space?
These are going to be quite sad. Quite honestly; remove the damp in the walls, insulate the outer wall better and find somewhere to put a tiny/comfy couch!

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This week Amy from The Amy Loo Blog recreates the iconic 20's look of the leading ladies in The Great Gatsby:

The women of Gatsby, from major characters to walk-on roles, have managed to bring to life a style as dramatic as the story line itself. The posh and glamorous "glad rags" of these women certainly don't fail to dazzle, whether they're at one of Mr. Gatsby's wild parties or enjoying the company of a few friends during a quiet evening at home.



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Outfit details:

  • Hair - (DIY see below)
  • Shirt - SheInside
  • Skirt - Boohoo
  • Tights - Veritas
  • Scarf - Topshop
  • Bag - Veritas
  • Shoes - Avance

DIY Brightly Coloured Hair

Recreate the look with Kerri's guide for Achieving And Maintaining Brightly Coloured Hair:


How would you describe your style?

If we’re talking my everyday work-wear then I’d say ‘picked up off the bedroom floor style’. But outside of work my style is a little bit of quirky, a little bit of girly and a little bit of I’m too in love with cute little animal print. 

What's your favourite piece in your wardrobe?

My space print skirt from ModDolly 

Who are your style icons?

I’m not I have any style icons as such. I have a few favourite bloggers whose style I adore but no real icons. 

Do you have any favourite designers?

No huge name designers but I do like Orla Kiely, Sugarhill Boutique, ModDolly, Miss Patina and Nishe. 

Where are your favourite places to shop for new clothes clothes?

I will always have a soft spot for Topshop as it’s where I first started shopping. Recently I’ve moved online and I do love ASOS as there is so much choice, as with Boohoo too. There’s a few shops in my town too that are little independent places that sell lovely items from Sugarhill Boutique, Louche and Miss Patina. 

Do you make or customise your outfits?

Not so much. I would love to make my own skirt this year (it’s on my to-do list) and I have the perfect duck print material for it. 

Do you have any great tips for mixing up and personalising an outfit?   

Do whatever you want and as long as it’s what you want then it’s always personalized. 

Which other fashion blogs do you love to read?

I love to read The Clothes Horse, Scathingly Brilliant, the Littlest Polly and Briar Rose. Although they may sneak in some lifestyle blogginess too. I don’t tend to read exclusively fashion blogs. 
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Hi! I'm Shawna Miller, the creator behind Scrawny Girl. I have a fatal attraction to cuteness, that you can see reflected in my art and everyday life. I'm addicted to coffee, Hello Kitty, cupcakes, manga, and dying my hair. I spend my days trying to draw and paint around having dance parties in the kitchen with my daughter and watching My Little Pony Friendship is Magic.


Sydney, Australia •

Sydney is a huge but incredibly green city – it’s full of parks and wildlife reserves, and one of my favourite things is how many animals there are! It’s definitely the city for anyone who loves the wild outdoors. I take so much inspiration from the natural world and it’s so exciting to step outside everyday and see cockatoos, possums and fruit bats playing in your back yard. The waterways are protected too which means you can find seahorses, rays, humpback whales and turtles without even leaving the city! The reserves are wonderful for taking a walk, run or swim and helping you keep fit.



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We head behind the scenes at Something Turquoise to tour Jen's turquoise craft room in Long Beach, California.

"My favorite thing would have to be the light. The wall that it's against is all windows. I love sitting there, working and watching the busyness of the outside."



Tell us about your space?
My craft room is in Long Beach, California - the same city I was born in and have lived in for all my 31 years. I love Long Beach and I love my little craft corner! We live by the University in town and our street is action packed, so there's always someone to watch. I also love that it's all mine! ...even though my cats think it's their's too! 

My space is tiny! It's in the corner of our living room... from when the pictures here were taken, it's actually spread out quite a bit more (much to the chagrin of the hubby, lol) Our couch looks at it and our tv cabinet is right next to it. I do crafts and making all over the house - literally. If my desk is clear I'll do things there, or anywhere I have space. Especially when I'm working on paint projects, they'll usually be drying all over the house. I definitely sew at my craft desk... I probably don't do enough at it... it's always covered in projects.


What have you done to make your space cosy, beautiful or inspiring?
I started by painting the wall with a turquoise ombre... then I made sure to have a few of my favorite pictures, quotes and all my favorite supplies in plain view. Like all the paint, I love being able to see them all. Same thing with my markers, scissors, and adhesives. I love my "Listen from within, your heart knows the way" print... that's a very important saying to me - if I didn't follow my heart, I wouldn't be here with you today. I love being surrounded by my crafty things... so my favorite projects cover my space.

How do you keep organized?
There's a saying, "A place for everything and everything in it's place". Most of the time it's a mess - but I know where everything is. I have to clean up, toss and rearrange constantly. Since I'm a (wedding) craft blogger I get supplies sent to me all the time... so it's important to throw out the
old and make room for the new. I give a lot of supplies away too, which I think my mom and friends appreciate.

Any tips & tricks for organising supplies?
My biggest tip would be to focus on your most important and favorite supplies; your go-to tools and the items you use regularly because it will make crafting easier on you. For example, I was tired of getting my scissors, ruler, pens and adhesives out of a drawer - so I put them all OUT. My best scissors hang on the wall - those are only for fabric (and the hubby knows that!) and the others are in a bucket on the wall along with the rulers. All my favorite adhesives, markers, pencils, twine, brads, tape and paper trimmers are also right out in the open. Find the perfect home for your favorite items and work from there.

Which are your favourite possessions and are there any of your own creations on display?
Sharks! lol! I have a tiny (j/k large) collection of sharks because they are my favorite animals. You can see a few in the pictures ;) I also keep cards and gift tags, little things
friends give me or memorabilia from events like concert tickets and etc. Pictures are my favorite, three to mention are: one of my mom and dad ages ago... they are just so young and cute - one of our wedding day where I'm turning back to hear my dad say that he and my mom give me away - and the last is me and the hubs looking at each other on our wedding day.

I have quite a few creations on display... let's start at the top: the giant "J" scrabble tile (one of my tutorials), the three 'Honeymoon Fund Jars" (also one of my tutorials), the glitter champagne glasses (again one of my tutorials), the tiny shell wreath which I made ages ago, the lamp was an Ikea embellishment also from years ago, and I made the candle on display as well ;) Then if you look under my desk, I have two boxes full of all the projects I've made - I always keep at least one... I love having them and being able to look back through them.

How do you organise your inspiration and ideas?
For the most part, it's all up in the good ol' noggin. But if I come up with an idea that I don't want to forget I write it in my reminders on my Mac Calendar. Once I create the project I check off the reminder ;)

Where do you look for inspiration?
I dream about girls planning their weddings. What would I want if I was planning a rustic mountain wedding, a romantic beach wedding, or maybe a green garden event... etc. I try to come up with
projects that fit weddings along with parties of any theme. I also love walking through craft stores and getting inspired by new products on the shelves.

If you had three wishes, what would you do to make it the dream space?
OMG - For one I would have my own entire room with one whole wall being floor to ceiling windows! With gorgeous built-ins... like Martha Stewart Craft cabinets, all turquoise of course. A giant table in the middle for making... and the perfect photo shoot station built in one corner - I can see it now... 

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