Lonny magazine

After admitting to my magazine obsession recently I have been taking a look at Lonny magazine and wondering if this is where the future of shelter magazines (or all magazines) is heading. Lonny magazine is created by a group of designers, writers, photographers and other creative folks who have come together, many of them where formerly at Domino magazine. Lonny magazine is completely online, no print versions available. You can virtually turn the pages and if you are interested in an ad, a website or something in the photo they are all hyperlinked so you can go directly to the site and read about or buy the product you are interested in. I think this is a wonderful idea, they don't have to worry about paper quality, printing costs or many of the other issues that come along with a printed magazine. The magazine is on its third issue and I am loving it so far. Great articles, awesome photography and it's free! You can't get much better than that.

So, if this is the future of magazines what is going to happen to my stash? I like this new magazine but I love having actual magazines in my hands. I don't think I'm ready to loose print magazines forever but in a world of blogs and twitter it seems that it may not be totally unrealistic. What are your thoughts on virtual magazines?

Organizing my craft room - Before & After - My Book Shelf

My next makeover target was my book shelf. I love craft and sewing books, really any type of book that has to do with these subjects is welcome in my book shelves at any time. Before my bookshelf was just that a shelf with all of my books tossed in.

Now it is a beautifully organized library of craft!

I spent the time to organize my books into different categories so I can easily find the book I want when I want it.

The top shelf includes all of my general sewing books:

My book shelf also has my little collection of vintage toy sewing machines!

The next shelf includes all of my bag making books, needle art books (knitting, crochet and embroidery) and all of my general craft books.

The next shelf has all of the jewelry/button crafts, paper crafting and business books.

The next shelf has a small storage unit and a collection of my journals that are just too pretty to use and write in so I just keep them to look at.

The final shelf has all of my sewing patterns (divided in two boxes, one for purses and one for everything else) and the rest of my miscellaneous books - fashion, decorating and a few others.

I have tried to keep a little extra room on the shelf because I am sure there will be more books to add to my shelf soon. Like Martha's new Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts that is coming out next month!

To see all of these images and the rest of my before & after studio photos you can visit my Flickr page.

Organizing my craft room - Before & After - Fat Quarter Storage

We all know that I have a small obsession with fat quarters. I love to collect them, display them and just have them in general. I have a few areas where some of them are on display and before they were just kind of there. Not much organization or interaction with my other sewing notions so I did a little re-working the shelves, no huge deal but it makes me feel better when I walk in the room to have little pockets of organized, nice looking areas. Here are a few before images of the disaster areas:

And now, the after photos:
The "pretty" areas inspire me to keep on working on other sections of the room so eventually there will be one big inviting, inspiring room for me to work in.

Visit my new Flickr page to see a few more detail shots of each of these shelves.

Creative Organization

Since I have started working on my sewing room I have been obsessed with finding photos of other organized spaces to find new storage ideas. Apartment Therapy, one of my favorite blogs, has tons of great posts about organizing and storage to keep you busy for hours. Here are a few posts that i have been oogling over:

Double Duty work spaces

Bright White Sewing Room

Martha's Craft Room

Colorful Craft Room

Wall Mounted Craft Stations

Tofu Studio

Fabric Organization

Industrial Chic Organization

Organizing my craft room - one step at a time

I did a little organizing work in my studio this weekend and it was fun and felt great to start getting things organized. The bits and pieces are coming together and soon enough my studio will be a place where I can actually get work done and find what I need when I need it rather that spending all day looking for my zippers or sifting through piles of fabric to find the "perfect" piece. So I have a few before & after photos that I will be posting throughout the week of a few of the shelves and nooks in my room. I'm still far from finished but it's getting closer! So keep posted for all of the "after" photos to come this week. Here is a sneak peek of a few of the before photos of the disaster of a craft room that used to be upstairs.

Obsession Confession - Magazines & Catalogs

Hello, my name is Mallory and I am addicted to magazines...

I haven't done one of these in a while but you may remember that past confessions have included fat quarters and craft books. Today I would like to talk about another obsession of mine. I have tons of magazines and catalogs, it was honestly a small workout to gather all the magazines from their various locations around my house and get them all to my studio. I love looking through them, some are for keeping some are just for perusing and tearing out what I like before they hit the recycling bin. But, I love them all. In today's era of magazines folding faster than your husband after getting kicked in the junk, I cherish each of these issues and take my time devouring each page. I pull inspiration for new projects from the fashion and craft magazine and I love grabbing ideas for my house from the decor and shelter magazines.

Another great thing about magazines and catalogs is when they arrive in the mail. You know the scene in Billy Madison where Adam Sandler sings a song after finding out that it is nudie magazine day. Well, that is how I feel when a new issue of Martha Stewart Living hits my mailbox. I am also a sucker for the BH&G SIP publication at the check out counter of the grocery store or drug store. 100 decorating ideas - Great! Easy Storage Solutions - Fantastic! I am always sneaking those into my cart and it just gets added into the grocery bill so nobody needs to find out. I love my magazines and no matter what my husband says about this obsession I believe it is here to stay.

Are you also obsessed with magazines? Share your stories, it's ok to admit it!