Mark Lives In IKEA

Can you believe there is a person who loves IKEA more than I do?! Well there is. His name is Mark Malkoff and he actually LIVES there! Well, for one week anyway! Check it out...

enjoy the possibilities!

-dw

A surprise 3-day weekend!

Rog ended up having Friday off so we enjoyed an unscheduled three-day weekend! It was great! Lots of time to get stuff done around the house and just be together.

We headed to IKEA on Friday after Rog eyed my sticky note on the computer screen and realized the sale was on. (He is such a awesome hubby!) We spotted a couple upper cabinets in the As Is department and picked those up. We aren't really ready to do the entire wall yet, so we just bought the cabinet frames and will wait to get the doors and remaining units in a couple months.

I am so excited to get the last of the studio complete. But then...as Rog reminded me....we have to start on the garage organizing project. Ugh. The garage isn't near as much fun as the studio! When I sort through studio stuff it's colorful and pretty and it makes me want to create! When I sort garage stuff it's dusty and boring and makes me want to just head back to the studio! LOL! But fair is fair...and he has worked so hard to give me the studio of my dreams that I have to return the favor and help create his garage masterpiece!

We managed to find a couple other great deals at IKEA as well (of course)! I bought a cabinet a couple years ago to serve as a liquor cabinet. I scored it really cheap in the As Is department because it only had one frosted glass door. It looked okay that way, with the top half open, but I always wished I could find another door. The problem, I discovered, was that they are only sold in sets of two! On this trip we found a double wide model of the same cabinet and, amazingly enough, it too only had one door! What are the odds?! So we'll have a larger liquor cabinet with two bottom doors and a completely open cabinet to put somewhere else in the room! Perfect!

I also found these little cuties!

Rog was completely dumbfounded when I tossed ten of them in the cart. I assured him they would make creative party decor and he gave up even trying to understand. My brain just works a little differently than most people's...and the beauty part of our relationship is...he gets that!

Gotta love him!

enjoy life's surprises!

-dw

It's that time of year again...

What's the only thing better than a sale?

An IKEA SALE!!!!!!

Oh yeah, it's time again for the "It Only Happens Twice a Year SALE!" Only my favorite sale of the entire year!

My advice, however, is to take an SUV (the bigger the better) over a VW...and don't forget a screwdriver! We always seem to need one! Probably because we always manage to find something in the "As Is" department and have to dismantle it to get it home!!!

With my new Studio by IKEA nearly complete, I won't have as much to shop for this year...bummer! Maybe those upper cabinets we've been waiting on? Hmmmm...

enjoy your shopping adventures!

-dw

Little Corner of My World...

Battling the tail-end of a nasty, head cold, my dear, sweet hubby took some time to help me finish hanging some things in the Studio this weekend! Yea!!
My little work corner is almost complete!

I've posted some pictures, including some of the new rail system we installed (with our own USA adaptation). Other new additions in the room include my magnet board from IKEA and a memo holder from a recent Thrifty Thursday treasure hunt!

Enjoy the rewards in a finished project!
-dw

Ahhh, Heaven...

I am happy to report that we got everything assembled last night for the new printer station (thanks, Baby!!) and I spent today sorting, purging, and organizing! So here it is..............the newest edition to the studio! The grey door will be replaced with a white one later. I actually had a 15" base already in the studio so we used it instead of assembling the new one. (We thought we had the 12") Darn, that means another trip to IKEA to exchange it! {grin}

I have all my die cutting and binding tools, as well as my new Zutter cutter, inside the cabinets. In the boxes below the R1800 printer are camera and iPod accessories. Inside the small cabinet are office supplies.

I also incorporated a couple new treasures into the studio today! While at the annual Mill Creek Garage Sale last weekend I scored a mini collandar for only $2 and a terrarium for $1! There will be a chapter in the book on turning unused household products into adorable and very functionable organizing units!

enjoy the peace & tranquility organizing brings...

-dw

IKEA Krazy!!!

So, we went for a drive and ended up at IKEA yesterday (45 minutes from home)! You all know how much I LOVE that store! As always, we entered through the exit and headed straight for the "As Is" department. And wouldn't you know, I found a couple great pieces of furniture with my name ALL over them! (it truly was...right after we applied the HOLD tags!)

We found a piece that will serve as an upper hutch cabinet. For what base you ask? Well, for the 45" worth of base cabinets we bought for a screaming deal in the kitchen department!! Tonight my dear hubby will take all this......
....and turn it into the printer station and storage that I have been desperately needing for the studio! I have a 12" printer that really wants out of its box!!! I have searched and searched for a piece that would best utilize the 45" space between one of the large PAX cabinets and the edge of the desktop. I couldn't find anything that would work. If it was the right size, it was the wrong color, and vice verse. So we took a trip to IKEA hoping something would add up to 45" of great, usable space!

And IKEA pulled through in the clutch again! Did I mention I LOVE that store?! We simply bought a 30" and a 15" kitchen base cabinet and a 49" counter top for it and Viola! Problem solved. Well, almost. If your math skills are working, you realized we have four extra inches of counter top to deal with! But never fear...hubby already worked that out. He realized we could re-work the bookshelf at the end of the desktop and gain (we think) the four inches back. Tonight we will know for sure! But even if we can't manoeuvre the extra space, we can always resort to cutting it down.

If all goes well and hubby isn't too tired to build stuff when he gets home tonight, I will post the new studio addition tomorrow! Stay tuned!

enjoy the unexpected discoveries in your day...
-dw

An IKEA Obsession!

I LOVE IKEA!! I really, really LOVE it! I would say it is one of my two favorite stores in the world (tied with Pottery Barn)! I especially love the "as is" department!!! While in the area running an errand (it's about an hour from our house), Roger was a sweetheart and indulged my IKEA obsession. We only went to the "as is" department...even went in the exit door to avoid having to walk through the entire store! And as always, I found some great deals!!! A four place setting of dishes for my baby girl, who may or may not move out this summer (depends on which day you ask her), for only $4.80! She was funny when I told her I found them in the "as is" section..."What, they were too much regularly, so you bought me chipped ones?!" Yea, honey...a deal's a deal! LOL! Kids! I explained to her that they were in perfect condition, merely unwrapped or being discontinued. Along with the dishes, I scored a 16x20 frame for $5, and a bunch of collapsible storage pieces to alter for a whopping .30 each!!!! I figure after covering them in a paper of my choice, they will make incredible additions to my studio! Just put those in the ever-growing cabinet of "things to alter!" So many possibilities...so much fun to be had! And lastly, I scored two more of those metal storage boxes that I love, for only $2! The "as is" section is like going to a garage sale at your favorite store! And a lot of times I uncover incredible savings on things I planned to buy anyway...like the studio cabinets we scored last summer...or the ribbon jars that I sometimes buy missing their lids, then later score on the matching lids for only a dime! A perfect deal! So next time you are at IKEA, don't miss the "as is" section...you just never know what buried treasure you will dig up! I never seem to walk away empty handed...
enjoy the hunt!
-dw