Workspace organization - Ikea cabinet

 My Cricut needed a better home than the old desk I had it on. Let me set the stage a bit. My main dollhouse miniatures workroom space is in the basement where I have the main storage cabinets including some Ikea cabinets.

When I got the Chateau dollhouse, I had to find a home for it in a different space than in the basement, since I wasn't going to work on it right away. So I located it in a 2nd-floor bedroom, which is where I do my real work - what I do for a living (I work from home). 

As I started to work on the Chateau, my need for tools, etc., came with that. It's not very convenient to have to constantly run down 2 flights of stairs to grab sandpaper or glue. So I have had a dual-use room for the last 2-3 years. I've improvised with some old desks that we no longer use (I do use some of these desks as my dollhouse miniature village in the basement). So my old desk housed my network equipment and printer and became the temporary home for my Cricut. 

I've been admiring Sherrill's craft room and her use of Ikea Havsta cabinets and bit the bullet and bought one a few weeks ago. Today I got down to business and put the one I bought together. It of course took me longer because I did a few things backward but it's finally done. I'm very happy with it! I love the nice wide size and the narrower depth of the cabinet. 

It also helps to hide the things I now have inside - printer paper, Cricut supplies, a color printer...and some mini tools. I still have to clean and organize the closet in this room. It's become a catch-all for more mini supplies (wallpaper, tools, furniture I will use in this dollhouse). But that's for another day. And please ignore the mess around my actual desk, I have to organize the old desk on the left or get rid of it. I will probably get rid of it too, but right now my rolling drawers slide right under it and it does provide an additional surface to be able to set up my cutting mat for wallpaper.

New Cricut Maker 3

I decided it was high time to step into the tech world with my miniatures. My attempts at making an arched ceiling beam for my vaulted ceilings from basswood sheets for the Chateau haven't been going well. My dear husband stepped in and made a much better version using basswood strips and a pre-shaped arch I found. These took him hours and are much more uniform than my attempts. I sanded and painted them...and was getting ready to install in my kitchen. 

Not too fast...the wallpaper in the kitchen just wasn't cutting it, and the flooring lacked umph. I found some fabulous tile paper from Les Chinoiserie that was originally for a bathroom and it was calling me to use it in the kitchen. So I got that applied to a base and then found another Les Chinoiserie paper for the walls...and I'm in love! 

Now to get back to the arches, well it hit me...Cricut can cut thin basswood. We had actually thought about it a few months ago when hubby was doing the 2nd version using basswood strips. Bit the bullet and got it last week. We spent the week on and off, he did the SVG, and then I did some test projects learning Design Space and using the Cricut to cut them. We did a trial on paper, then on cardstock veneer, and then finally on the 1/16" basswood. I'm doing the happy dance!

Here's the floor, wallpaper, and the old arch beam - while I consider the choices...before:

Now the paper is installed, and the flooring laid (I'm really grooving on it!)

First test of the basswood. 

This is when I realize the bottom horizontal is all the way across, unlike the original design. Still....I love it! This is only 1 thickness, and the idea is I will glue 3 of the 1/16" pieces together. 

Final version - and I'm now printing 3 on a 24" sheet. Just ordered more wood. I also decided that I will do the same arches in the other wing - the conservatory.