Well finally!

I have been dragging my feet on this project for a few months now.

Since everything in the house is in an uproar already and all of the furniture are being moved, I figured now is as good a time as any to finally tackle extending my desk.

Initially I had planned to move it back under the window once the couch was gone, but I would lose all the hiding, I mean storage space behind the desk in the corner. It houses some of the really big sheets of watercour- and pastel paper, as well as shipping boxes and canvas in bigger sizes.

I did not want to give that up. So I went back to an older vision I had of extending the desk to give me more room to work and also cover up the storage back there a bit.

If you remember what it looked like before?

Yeah this was especially bad, since I had already started moving things and sorting stuff and used it a bit as a catchall for now. But it wasn't far off the normal state. It is not a very wide desk, and all the stuff on it took up even more room. There was barely any room left to do any work, or take photos. Something had to be done.

I have this big piece of plywood, that my husband and son found by the side of the road one day. It was a bit warped and I knew I would not paint on it. But it would be perfect to cut up and use it to extend the desk into the corner.

First I measured to make sure it is big enough. I placed the plywood on the desk, shoved it all the way in the corner and then drew a line where the board and the desk overlap by about two inches. I wanted it to have a solid bit to rest on, so it wouldn't accidentally slide off. This would save me the step of attaching it to the desk permanently.

I went outside on my balcony (where I really don't have room to do this sort of thing) and started cutting it with my hand saw.

I do not have any sandpaper at home right for the job, so that has to wait until I get to the store, but the cut edge will be sanded eventually.

After the cutting was accomplished, I had to figure out support brackets for the plywood to rest on in the corner.

I grabbed two wooden blocks from the big basket of toy blocks I have.

I measured the height they should go on simply by laying a straight edge on top of the desk and marking a line towards the corner underneath it. I did this for both sides.

Finally, I nailed the two blocks to the marks I made with two nails each.

The things going on top of this extension are not super heavy, so this will hold it for now until I can get myself to the store and get screws to make it more secure.

I think I will paint the extension, or cover it with contact paper. I also have to sand down my desk and possibly paint it as well, since the paint splatters are not coming off anymore lol.

I really love all the room I now have on my desk, while still keeping all the things handy.

It is very much still a work in progress, but there you have today's installment of organising my crafting supplies and desk.

Didn't cost me a thing, since I had all the "ingredients" already at home. And most of them were reused, recycled and upcycled.

It is also easy to break down and since the plywood only rests on the desk, my desk is not really damaged in any way, in case I want to change the configuration in future.

I am thrilled and can't wait to get started working on my desk again.

For now I will call it a day though. Going to make some paper beads.

What for am I making paper beads? No earthly clue. I have the paper and in my effort to use it or lose it, I decided on beads for this chihuli calendar.

Hope you are having an amazing weekend!

Stay safe, mask up, get the vaccine as soon as you are eligeable. ❤ I worry about you!

Xo,

B. 🐝