The Toy Factory of fairplaythings.com
On Friday, I totally challenged Teresa of sewingstars fame to an informal craft-off. She’s had her mojo on for some pretty awesome feltformers and I’ve been chomping at the bit to get back to munnyland. With nothing planned for the weekend, I figured it would let me bring two or three of the little buggers together to join their friends.
Alas, it was not to be. I expect total ownage from Teresa as a result.
Instead, I’ve spent pretty much the entire weekend cleaning. Seriously. The progress undertaken on the basement to turn it into an organized place for crafting, already well underway, was nagging at me and demanding my attention. The result is that, while I may not have anything to show creatively, I should be able to proceed much more effectively in future.
The new Toy Factory, as you can see, has a variety of inspirations to draw upon, not the least of which is the Transformers: Animated line. I also have a reference book case, space for a 
variety of future projects and various bitty bits that I hope are organized a little better so that I can find them when I need them. I’ve also been able to migrate a bunch of the Munnies to the basement so they stop cluttering the front room. And, because I have a nasty organizational itch that needs to be scratched, all my paints, dyes, tools and sprays have been put in their own place and roughly sorted. A bulletin board lets me put up salient information like receipts and custom ideas.
Because the basement is unfinished, it’s a little tricky to put up shelves because I have to drill into concrete for support. As it is not insulated, it is a cold place this time of the year. As it has minimal wiring, it also means my options for tools (glue guns, heat gun, drills, dremels) will be tricky and require long extension cords.
But it does offer advantages, such as a number of hangers in the support beams that I’ve been able to use to hold cords and other hanging things. Which brings me to the new hanging shelf upon which I display the TF:A collection, the finding of which was a stroke of luck. It has a real kitchy feel to it, is a good size and hangs, so I can mount it without going through cement.
The “door desk” provides a number of excellent and surprising features, not the least of which is the ability to spread out. 
In case you are wondering, the desk is made from a 82″ long front door that use to be attached to the front of this house until I replaced it about four years ago. It sits on six legs purchased from Ikea and has a towel rack at the left end. The decorative grooves allows me to literally box in sections of paint. The hole where the door handle use to be is actually perfect for holding a munny head, should I wish to have one steadied. And the mail slot could be a garbage or recycling trap, although I have boxes for both under the desk for the time being.
I’ve even made space for guests who might want to come down and hang out, as unlikely as that might be.
Having things this organized is a weight off my shoulders. 
Too often I spend a lot of time looking for a particular colour paint or an item buried under its weight. Now I should be able to put together what I need quickly, or simply spread out and not have to worry about overtaking the front room of the house. The effort has also given a sense of just how usable the space could be when it finally gets renovated with new floors, walls and insulation. I might not be able to get the pool table I want, but maybe I should think about the classic Death Star game instead. Way cooler.
Now all I need is a better chair.
