Guest post: 'Sanctury of Mine' by Petra

My work-space is my crafty sanctuary.
I've been making cards for about 10 years and jewellery for about 8. I used to have a small garden shed we converted for me when my enormous amount of craft stash threatened to take over the house in it's bid for world domination. When I began, I started out as most of us do: crafting on the kitchen table.

My little shed was great at first but after a few years I had even more tools when you factored in my jewellery making as well. Glitter gets in everything, it was such a small space that I would never try to make jewellery out there.

So, I dreamt of a space big enough for a jewellery counter and a craft station - with storage too. It was a bit of a pipe dream.

Eventually I realised I would one day need more space to get around in so perhaps this pipe dream should be more than a dream.

I scouted around for custom made sheds, work sheds and insulated workshops but even the most basic one (not that big) was quite pricey and definitely a bit out of budget! So I took my mam's suggestion to look at secondhand shed options as my dad is a DIY avocado. I stumbled across a nice 13 x 8 on Gumtree - a very sturdy one made with shipping timber.

My personal DIY expert said he could insulate it and put in counters etc.

So I bought insulation, plywood, weathershield etc. My uncle John told us his workplace was had a load of kitchen units and wood going into the skip during a big clear out, so I got a large table and shiny kitchen counters plus a large shelf unit that my dad cut in half and was absolutely perfect for my rubber stamps.

It would take time to work on it as he was working alone but dad loves a project. I kept an eye out for cheap storage in the euro store although I did splash out a bit on units for my seed beads!

Finally 4 months after buying the shed and 10 years after starting out with a glue stick I was able to move in. I had to add rain gutters after a heavy rain, it's just that big. It also still looks like it did when I set everything up! Except I did get a swivel chair for my birthday and stuck an oil heater in there (brrrr)

Read the full post on Petra's blog Petra's Creations