Sparkle Tart by Kate Palmer

Jane Girl Tag using Distress Markers

I may have gone slightly umm product crazy on this tag - but I had sooo much fun creating this!  The stamp is one of a new line by one of my favourite people Jane Davenport.  She has bought ut 3 stamps so far and I hope more to come - I'm crossing my fingers her Panda Hug image from her sidekick collection will be next!

  What I used: 

• Little Birdy Jane Girl Stamp
• Distress Markers: Forest Moss, Shabby Shutters, Broken China, Vintage Photo, Spiced Marmalade and Tattered Rose
• Tim Holtz Waterbrush
• Distress Inks: Wild Honey, Vintage Photo, Shabby Shutters & Peeled Paint
• Tim Holtz stamps from Stampers Anonymous: Mixed Media Set, Stuff to Say & Words for Thought
• Archival Ink Jet Black
• Lindy's Glitz Spritz: Gekko Green & Medieval Gold
• Dylusions: Pure Sunshine and Cut Grass
• Fabrications Paper from Teresa Collins
• Shipping Tag
• Inkssentials Ink Blending Tool
• I Am Roses Flowers
• Seam Binding or ribbon

What I did:

1. Using Archival Ink Jet Black ink, stamp image onto tag (I used a manilla shipping tag).

2. Choose colour of Paper and tear to fit opposite corners of tag - don't stick down just yet.  You need to do this now as you should choose your markers to match the paper - much easier this way.

3. I thought I'd give my Distress Markers a try here - I learned a very important lesson - these are not watercolours and do not behave as such!  My plan had been to lay down the darker colour and 'drag' the ink across the rest of the image to blend.   Note to self - the Markers just don't bleed THAT much on manilla tags!  The waterbush does soften the colour and feather the edges, but it sure doesn't run across the paper - keeping in mind this was on shipping tag, you may get different results on other surfaces and they are recommended for use on watercolour paper.

4.  Not to be discouraged, I applied a little ink from the marker to a plastic lid and used my waterbrush to 'paint' this onto the uncoloured areas - much better, but not quite vibrant enough, you can see some areas appear a bit washed out.

5.  Using the Shabby Shutters marker, I coloured all over the green areas again - the resulting colour was much more vibrant.  I had a few tiny areas of bleeding which will be easily fixed with coloured pencil.

6. Now to decorate the tag.  I've used Peeled Paint Distress ink to stamp some fabulous background images and a phrase from Tim Holtz.

7. I've used the Inkssentials Ink Blending Tool to add Wild Honey and Shabby Shutters Distress inks over the tag background, and then Vintage Photo on the edges.

8.  Flick a little Glitz Spritz over the inked areas and allow to dry.

9. Use Dylusions and Glitz Spritz to colour length of seam binding or white ribbon.
Doesn't it look yummy, I just randomly squirted on all 3 sprays and scrunched.

10. Use Dylusions and Glitz Spritz to colour flower, leaf and buds.   I used Pure Sunshine Dylusions and Medieval Gold for the flower, spraying with the Glitz Spritz first and then over the top with the Dylusions.

Leave all the elements to dry overnight and adhere to tag, for the final touch thread dyed ribbon through tag hole and trace around text with fine black pen to make it stand out.

• 
• 
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I think I'm in love with this beautiful stamp!

May your day sparkle,

 

 

Roben-Marie Smith's Craft Desk

I know some of you will have seen the gorgeous work of talented artist Roben-Marie Smith over on her blog Every Life has a Story, well today we are lucky enough to have Roben-Marie as our Guest Desk! Roben-Marie makes wonderfully unique art, often using the supplies themselves as inspiration.  She has been published in numerous magazines and books.  Living and working in the USA Roben-Marie teaches all over the country and also online where she is currently teaching 5 on-workshops to students all over the world. Roben runs her own business PaperBag Studios and has a fabby store selling wonderful stamps and supplies - you can find PaperBag Studios online or go direct to the Art Goods Shop.

After taking one of Roben-Marie's online classes I know 2 things:

• her style is unique and heaps of fun to play with (I love her hearts and circles) and
• she is TERRIBLE if you are trying not to buy any new supplies!  Roben introduced me to supplies which previously were unheard of, plus a few which I'd thought were only for 'artists' you know the painting on canvas or large watercolour sheets kind.  I now have a large stash of gouache paints and fabric dyes which I adore using on my work. 

Roben-Marie sent me 2 photos, in photo one, there is a tall cabinet with multiple drawers.  It sits on top of the desk, against the wall and holds lots rubber stamps, tape, tools and more.  It fits perfectly in that spot and I am thrilled that the drawers are within my reach.  I found it at Home Goods.  I agree with Roben-Marie, fabulous find and I love the way these drawers look.

Roben-Marie says: The second photo shows a top down view of my work table.  I didn't clean it or anything before taking photo. On each side of the table I have old sewing machine cabinet drawers that hold my acrylic paints and spray inks.  They are pretty and I like that they are small and long and fit nicely on the ends of the table.

Roben-Marie Smith's craft space

If you are interested, Roben-Marie has more photos of her craft space over on her blog - you can view them here.

I asked Roben-Marie what were the things she couldn't do without and she replied 'the top ten things I have to have in reach while I work in no specific order are:

1. Gesso
2. Oil pastels
3. Water brush
4. Stencils
5. Spray inks
6. Acrylic paints
7. Colored pencils
8. Sewing machine
9. Canson journal
10. Scrap paper bin'

If you would like to see more of Roben-Marie's work them pop on over to her fantastic blog Every Life Has a Story or if you're in the mood to learn some new ideas then why not take one of Roben-Marie's fantastic on-line classes.  I can tell you from personal experience that the class I took was wonderfully detailed and step-by-step so you can really see what is going on!   You can find out more about Roben-Marie's classes here.

I hope your weekend sparkles,

Custom Stationary Holder

Wow - I love Col's work - I mentioned him and his online business 'ColCraft' before when I had my wall mounted spray storage created and here I am again with another ColCraft creation.  Now this one isn't entirely finished as I'm still mulling over it all - but couldn't wait to show you how it looks and what I'm doing with it.

I've learned a great deal from this Craft Room Cleanse and one of the most important things has been NEVER ASSUME!  Don't assume where something is now, is where it will always be, don't assume what's in that draw will always be in there, don't buy or make storage items which are too specific!  I've been trying very hard to create and use things which can store multiple items, be used in different ways and are really versatile in case I change my mind at some point in the future.  In keeping with this new found knowledge I decided my stationary organiser needed to be versatile.  I knew I wanted to use it to store my most used pens, stickles, markers (non-copic) and ideally some tapes.  I actually measured the space my markers took by volume, measured my ink pads, punches, stickles, tapes, and a whole bunch of other stuff and came up with the following design:

I've designed this so I can change my mind at any time, without needing a whole new unit - neat huh.  The sections on the top and bottom are the same height, width and depth as are the internal columns - this way I can turn the unit over if I ever need to.  The top/bottom sections can fit tapes, ink pads, stickles, punches, or my small keyboard and mouse.  The internal sections can fit pens, markers, ink pads, tapes, sprays (small bottles), and so many more items as I had this made with removable internal shelves - item too big - just remove one of the shelves!

First things first, even though I'm not certain how I'm decorating this (it might not be entirely practical) it needed a coat of paint, so all over with the last of my white wash paint mix.

I left it to dry overnight as I didn't want any accidental paint on my nice new table and it was then ready to go.  I haven't painted the dividers yet, I think I want them black but will need to decide what I'm doing with the ends first.

Now to begin filling it up, first in went the Stickles and I was very happy with my measuring as it allows 2 rows of Stickles to be stored without any rolling about.  I had thought about one of the special Stickles holders with little round holes for each bottle, but I would then be locked into ONLY having Stickles in there and that sounds like 'specific' storage, so I chose this option instead.  I'm planning to put a coloured dot on either the top or base of each bottle so I can easily find the colour I'm after.  I think perhaps on the top, with the lid will facing towards me, making them easier to grab hold of.

Next the pens and markers - now I know this isn't full just yet - I made sure there was room to grow :O)

And because I'm being space conscious, I designed this to fit right under my Copic marker units and I made sure I could reach right to the top of my markers while still sitting in my chair - lazy, energy conscious or organised - I don't care - it's perfect!

So happy I may have done a little dancing!  Now all I need to do is decide if I want to decorate the ends, if I want to add hooks to hold tapes, or just leave it as is.

May your day sparkle,

12 x 12 Paper holder

Sorry to have been so quiet recently - my poor computer died (5 motherboard replacements and still not working right!) and so for the last 4 weeks I've been waiting for my replacement machine to arrive - thank goodness for 3 yr warranties.  In the mean time, I really have been busy and have continued with my Craft Room Cleanup.  I have made, painted, decorated everything so that I can move it in the future, so even things which may currently be hidden, have been painted and sealed in case they end up on display, I figured no sense in doing something twice! 

So this is one of my recent purchases, a 12 x 12 MDF paper holder - it can stand the paper up or lay it flat.  I had thought about getting a 12 x 12 plus an A4 version, but decided that this one unit woud do fine for both.  I purchased this from floss5094 on eBay and it arrived completely put together and ready for a coat of paint - I was very happy with how well this was made.

I painted the inside and outside of the main frame with a quick coat of whitewash and I also used the white wash to paint the dividers.  I let this dry overnight and then used my trusty Golden black gesso to paint all of the edges.

Once the gesso was completely dry, I used my Pam Carriker Mixed Media Adhesive to glue some fabulous papers from Teresa Collins onto the centre of each panel - I did the whole way around, so if in the future I want to stand it vertically I can, and it will be decorated to same all over!  I also painted a layer of the mixed media adhesive over the top of the whole box, which gave the whole piece a wonderful matt finish, PLUS should make it a little more durable over time.


I think it looks rather spiffy, matches the rest of the patterned pieces pretty well and fits in rather nicely - smack bang into one of my units.  Now off to fill it up.....

May your day sparkle,

Leather Suitcase score!

OK - I just found the best score in the rubbish bin at work - yes I know that sounds really yucky!  I've been wanting to do an altered suitcase for ages now, I saw something created by Tim Holtz, I can't remember what right now, but it sparked an idea in my head, ever since a steampunk altered suitcase has been on my To-Do list.  I was so excited to snag this - the case is wood covered in real leather, it has brass fittings and is still in working order, the stitching is in excellent condition and it is a perfect size to use with loads of room inside. 

As an extra bonus it has this natty little insert which attaches to the top of the case and when opened it has loads of neat little leather pouches perfect for scissors, tools, bottles etc..


Now all that's required is a good clean, prep, paint, alter and use - oh and I REALLY need to do something about the smell - yikes!

May your day sparkle,

Hutch Style Storage for Craft Room

OK I have this amazing space and gorgeous looking desk - I was determined to create something equally useful and gorgeous to go with it.  I had been speaking in a previous post about buying a hutch - I looked high and low and couldn't find anything 'just right' for me, what I did find was too small, too big, too expensive, cost too much to ship and most of it would not make very good use of the space I have.  I know I harp on about using the space you have - but it really makes a HUGE difference, especially in a relatively small space like mine!  So I did a little begging of some friends, a little scrounging and a lot of work myself (a LOT of work - sore legs, back, arms - you get the idea!) and I now have something that is PERFECT for my needs, it might even be a solution for you. 

Let me tell you about my 'Hutch Style Storage' or my faux-hutch as I like to call it.

My hutch is made up of 4 individual pieces which fit together, I measured the basics I want to put in there BEFORE making the sections, so I know what I want in there actually fits.  Having individual pieces allows me to change the configuration if I want, or if I move spaces/tables.  The pieces are made to fit in several different ways, each piece is the same length (so I can stack them) and if I put them all together they are the same length as my desk and together create a single height unit - if the little units are stacked.  BUT that's not what I was after, I wanted a miracle!  I needed something:

• which would allow me to have space in front of where I work (something a bit open so I had room for larger projects),
• which moved my computer off my work space,
• which allowed room to store the things which need to be close to hand,
• which maximised the space I had, created more if possible and
• which would be a safe place for my cats! 

A big ask huh!  Well this is how I got what I wanted.

It's made from old office shelves, there are holes, staples, nicks out of the laminate, staining, uneven edges, super glue marks, raw rough cut edges and they are perfect.  I scrounged the shelving and a friend cut it into rectangles which were screwed together to make the boxes below. If they need to be perfect, perhaps having these professionally made might be an option.  Me, I was just happy to be able to have them :O)  The larger boxes measure 38cm(H) x 55cm(W) x 35cm(D) and the smaller boxes measure  19cm(H) x 55cm(W) x 35cm(D).

Next, I needed to add a backing board to each of the 4 boxes for extra strength, but after cutting these to size, the boards (once white) were a bit scratched up.  I knew I would see these from my desk, so thought I'd do something a bit 'out there' to make them look better, wear better and hide the damage, also to really bring out my colour theme and pattern in the room.  I gathered my supplies: Fancy paper serviettes/napkins, backing board, flat surface to work on, wide bristle brush (I used my trusty gesso brush) and Pam Carriker's Mixed Media Adhesive made by Derivan.

Seperate the coloured layer from the plain layers of the serviette - you only use the coloured layer.

Apply a good coating of Mixed Media Adhesive to the backing board.

Glue the serviettes onto the backing board, I began in a corner and worked from there.  I tried to match up the patterns, putting extra glue on the edges and also overlapping serviettes when I needed to - some worked and some didn't, but that's OK there will be 'stuff' in here so you won't notice any little blips (I hope).

Once the board is completely covered, I added a layer of the Mixed Media Adhesive over the top for extra strength to the finished product (it also gave it a fabulous matte look).

You may find that no matter how careful you are, sometimes the serviette will tear, just use a spare piece to fill in the gap.  Don't be tempted to 'trim' the edges until this is completely dry - or you may tear the damp serviette away from the backing board.  I left mine for about 16 hours to fully dry and then carefully trimmed with a craft knife.  I then used tack nails to attach the backing boards to the boxes.

NB: I highly doubt this is exactly what it was intended for - but Pam Carriker's Mixed Media Matt Adhesive worked superbly to adhere the napkins.

Next I used my Golden Gesso in Black to paint any exposed edges, a small wedge shaped brush, one coat of gesso and some baby wipes (or a wet cloth) to wipe any paint off the laminex and I was getting closer to finished.

Once dry, these can be stacked on the desktop in a variety of configurations and provide easy access to 12x12 paper and card, stationary, a platform for computer/monitor, and a sturdy and safe place for leaping cats.  I can't wait to reveal my room as these look truly fabulous.  What do you think - could these work for you in your space?

May your day sparkle,

Craft Spray Storage Unit (Starbursts, Dylusions, Mists & Glimmers)

I LOVE my sparkly sprays, Starbursts, Glitz Spritz, Moonshadow Mist, Dylusions, Glimmer Mist, Maya Mist, Mr Huey's, Perfect Pearls - the list goes on, and on, and on......  I'm thinking you may know I love the Starburst Sprays from Lindy's Stamp Gang most of all!  I've been keeping them in a large plastic drawer unit -  you can see my old way of storing sprays below:

It became clear that this was no longer going to work for me, I'm had trouble finding the colour I was after, I had swatches on the lid - but sometimes I'm looking for a specific colour and couldn't see the name.  I've tried sorting, but due to the nature of the drawer this didn't really work.  I spent many hours surfing around the net looking for storage ideas which would work in my space and had almost given up hope, when I spotted these on the Colcraft Facebook store, made by a lovely man named Colin.

These units were originally 3 shelves high, but I asked for mine to be made bigger - I guesstimated how many bottles would fit per shelf, counted what I had and crossed my fingers.  The unit measures 900mm high, 600mm wide and 70mm deep - and is perfectly sized to be mounted onto the wall behind the doors in my craft room - not on the door itself as they may be too heavy for the hinges.  When the doors are opened you don't even know these are there - perfect invisible storage and using 'wasted' space in my craft room.

As you can see the shelving units arrive as bare wood, I didn't think that was going to fit in with the rest of the room, so I tried my hand at white washing.  I mixed 1 cup of Water Based Enamel paint (the same stuff I used on the table) with 1 cup of water, I mixed for 5 minutes, let sit for 10 and mixed for 5 more until the paint and water were evenly blended.

I applied 1 coat of white wash over the entire unit, I left it fairly rough and was really happy as this allowed you to see the pattern of the timber underneath - the colour looked much more suited to my space as well.

But being me, I couldn't leave it there.  The instructions for white washing recommended a varnish over the top to protect it, so I thought I'd make mine sparkly!  I mixed one 200mL tube of Gloss Gel Medium (looks white and dries clear) with the dry powder from 2 bottles of Creme Brulee Starbursts.

Mix in a small bowl for 5 minutes until powder is evenly distributed.  As you mix you will see streaks of blue, red, yellow or even purple, appear and then disappear - these are the individual dye colours used to create the colour 'Creme Brulee Cream' and as long as you mix well, you will not see these individual colours in the final paint.  To make sure all the dye is fully dissolved, add between 2-3 tablespoons of water to the mix and stir for a further 5 minutes to combine.  This should ensure all dye is activated and mixed thoroughly with the gloss medium.
Once thoroughly mixed, I painted the inside of each shelf with a paintbrush and then used a sea sponge (damp) to sponge the mixture on to the outsides, dowel and front edge of each shelf.
I really like the little bit of texture this added to the paint and the fact that the resulting finish is slightly textured, means that the mica in the Starbursts catches the light and the units look like softly glowing pearls - sooooooo pretty, I wish I could capture this on film.
My hubby mounted the units onto the wall, with the top shelf sitting at eye height and they are exactly what I had hoped for.  I misjudged ever so slightly and really needed space for 4 more bottles, but I'm OK with that, the ones on the top of the unit are colours I found I have 2 of - now that I can see them all.  I have them sorted by colour and within each colour they are sorted dark to light from left to right - doesn't my Starburst rainbow look fabulous?
I am planning to decorate these just a tiny bit more, but as far as Starburst storage goes, these are just perfect - if you are in Australia and are looking for something like this I can highly recommend Colin from ColCraft.

May your day sparkle,

Revamping Laminex Craft Desk

On my list of things to do in my craft room clean up, was altering my old brown craft desk.  Don't get me wrong this desk has served me well for over 15 years now, I rescued it from a closing down office for $80 and have been using it ever since.  The desk is nice and big, sturdy and has 4 drawers on one side which are nice and roomy, I like my desk - I just dislike the way it looks,  so I've decided to give the old gal a new lease on life!

Step one:  Replace laminex on desk top and desk top edges - I had help with this step from someone who knows what they were doing and is versed in the finer points of contact adhesive.  I chose a high gloss white laminate called White Valencia with a Diamond Gloss finish.  This was recommended as being the most scratch and dye ink resistant - he he he - the man in the store looked a little confused when I explained what I would be doing on the desk top.  This is where things began to go a little pear shaped, the top turned up, but not the laminate for the desk edges - minor problem until I found out that the edging would never be arriving as the strips were too wide for normal edging.  OK options, buy another whole sheet of White Valencia laminate to cut up ($$$$) or go with an off cut available in the store - I chose the off cut - I just didn't know they were planning to cut it to size with a hack saw!  So when the lovely man (thanks Tony) who was installing the laminate collected it, he had jagged edges to work with which were not even straight or able to be used with the laminate trimmer aarrrggghhh!  Poor Tony had to FILE the edges to get them to line up with the desk top - so not OK laminate store, not ok at all!  Thankfully Tony (a consummate professional) made this work and I then had a lovely white top and contrasting brushed aluminium edges.

Step 2: Prime remaining laminate on desk and drawers / drawer handles for painting with  White Knight Grip-Lock Primer  - this is when it started to rain and didn't stop for 3 days.  I was determined to get this done (as it was the only time I had off work) so I dragged the table inside - put down a drop sheet in my lounge room, moved all the furniture out and ploughed ahead.

Step 3: Paint with Taubmans Water based white enamel paint - allow a minimum of 4 hours between each coat, 2 - 3 coats recommended. 

This first photo is the table after 3 coats, obviously the recommended number of coats hadn't figured in dark brown laminate. 

Still streaky after 3 coats

My work was being constantly monitored, from all angles.

Painting UNDER the desk was my favourite, torch in one hand and brush in the other!

I had to fight to secure the chair.

It took 5 coats all over the desk, and one more on each end and 3 days of painting before the streaks were acceptably gone.  I was really sick of painting at this point, but wait there's more to go - groan - WHY am I doing this again?

After 5 coats, my table looks white and not streaky brown.

The paint was touch dry in 4 hours, but took 3 days to cure - it's now looking pretty darn spiffy!  BUT there was still more to go - I had a special plan for the desk drawers.

Drawers Step 1:  Apply same white enamel paint (same number of coats) to drawers and let dry, I also applied these coats to the handles - which were a nasty mid-brown.  Leave to cure (I left these 3 days) before continuing.

Drawers Step 2: Apply 2 thin coats of black paint to drawer handles - I used Stewart Gill 'Pearlise' in Black Pearl available from The Artist Cellar, I did a rough job to begin, just to get the base colour down on the inside of the handles.

Drawers Step 3: I previously mentioned I bought a special decal in this post, well my plan all along had been to use this on the desk drawers.   This is the decal I purchased solid black orchid it's similar to a HUGE rub on, you trim off the excess or unwanted pattern, peel off the backing sheet, rub firmly onto the flat surface you want to transfer the design to and then cross your fingers and peel off the top sheet.  I was a tiny bit nervous, but what the heck it was my desk and if I want a big orchid on the drawers why shouldn't I have one! 

I trimmed the excess and cut off the base of the planter, so the image would fit where I wanted it to go.

I lay the image over the 4 drawers (as they would line-up when in the desk) and carefully cut the image into 4 sections.

I started applying the image from the bottom drawer up, checking each time that all the segments were aligning.  I used a small sharp craft knife to cut the image around the drawer handles, this ensured the image sat completely flat.  Then I rubbed that image onto the paint, carefully peeled back the top layer and I had this.....

Squeeee - looking good isn't it!  At this point I'm almost there. To make sure this decal will last the abuse I'll be giving it, I applied a very thin amount of Glossy Accents to the top and bottom of the image on each drawer - this should stop the image lifting where the drawers rub together.  I used the same black paint to paint the edges of the handles and filled in any tiny gaps in the image. 

Then just as a finishing touch I applied some Viva Decor Silver Ferro Metal Effect Paint that I picked up from Passion 4 Paper - this gave a subtle silver shimmer to the handles and when viewed from different angles, looks rather like the brushed aluminium trim on the desk top.

As a final touch, Kasey had suggested, that I apply either soap or candle wax to the drawer runners to help them slide more easily.  The runners were plastic but I figured why not - so I've applied soap to the runners, top, bottom and side of each drawer front and any other surface I could find.  Not only do they smell rather good, but the drawers are sliding much more easily, so big thanks Kasey - what a helpful suggestion!

You may have noticed I'm not really showing the 'finished' bit of these - I'm going to make you wait for the big reveal .....

May your day sparkle,

Decorator Wall Stickers and Transfers

OK - I'm back with another update, letting you know how my redecorating, remodelling, revamping of my craft room is going.  After moving everything out of my desk space and having the light bulbs swapped over the first thing I did was add my wall art (you can read about where I got these on my previous post).  The velvet blooms and the tree stick well, are easy to remove and didn't leave a mark when I moved and re-applied in a different spot (luckily)!  Of these 2 the velvet blooms are my favourite as these look to be of slightly better quality and I like that they do not have a shine.  The vinyl tree, is slightly less fabulous and watch out as you apply as if a piece escapes and touches the surface of one of the other pieces it can remove the colour and pattern.  This one was also not quite as easy to move and reapply, also best on matt paint - stuck VERY well onto my glossy painted door.   The vinyl orchid is not removable and had to be applied much more carefully - I'll show you this tomorrow as it is now part of my furniture, sooo exciting!!!!!! 

Bird & Tree

 

Velvet Hanging Vineyard Bloom

 

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On a side note, while interested, the cat's have not attacked or tried to scratch at these - even the sparkly crystals on the velvet bloom (bonus) and I think they really jazz up the room.   The room looks a bit naked right now, but trust me - this will be fabulous.

May your day sparkle,

Craft Room Clean Up - Step 1

Here is my first update for my Craft Cleanse / Craft Room clean up - Oh my what a mess!  So before I could do much of anything I needed to move my craft desk.  This meant moving everything off the desk so the desk itself could be moved.  You don't realise exactly how much stuff you can fit onto a desk until it's sitting on your bedroom floor - my craft room/bedroom currently looks like this.  I'm continuing to tell myself - this is only temporary, it will get better, it will get better.....

The naked spot where my desk sits.

Desk drawers

This all came off my desk

so did this...

 
and there is more in the cupboard, but you get the general idea.  WOW I can't believe all of this came off the desk. 

Step 1 - Light Bulbs

Once the desk was moved out of the road I was able to begin, first thing I did was change my warm white halogen globes in the overhead lights (which give a yellowish tint to the light) to cool white, I also swapped to the energy efficient LED bulbs at the same time - seems like a small change but it really has made a noticeable difference.  The room seems brighter and lighter somehow, but I have also noticed that even though I purchased 'wide' beam bulbs, the light spread is a little more narrow - not a big deal, but thought I'd mention it.  I couldn't put in a skylight, but changing the colour of the bulbs has definitely helped.  You can sort of see the difference between warm light and cool light in the photos below.

You might consider this in your space - check which bulbs you have, can you change the colour, what colour do you prefer:

• warm white
• cool white or
• daylight (aka white).

If you'd like to swap, you could always do it in stages as the bulbs need replacing, daylight is the light I like best, but these were unavailable, so cool white was my next preference and in retrospect perhaps a better choice for my dark, windowless space.

May your day sparkle,