This week, I'll be taking a little road trip with my honey. But before I go, Beth and I are going to get the class description for "Romantic Gothic Ghosts" open and ready for you to see. I'll also write some posts ahead of time, so I won't be gone a week with no postings. You can still leave a comment to enter the August Giveaway for one of my completed Gothic Ghost projects too.
EDIT- Registration is open now!! Check out the class info here.
My projects are done, and I've got my instructions ready to go. Its that durn pixel thing that is getting me, I don't have the scans of the images loaded yet. I want to get them just right, so that when you print them, you will smile. Not curse at me. To free my mind from all the pixel problems, I played with pretties. Here are some things listed in the Boutique. See what I mean? Really pretty! But since I will be out of town for most of the week, I can't fill your orders till I get back. All packages will ship out on Tuesday, August 31. Please, shop away! I'll get your new goodies to you as soon as I can. There are lots of fall colored flowers in the Boutique right now. Agnes Rosebud and I had a hat plucking frenzy going on in the studio today.
As soon as all the blooms were pulled off, Agnes got the naked hats to wrestle to the ground and fight with. She was so worn out, that she curled up in one to take a nap.
I don't think she realizes just how much she has grown.
She might be needing a bigger hat.
Our "Romantic Gothic Ghost" tutorials will be all tone on tone, neutrals and sepia and I just love that look.
But, as much as I've been making anti-orange and purple Halloween statements lately, I have to admit, that when it comes to millinery, any color can look good!
The way I see it, if you are going to be making Halloween colored things, you should be using beautiful supplies to do it with. Take at look at these and tell me if you agree!
I've started a new category in the Boutique too, "Halloween" is filled up with stuff you might need for fall swaps, scrapbooks, and other projects. Its not too soon to start. Especially swaps….
I appreciate all your input on my Silver Bella worries about clique-ishness. My reason for bringing it up, is that I LOVE that event and would hate to see it develop any kind of bad rep. I always find such a happy, creative atmosphere when I am there, that I feel sad to think others might not see it that way.
Thanks for joining in on the conversation. I hope that you will consider coming to Omaha in November and see for yourself just how magical the weekend is.
My life is finally getting back to normal from my trip out to CA. I'm listing some new things in the Boutique and getting back to work. The first few days back, I had a horrible time trying to focus on doing anything constructive. I just wanted to water flower beds, play with Sugarwings and Agnes Rosebud, and keep reading. My mind didn't want to switch out of vacation mode!
After a week of having plenty of time to enjoy reading good books, it wasn't easy to put them down. Especially when I was in the middle of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I just had to finish it before I started back up with real life.
Yesterday, I was able to combine playing with Sugarwings and working. She and I got some clay out and made mermaids.
This one is still a bit rough. I used cheapo air clay by Crayola instead of getting the good stuff, the paper clay recommended by teachers at my Mermaid getaway in CA. I found this harder to work with, it gets really goopy and easily messed up. The paper clay is easier to use, is lighter weight and dries faster.
It feels like it will be days before this one is dry enough to paint. Before I do, I'll get out some fine sandpaper and clean up the facial features, since I was simply smearing them around with my fingers dipped in water. I must have wiped her poor little nose clear off her face three times. This clay got so mushy, it just washes away.
Paper Clay works wonderfully with wet finger tips as a smoothing tool. So, I ordered some online from the site that Jenny suggested, Creative Paper Clay Company
The site had kind of high prices, ($11.99) but offered a wholesale price too ($6) . So, I clicked on the wholesale button, and got the packages of clay half price. With no minimum order and no questions about whether you were a business or not. Odd. But I was happy they told me that I could buy it for less if I left their retail site! How nice of them to let us know.
One of the teachers I especially enjoyed in CA was Julie Haymaker
Her class was a crown/headband, but she encouraged mixing it up and trying something different. Knowing I wouldn't be comfortable in a head band (they give me headaches) I decided to use her ideas on a collage instead.
There was an itinerary on the table in front of each of us, conveniently printed on sturdy card stock. So, I flipped it over, covered it in vintage papers and turned it into this. I liked using that, because this piece becomes even more of a souvenir of the event, with the time table on the back.
Charlene gave me the transfer of a mermaid that she made from instructions by Lisa from a class at Paper Cowgirls. It was exactly what I needed.
Julie provided us with star fish made from Paper Clay, and head pins with beads to make the sprays coming out of the shell.
I added a frozen Charlotte mermaid and some rhinestone sparklies.
Our last class of the weekend was this journal/album taught by Melissa Phillips. It has a canvas cover that we embellished with Glimmer Mist and stenciled shapes.
I brought some old wallpaper and paper dolls with a summer time feel, and used those instead of the papers provided. The papers were interesting and I'll save them for a photo album. I use scrap book papers in scrapbooks, but for art projects I prefer old things.
I'm saving space in this little book for some photos of my buddies at the event. Its full of pockets that I've already tucked business cards and mementos into.
And I don't think I've shown you won of my lucky wins, have I? This art doll mermaid is from Jennifer Norman
I was lucky to get Jenn Hayslip as a swap partner in Jessi's art bottle swap. She found sheet music featuring a fairy boat and made the cutest pink bottle with this little baby fairy on it for me. Yep, it was my lucky week!
You still have today and tomorrow to enter the drawing for my mermaid inspired pearl earrings. Where did July go, anyway???
My gazebo planter boxes rarely do well. I don't know why. This year, I planted colorful foliage instead of flowers and that seems to be a good fix for the problem.
The violets are wild, and I like the look of them. Its always nice when nature adds her own touch to my gardening! Of course, adding Agnes Rosebud is always a nice bonus. She's a sweet little posy!
After visiting Carol and Fifi(by the way, she really is FABULOUS!) I stopped at the mall while I was in Kansas City to find some new sandals for my trip to California. The mall is a rare trip for me, I'm a Goodwill, garage sale, and TJMax shopper.
The parking lot I like is covered and out of the heat, but the doors open into Neiman Marcus- or Needless Markup, as I call it. I don't shop there much because I'm cheap. But as I stepped into the door, these jewel encrusted sandals were the first thing I saw and, I had to pick them up and drool over admire the sparkly rhinestones!
Since I was already in love, I was afraid to flip them over and see how much they were, but I sucked up the courage, braced myself and took a peek.At first I thought the tag read $158. And I was not surprised. That's pretty typical there.
But they were only $58! And now they are mine. And for that price, I can still afford a pedicure to go along with them!
Little Aggie Rose takes after her mom, Twinkle and thinks every photo is of her. By the way, Twinkle is posing too, but got cropped out. They both see a camera and start to ham it up.
Yesterday, I took everyone's advice and returned to the salon for a do over. It was a good idea, I much prefer a brighter look, and the hair dresser was sweet as can be about it. No charge, so I gave her a $20 tip.
I was feeling very happy and sparkly inside after the good news about the new baby, so wanted to look sparkly outside too.
My earrings are from Curious Sofa. Hand made
from Victorian buttons, and I just love them. Normally, I make my own
jewelry or wear vintage, but I'm a sucker for anything Debbie has to
sell… I love that store. She's sold my jewelry there before too. Its
an honor to sell there, she has such great taste.(here is some of my hand made earrings, on this page) So, since I've been splurging, with new shoes, new hair color, and earrings I'd better get some things listed in my own shop and recoup some of the cash I blew. When I cleaned up the studio last week, I filled a 33 gallon container with stuff I need to photograph and sell. One tub doesn't sound like a lot, but when a bunch of it is jewelry pieces, it feels like a LOT. The tub is brimming with little things. So far, there isn't much of a dent in the box. But I'm working on it. Here is some of what I snapped pix of today. Which doesn't exactly mean that I've got it in the Boutique yet…. but its coming!
This post shows my studio over the years. For my most recent redo in 2024, please look at these posts here and here.
Edit- this post is my studio from June 2010. A 2013 post is Here , 2012 post is here, and the 2011 studio tour can be found here.
Welcome to the Where Bloggers Create party! This is the view from my desk, cluttery as it might look now, this is really an improvement. It was actually cleaned up this week. There is always a lot going on, no matter how organized I think I'll try to be…
The room is almost 1,000 sq ft. And I love every bit of it!! I've made use of dining tables, spare rooms, garages, driveways, sheds, you name it, over the years I've used it as a studio. So when I got this space, it was a dream come true and I will NEVER take it for granted. I give a little sigh of happiness when I come into the space every morning.
Its one big room, divided up with old doors that I have hinged together, and furniture placed back to back to create walls.
This view is from the same seat, at my desk, but looking to the right, at one of my favorite parts of the room, the TV.
During the day, I listen to NPR on the radio, but evenings and weekends that TV gets a work out. My husband travels a lot, so there are nights that I stay out in the studio till 3 or 4 am watching shows that I have recorded and playing with old papers to my heart's content.
Its important to me to have stuff easy to get to, so the work area is a U shape, with lots of shelving. This is behind my desk and holds a lot of the stuff I use daily.
Having attractive displays is important to me too. I cover a lot of old boxes with pretty papers, or use vintage flower pots, cups, and baskets to store things in.
Just about everything in the room came from garage sales, auctions, or thrift stores except this glass topped table that I used to store my jewelry. Its from TJ Maxx and was only $58. It was already white, I just added a vintage wallpaper border to it so it felt like it wasn't so newish.
I kind of like old jewelry.
I kind of like old hats too.
But its really the flowers from the old hats that I crave, not the hats themselves.
Glass jars with lids make a handy storage display too. So many of the things that I use for my artwork are vintagey things that are pretty as is. So I enjoy having them out where I can see them. Plus, if I tuck things away in drawers, I forget where they are.
Here is a video of part of the studio, if you have a couple minutes to watch it. Its a little long and meandering, plus I tend to babble. Sorry.
This large cabinet holds all my fabric and sewing goods. I got it in pieces, for only $15, and had to rebuild it and fix it up.
It has a large drawer in the bottom that I keep watercolor supplies in, even though I don't paint as often as a should, I do get around to it a few times a year. The framed hydrangeas by the prom dresses is one of my paintings.
So, is this one. Its from the Grumpy Fairy book that I made for Sugarwings. I framed my favorite scene and hung it on one of the French doors that I use as a room divider.
On my previous post, I showed hand painted furniture that I use in the studio. I just don't paint as often as I used to, when I do its smaller pieces like this salvage bit over the door.
Or this plank over the window.
All around the room, I've displayed things that make me smile. Little projects that I have done, things that could be projects some day, gifts from friends, or just odds and ends.
I'll leave you with a few scenes from around the room. Make sure you visit Karen for a full list of the bloggers who are showing their workspaces this weekend. There are about a billion of them. I can't wait to work my way through the list, even if it takes a couple of weeks to see them all. Its kind of like peeking into an open house in an exclusive neighborhood. I just love to see how other people decorate!
Oh, and don't forget, that all comments all month are entered to win a Peat Pot Pretty with a frozen Charlotte fairy.
And if you add your name to the list of Followers, I'll enter you in a drawing for another prize. edit- this giveaway is over now, but I do have a new monthly giveaway ongoing. All comments, all month, on all posts count.
(yes- that is a dog pen in my studio, I just raised 6 pups)
The wallhanging is a gorgeous gift from Beth.
And yes, the guardian angel seems to be watching over co-joined twins, one with an ax in her head.
Okay, I'm getting carried away, this is plenty! Have fun browsing the Where Bloggers Create party. Thanks for hosting, Karen.
Edit- Lucky me!! I am one of three winners from all the wonderful studio spaces shown for Karen's party!! Jo Packham is going to feature the three blogs in "Where Women Create"
Thanks again, so much Karen, for giving me this opportunity, and thanks to you too, Jo!
I'm adding more photos of the studio to this post, the room changes a lot, so here are some views of the room over time:
Getting ready for a Creative Cottage Getaway with friends coming to play in the studio
Extra tables set up for company
Set up for a photo shoot for a magazine article a couple years ago
The hand painted floor
My Treat cabinet in Romantic Country Magazine with an article I wrote about how to find your personal Valentine's decorating style.
From the same article. I now use this cabinet for storing my shipping supplies.
Yep, this is actually in the studio! It was set up for an open house and sale that day.
This gazebo type structure is now where I have my computer and desk sitting. The tulle and lights didn't last, spiders and dust seemed to be very attracted to them.After a few months it was starting to look kind of haunted.
Another photo shoot set up. The room is no longer used for this, at one time, I sold hand painted furniture, and used this space for displaying the pieces and having sales.
This was also for a photo shoot. Now, I use the table for my sewing machine. When I have guests for a dinner party, I feed everyone in the studio instead of the house, we can seat over 25 people out there, if I move things around and organize a bit.
The stained glass door, is not really stained glass, its paint. The door was taken from the kitchen of our old farm house before we remodeled.
But usually, I just have a dozen or so guests and push the two dining tables in the front of the studio together.
My fairy grand baby and I love inviting friends over for cupcakes and tea.
Sugarwings loves the room as much as I do.
This is the front door of the studio, since this was taken, I've painted the doors bird egg blue and added hydrangeas to the hand painted shutters (they used to be bi-fold doors, found at a garage sale for a couple dollars).
My husband and I like to have our morning coffee out here on the porch. Its also nice to sip a glass of wine on during a thunderstorm.
I love every inch of my wonderful studio space and know just how lucky I am to have it. Thanks for coming by to visit!
On Tuesday night, I had a little dinner party. It was an iffy day, sometimes too hot, sometimes too wet, so I set up a tent for shade in case the rain stayed away and we could eat outside.
Luckily, no rain, and the shade from the little pop up tent was ideal for dining outside in the evening after the heat of the day had passed.
Which made Twinkle and Agnes Rosebud pretty happy, they'd stay outdoors every minute of the day if I'd let them.
Since the day was unpredictable and I was afraid we wouldn't be able to eat outdoors if a storm came up, I cleaned my studio just in case we had to move indoors with our plates. I have two dining room tables in the front half of my workshop, that are usually piled up so high with crap, I mean, great stuff that you can't even see the tables.
The area usually only gets cleaned up for company, which is kind of sad. I wonder why I can't keep it nice for just me?
Anyway, its clean now and since it won't stay that way long, I thought I'd make the most of it and get some studio pictures.
This is the Treat Cabinet. (Lacking in treats at the moment.) I fill it up with goodies when company comes for dinner, or on craft days. If I'm out in the studio alone, that just is not a safe thing to do. If I had a full treat cabinet, I'd never get any work done.
Recently, I've decided to use the top shelf of the wardrobe as wallpaper storage, quite a bit of my collection fit up there.
This cabinet was meant to be a closet or wardrobe. It has the one shelf at the top and a bar for clothes. I added tables to set the goodies on, and cut a hole in the back to run an extension cord through for lighting.
Picking a vintage wallpaper to cover the back was tough. First of all, I wanted it to be kind of neutral- not a lot of color. Second, I wanted rosy. I chose this toile rose pattern because I think it would look good with lots of different displays when I change things up a bit.
The space under the table cloths makes great storage for cups/napkins/etc.
This is a new addition to the Treat Cabinet. My pal, Suzanne Duda, gave me this foofed up, old suitcase pocket. I thought it was ideal to use for serving pieces. I slipped a couple large cups inside it, one to hold plastic forks, the other to hold napkins, so they wouldn't all just fall into the bottom of the pockets.
Behind the cups, I slid the paper plates.
A few years back, I used to paint furniture and sell it at a Kansas City antique mall. Some days I miss doing that, but not very often. I didn't realize how hard I was working until I quit doing it. Its nice to concentrate on small items that fit into an envelope now instead!!
There are a few pieces of painted stuff still around the house, and even more in the studio. You can probably tell that the room is a bit of a hodge podge of what ever I had.
The two dining tables usually have either recently made items, or stuff for sale, or things I just bought set out on them.
The centers of the tables are filled with things that just kinda make me smile…
By the way, I do have a giveaway chosen for June! And the month is only half way over, too. All comments all month still count.
And here it is-
I'll be giving away a Peat Pot Pretty with a frozen Charlotte fairy.These will be featured in Somerset Life, I'm writing an article about it next week, which is always an honor!!
Leave a comment if you'd like a chance to win one!
I'll leave you with a couple more pics of some hand painted pieces in the studio.
And for more peeks into the room, please come back on June 19th, I'll be a part of the Where Bloggers Create party hosted by Karen Valentine.
While the room was cleaned up I made a little video of the space.
We had a great trip to Indiana! Traveling with 3 puppies and one 3 year old made the drive challenging, but unique. Instead of stopping for typical roadside breaks, we needed to find spots for all the little ones to stretch and play. Lunch was a quick trip to Trader Joe's in St Louis to pick up a picnic, then take it to a city park to eat it and play for an hour or so.
And for one break, we found a giant field of clovers to run in.
Adam's loved one has magical four leaf clover hunting skills. I've spent a life time trying to find just ONE. She says its all in the way you look at them. I consider myself a lucky person, and I have sharp eyes, but I can't find a lucky clover for anything. And I search!!
Its been a quest of mine since I was a little girl. Other goals, I've had to leave behind. Like trying to go one full mile on a pogo stick. I spent an entire summer when I was about 8 years old on that one, and had to give it up. Or the summer I tried to learn how to do a back flip into the pool. My body just doesn't do those and I gave up that dream too.
I'm not giving up on the clover search, and now I have a Clover Master to teach me her skills.
My poor little car was filled to the brim on the way there, and we had to half unload it every time we got the pups out.
But it was not too full to add some purchases along the way! My hat whispering skills were in fine form and I found so many (cheap!) along I70, that I am almost embarrassed to tell you about it.
These are just a few that I have unpacked so far. The rest are in my suitcase with all the dirty laundry and I am avoiding that. Its hard enough to admit a vacation is over, doing up the laundry and unpacking is just too much to face.
(The wallpaper covered box is full of old corsages. I got a bag filled with them for $11.)
So, I maybe my lucky charm isn't a four leaf clover its a millinery flower?
All the puppies are settled into their new homes now. We are down to Agnes Rose, who I am calling Rosebud instead of Rose now. She is just too little to be a big flower, she's just a bud.
I'm adjusting to the fact that we actually KEPT one. A couple days ago, she was one of the pups, now she is MY dog.
Well, that point is debatable. Someone else claims Agnes Rosebud.
They kept each other company for most of the drive home.
Omaha was great, we had such a nice trip! Don't I have the world's sweetest husband, to chose a weekend at the zoo and the Holiday Inn's water park with all the kids as his 50th birthday celebration?
We LOVE this little water park in Omaha, its in a newer Holiday Inn that has great service, and free meals for kids. The indoor pool area is meant for smaller children and has never been crowded or busy while we are there.
Plus, the hotel is located near the Old Town area, with great food and shopping. While the kids napped between swimming in the morning and zoo time in the afternoon, I escaped to 2nd Chance. Where I found a pile of floral hats for under $7 each.
Plus a pile of Victorian scrap and old photos. I'm planning on making some fairy ornaments (hopefully a make and take at Silver Bella in November.) Have you ever noticed how hard it is to find just the right photos to make into fairies? You need to make sure you get both feet, a standing or sitting position that works well when the person is cut out of the photo, and no fingers to have to cut around.
Well, you don't want the person to be fingerless- you just don't want the fingers to be splayed and beyond the edges of the girl's dress. Its just easier to not have to cut out each tiny finger.
Normally, when I am on a family trip like this, I don't get in much shopping. This time I also got to stop at Rusty Chandelier in St. Joe on the drive home. It was a quick trip, to stretch legs and for my husband to fill up the car while Sugarwings and I looked around antique mall.
But I just knew that I had to stop, and I was right, my hat whispering skills had led me to a couple more hats that were waiting there for me.
How PERFECT is this sequin top hat???? Silver Bella's theme this fall will be hats and Teresa has been using a cute top hat as the symbol of the event this year. I found not only this hat, but this bit of Victorian scrap with this little girl wearing a top hat herself. There are some possibilities for that rolling around in my head right now!
So much for my theory that pictures for fairies need feet. I can see her as a little sprite, can't you? She might be the foundation for my design for the make and take for vendor night.
And there are a few pictures of Sugarwings that I might make into a fairy for my photo album.
We had lucky weather while in Omaha, there was sunshine and a light breeze at the zoo. Sugarwing's Daddy and his new family (well some of them, not all the kids could make it) came along for the trip and I discovered that its even more fun to have extra grand kids to spoil and play with!
Before the trip, I bought the girls matching dresses, and a coordinating red shirt for the little guy. Corny? Yep, but I thought it was adorable, plus it made them so easy to keep track of all day. We knew that the red blurs running up ahead were ours.
Our hotel was around the corner from the Qwest Center, where Barnum and Baily Circus happened to be for the weekend. We hadn't planned on attending, but the kids had never been, so when the zoo closed at 6, we swung by for the next performance at 7.
The morning started at the pool, then napping, then zoo, then circus, then ended at the pool again. Whew! That was one jam packed day.
But, my husband and I decided at the last minute to play hooky and just buy tickets to the circus for the rest of the group. He and I snuck over to Old Town and had a romantic dinner, then walked around holding hands and enjoying the evening.
As ideal as the kids were all day, sweet, polite, and fun- it was nice to have a night out with just the two of us. When we got back to the hotel, we joined the kids at the water park, where I taught them how to play shark tag, and let the parents go have their own little get away dinner.
I think my handsome husband had a fantastic birthday, I hope he enjoyed the trip as much as I did! He's a great guy and deserves a good celebration!
Still, its nice to be back home with our puppies again.
What's the only thing better than scoring over a dozen floral hats at a flea market? Playing with them when you get home! Especially when you have friends who want to play too.
These little guys are starting to get interesting. They all try to come to me (but are still kind of stumbly) when they hear my voice now. It has not been easy to get any work done today, its the first day that the pups really seem to want to spend as much time with me as they do with their mom. Its funny to see how fast they develop and change. Just yesterday, they were mostly sleeping and today they are crying until they get picked up!
Between snuggles, I've been plucking hats. My hat storage is overflowing, so I needed to make space by pulling all the flowers off the newest arrivals. Finding 15 in one day is kind of amazing, even with my hat whispering skills. But I have to admit that I had a little help at the flea mkt, Beth pointed a few out to me and was nice enough to let me at them.
She and I are good shopping partners. I try to point out things I know she'll love. Even if I love them too. We kind of let things go to who ever has the most passion for the item, or take turns with the greatest stuff, or even share. We started a wallpaper pact years ago to prevent jealousy. If one of us scores big on wallpaper, we always share with the other.
(The hat with the brown ribbon only had a few flowers on it, but LOOK at that fabulous dotted Swiss ruffled ribbon that rims it!!)
See why I can't resist these guys? They are finally starting to look around and observe their world and its so cute when they just stare into my eyes. I don't know if I've ever been more in love with a batch of pups… its going to be hard to say goodbye in just a few weeks!
Its always hard to say good bye to the flowers too… I fall a bit in love with each bloom. I was reading Jenny's blog the other day and drooling over some flowers she used on a May basket, then she mentioned she had bought them from me!
Its never easy to say good bye to Sugarwings when she goes home to her mommy or daddy either, but its easier knowing that her parents are generous with letting us have time with her and with them too. We are so blessed and lucky that our extended family can all "share" her and get along. Even though her parents aren't together, we are all still family. I'm hoping that her Daddy's new family will be able to blend with us all too.
My theory is that you can't have too many people to love.
We celebrated May Day together by going to a carnival at her school, then my handsome husband and I did hours and hours of yardwork.
The school is out in the country, and was a lovely setting for all of the events. The big kids did a May Pole dance, there were arts and crafts, live music, and a hula hoop class. (That's my husband showing his moves)
Our tiny little hooper had a blast.
Especially with the glue and scissors. Sometimes I wonder if she really cares about creating anything, all she cares about is cutting and gluing. That kid is obsessed with scissors and glue.
And when I buy her clothes at Goodwill (this is a $4 dress) I can relax and enjoy watching her go wild with the glue.
I probably shouldn't go so many days without posting, I tend to have too much to say as it is, when I post every day or two! It was such a busy and fun weekend that there is just too much to blather on about. Flats of flowers, working in the garden, redoing a guest room, parties, boating, puppies to play with, May poles and more. No wonder I didn't have a chance to do a post!
I'll leave you with some photos of the flower packs I added to the shop, stop running on and on!
EDIT: If you came by the Boutique looking for Charlottes and they were sold out, I added some more, so most are stocked up again. There are no more tiny ones or the largest ones, thanks SO MUCH!
When I made this Valentine fairy from an old Frozen Charlotte, I decided I wanted MORE of these little girls to play with.
So, I found a source to get a few…. well, maybe 140 of them.
These are dug up near the old German factories where they were manufactured between 1850 and 1900. Seconds were tossed in the heap, and are now being searched for in the ground like buried treasure!
I'm loving these cuties, even their dirty little bottoms. (which could probably be soaked clean, but I like the old patina from the dirt)
Some will be used in making my centerpieces for the photo shoot on Monday. But I sure don't need this many, so I have listed them in my Boutique.
They are $3.50 each, plus postage. If you order mulitples, I'll send you a refund for the excess postage, because they sure don't weigh much.
These little girls were fun to play with too. I'm repainting the tiny plastic figures into Alices.
And I am still making Alice tags! Even though I have plenty now…
Is this one too obscure? Its Alice falling down the rabbit hole.
This is my favorite one, so far. Its the doormouse in a teapot, that I painted. The ribbon under the label (cut from a chapter title in the 1923 book) is a snip of old, red velvet.
That book from Beth was ideal for this tag swap! I just can't imagine doing all these without it. I've loved looking through the illustrations, reading tidbits to get ideas, then snipping out words here and there.
I've also used the text as a background for many of my tags. And since it was such a thick book, I should have plenty of pages left to use wrapping paper for the completed tag books when I package them up.
Even though my 75 limit was met, (Yes, I know it was a 60, then a 70 limit first!), I'm still going to let a couple more people in if they want. I had #77 ask me to come in today. How could I say no, when I had 79 tag covers made, and I paid for plenty of little bottles and heart shaped keys to tie on the books?
So, if you are on the fence, you still have time to get in. Since I got a bit carried away in making the tags! Two spaces are available. Of course, when I get the 60th book put together, wrapped, packaged, and labeled, and still have almost 20 left to do, I might be kicking myself for this….No, I'll enjoy it! It is going to be SUCH FUN when all the tags start arriving at my door!!
Edit: The swap is filled up, as far as I can go! Thanks so much to all of you who joined in from all over the world. I just can't wait to see them all pouring in!
Here is a little something for you, if you are getting started on Easter projects. Click on it to enlarge before printing!
And remember, you can win an Alice Tag making kit by leaving a comment.
Also, I'm joining in on Cindy's Show and Tell Friday. Go visit her for links to other show and tells!
Wallpaper packs are ready!! Man, it feels like such an accomplishment for me, because that job drug on all week.
But, its not like I was slaving away for 12 hours a day getting them done… Its such a boring job that I came up with all sorts of little excuses to do something else and not finish.
Trying to get through that stack of paper was like reading a book that wasn't exactly a page turner, but still plugging away with it. When I am reading a so-so book, I can take forever to get to the end, and don't want to start another book till that one is done. So, I'll pick up a magazine, read blogs, or watch TV to procrastinate going back to that book. I don't know why I won't give up on a book like that and start another… I'm a finisher, I guess.
So, while piles of cut and to-be-cut wallpaper filled up my studio, I felt too guilty to do any artwork out there. I was saving a fun creative job as my reward for finishing. But, I did let myself get side tracked by cleaning out Sugarwing's art supply cabinet, and redoing my office area a bit.
Since cleaning isn't all that fun either, it didn't feel like cheating. I must really hate to chop wallpaper, if I'd rather redo all my office drawers and sort paper work. But at least I didn't get so desperate that I worked on taxes!! That little treat is still waiting for me.
My office is a section of my studio, walled off by room dividers I've put together with vintage doors, and a mini gazebo creation thing made of porch posts, two by fours, and iron brackets. Yesterday, while Sugarwings played with her doll house (of course there is a doll house by the computer!), my son, helped me switch out desks and rearrange all the wires so they weren't as obnoxious.
The area feels much more functional, this desk is just a tad bit more comfy than the previous one.
And doing it was a welcome break from cutting and ironing…
The cabinets in the office are all filled with shipping supplies and things listed to sell in the shop. The area could probably be prettied up with better storage (yes that is a Walmart bag on the shelf), but it is a working area, and everything is usually buried under papers and packages anyway.
(the rug is a floor mat that I painted on vinyl floor covering)
Thewallpaper couldn't be avoided forever though. And I got a good jump on it today, all packs are made up and photos are done on quite a few. Some are actually for sale now! The Boutique at Karla's Cottage is well stocked for now, and if I can bolster the courage to add more, I have a few more stacks to list there.
Thank you, for all your requests for pretty papers. Its so wonderful to work with, I'm glad to know that lots of you guys love it too. I am so looking forward to sitting down to my worktable and cutting and gluing a bunch of it into something! Tuesday is craft day, with some friends coming over, so I plan on delving into a big pile of scraps then as my reward for chopping and ironing all week.
While I was avoiding my chores, I also spent some time playing online. Do you RMS?
Rate My Space is a site by HGTV where you upload photos of your home and people either say mean things or compliments about it. And rate your rooms. I show my home on my blog all the time, but people who read my blog, usually "get" my style and like the look. On RMS, you never know who is looking or what they'll say.
Its kind of fun. You can rate my kitchen here if you&
#39;d like. Then, have some fun looking through. The pictures run the gamut of people asking for advice, to magazine worthy rooms. Its a great way to kill time while trying to avoid work!
And for more fun while avoiding work:
Jenover at Sanctuary Arts is having a redo party, and I have linked this post to hers. Check out the other links there for some good ideas about prettying up your home.
