studio tour – Page 3 – Karla's Cottage

Shabbylicious

By Karla Nathan / August 14, 2014

Kerryanne English is an artist I have always admired, and was an early blog friend of mine.

If you are wondering why I'm talking about Kerryanne and showing pictures of my studio, it is because she has asked me to be in her magazine, Shabbylicious.

She caught me at a good time, to get studio pictures. I'd just finished Birdsong, and was getting the room cleaned up, and organized.

So, the room was actually ready for pictures. This year, I have been in a mood to put things away correctly, and efficiently in a pretty way.

It probably doesn't look much different to anyone else, but there is a world of difference to me. Cabinets are cleaned out, supplies are more sorted and accessable, and I've made tags with labels for things hidden away in boxes.

While working on the room, I found a lot of things I forgot I had and really didn't care about anymore. My garage now holds about 6 boxes of neglected goods ready to go to the thrift store. It hurt just a little tiny bit to do that, but the pinch on my thrifty soul didn't hurt for long. It felt good to have things cleaned out once it was done.

I'm so proud of it all, I should be taking pictures inside of cabinets instead of outside!

Even though the guts of the room aren't very pretty, to me they are quite lovely.

I seriously don't know what got into me. This sorting and stacking stage that I've been in started even before Birdsong. While getting ready for the event, I did a lot of redoing along the way. If I needed a tablecloth for the studio, I pulled out every thing from the linen closet, refolded and restacked it all, sorting them by size.

Seriously, what happened to me? Have I become my mother? She had enviable linen closets. Mine have always been very haphazard.

It's an honor to be in Kerryanne's pretty magazine, even though all you can see is the outside of my cabinets, not my glorious stacking and sorting skills hidden inside of them.

It is an online one that you can look at for free, or order a digital or printed copy for yourself. If you buy a printed version, you get the digi one for free.

I've enjoyed going back through her past issues too. The magazine is very well done, and the pictures are lovely. (you can follow her magazines online too, and never miss a copy)

These photos are not in the magazine, these are some of the dozens I sent to her to chose from. I don't have photoshop, and am not savvy about sizing for publishing, so she offered to edit and foof the photos she used for the publication.

I typically use picmonkey, which I love, but isn't suitable for a professional printing job, they tend to shrink the pixels down too much when you save the picture. These photos I'm showing today, are not edited as I usually do, you can probably tell they are "befores", for example, this second Fairy Dress picture is one that I did edit, the first one was not. Sorry that all are not edited!

She was a real doll to work with. If you'd like to see pictures she chose and edited, as well as the other artists featured in the magazine, please visit her here.

And thank you, Kerryanne for including me in your pages! I've ordered my copy and look forward to getting it in the mail.

PS- I'm working away on the covers for our Nature's Blessing Journal swap. If I could do assembly line style work, I'd be done so much faster, but that is BORING. I have to stop and assemble a few as I go, or stop and make pages of my own to keep sane. So far, 45 are assembled.

If you'd like to buy a journal with blank pages, or swap pages with another artist and receive a full book, details are here.

Where Bloggers Create Tour, another look at my cottage studio, I hope you aren’t bored with seeing this room over and over, but I’m trying to show a few little changes this time

cottage, studio tour

By Karla Nathan / July 12, 2014

The lovely and talented Karen Valentine is once again hosting the Where Bloggers Create studio tour.

And even though I've shown my studio a zillion mcbillion times, here I go again.

There are always a few little changes here and there. I've moved a couple pieces of furniture around since last year and added a couple crafty projects. And now my doors are pink. Yay! something different.

This tour is always so much fun to browse through, that I just HAD to join in, I really enjoy this bloggy party. Thanks for hosting again, Karen.

And I did mention that there were some new things.

Like "Fairyville" on top of my buffet. These are a few of the practice fairies I made for the Birdsong class I taught here in June. I was quite addicted to making these little sprites and couldn't stop! Plus, I love having choices and variety for my kits, and needed completed examples of all the colors I'd provided, kit-wise.

And I have a few extra kits left if you want to make one of your own- Email me:

karlanathan@sbcglobal.net

if you are interested in one for $25 plus postage. They include everything you need to make, and decorate a little sprite, illustrated instructions, plus create a peat pot swing for her to relax in.

I have a few colors, as mentioned.

This was my other project for Birdsong, a lace and ephemera mobile.

I've found that projects from classes I teach or take are items that I keep around and treasure. This book was made in Karen's (our blog hop hostess) class during the Downton Affaire in LA.

This sweet dolly dress was from Pamela's class at the same weekend.

I've got all of the dresses on a lace ribbon, hanging under the stitched sampler we worked on there too.

Some items are a constant. One thing that stays on display in my studio, are the swap books that I have hosted.

Sadly, last year I missed out on doing a swap, but I'm in the middle of putting one together right now. I'm painting a portrait of a cement garden angel, which will be copied and collaged with vintage paper onto the cover of the books we make. I'll create all the covers, each swapper will send in the proper amount of pages, and I'll assemble the books and send them back.

Details to come, but if you think you might want to make one, please email me and I'll send you a link to the details when they are ready.

karlanathan@sbcglobal.net

Examples for tutorials are also keepers for me. This is a mini dress form that I've fairied up. I kinda like fairies…

You'll find the magical little creatures in every nook and cranny of the room. These are some that escaped from my wire birdcage tutorial.

Yet one more instance of something I made a gazillion of. Those birdcages took some brain power to get just right, and once I figured out the short cut to making them, I whipped up dozens to make sure I had the technique correct before teaching the class and writing up a tutorial.

Now, I have these cages hanging from the ceiling, (the room is still decorated with the Birdsong theme from our classes in June. I'll leave them there with the paper birds until fall and I do something witchy instead.)

At Christmas last year, I filled a small tree in the studio with birdcages, and hung shiny brites from the branches.

There are a LOT of birdcages!

Millinery flowers are a steady fixture in the studio too.

I do sell them in my shop, but I always get more! It wouldn't feel like home if I didn't have a roomful of smooshy, old flowers.

And pupeesh! Those guys are a very necessary element in the studio.

Being an artist can get a little bit lonely. I'm lucky to have a bunch of co-workers out there with me. Between the dogs and the grand fairies, I rarely get lonely.

The kiddos have their own corner. But this isn't really what it looks like. This is the cleaned up version. I had all of their things packed up for Birdsong to make room for guests. Then, before I could get it all set back up again, a blog friend, Kerryanne Woodberry, asked me to do some photos of the room for her magazine.

You can look at past issues online for free, here. It's a gorgeous publication and I'm honored to be invited to be in it.

Here is a more, uhm, honest, view of that corner, without the screen to hide stuff behind. There is always a messy pile of works in progress and a TV on Disney Jr.

Here is another switcheroo. Same old stuff, sitting in a new place. That cabinet is HEAVY as the dickons, and even heavier since I didn't bother to unload the fabrics jam packed into it. Have you ever used those carpet covered mini frisbee things that you can scoot furniture around on? I have a cement floor, and they are wonderful for moving any of my big heavy pieces with.

The treat cabinet was treated to a tidbit of a makeover in 2014.

I painted this plywood backdrop to cheer up this corner of the room.

And LuWanda has sprouted Bluebird of Happiness wings.

This spring, I took every single thing out of my hutch, dusted and rearranged it. Somethings went to a "use" pile, others to "sell" or "toss".

Most just got returned right back to where they started. But without the years of built up dust.

During spring cleaning, all the cabinets got slightly rearranged, but I have a feeling, that if you compared it to the pictures from years past, it wouldn't be all that noticeable. But I feel much better about getting my myriad of supplies organized, and cleaned out.

The view out of my back door has improved quite a bit!

We have added a patio. No more mole hills and weeds. Or chair legs that sink down a foot into the dirt when a guest sits down.

This isn't exactly part of the studio, but kind of an extension of it. When I have crafty events, we spill out onto the patio. So, this counts as something new to show for the blog tour, right?

The contractor added the cobblestone stamp,and the flowers are something that I did free hand with a nail as the concrete was drying.

Thank you for coming by to visit.

And I'll bet you will have a great time checking out all the other creative spaces on the tour. I know I will.

ps- I'm having a Summer Clearance sale in the Boutique until July 15th. I've neglected that poor little shoppette too long, I need to clean up, clear out, and refresh it all. You are welcome to soak up some summertime savings and help me get a fresh start, by using this link and getting 50% off everything in the store:

http://www.karlascottage.com/?code=Summersale

(You must use that address to get the special price. Going to the regular address does NOT take you to the 50% discount)

The Early Bird Gets the Earworm, Birdsong recap #1, of about a gazillion, there were a LOT of pictures and fun things to tell about!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

bird song art event, studio tour, Workshops

By Karla Nathan / June 13, 2014

I don't even know where to start. I had the BEST week! Birdsong itself was only a couple of days, but with all the pre and post activities and visitors, it was a week for me.

I guess the place to start is at the prep and set up?

I love decorating and getting ready for the guests.

Making name tags, hanging banners, covering the tables.

In the past, I've used white plastic table cloths, or white craft paper to cover the tables. This year, I bought rolls of white gift wrap at the dollar store, and have to say, it was not only the cheapest way to hide my marred up, marked up, messed up tables, it was the best way to do it.

The gift wrap was heavier duty, and lower cost than any other cover I have used. I always draw on my table covers, and previously, used quotes about birds. This time I used song lyrics. Which was pretty, but oh my goodness, those were whirling through my head non stop.

When I get an "ear worm" song stuck in my head, I tend to just go with it and sing along. But this was a cacophony of tunes, from the Beatles' "Blackbird" to Stevie Nicks' "Rhiannon". I also used "I'm Like a Bird," and a couple others that are still humming along in my brain.

I also spruced up my folding chairs a little better. Before, I slipped a pillow case over each one. This made the room look more uniform, but it was a bit sloppy. I always thought I'd cut them off and stitch them up to fit, and finally, for the 4th Birdsong, I finally did.

It was such a quick project, I don't know why I waited so long to do it. All I did was cut off the bottoms and the corners, turn them inside out and do a fast zig zag around them. They remind me of tea cozies, so I call them my chair cozies.

I also wrapped some drop cloth fabric around some of the other chair seats. That was pretty quick too, instead of stapling, I just wrapped the seats like little presents and finished them off with Sealah tape.

Last year, I'd hung some branches from the ceiling, and liked them so much, I think they just might be permanent. I've changed what I dangle from them throughout the year. For this gathering, I hung some birds and the cages we made from this class.

On one wall, I have a grouping of framed wallpapers. It's a perfect spot to switch up for occasions too. For this one, I added vintage bird pictures, some things I'd made or gotten in swaps.

And this party was the perfect excuse to redo my table top display. I took all the clutter from the top of this one, and redid it with fresh clutter. It's now home to all the examples from our fairy class.

PS- If you'd like a fairy kit, I made a few extra.

Please email me at: karlanathan@sbcglobal.net

to order one for $40 plus postage. They come with illustrated instructions and plenty of supplies for foofing the girls up.

My decorating time was also deep cleaning time. Throughout my whole house, as I spiffed up a room, I delved into refolding linens, cleaning out closets, filling boxes of things to send to Goodwill or to add to the sale in the garage. I even sorted through every single tool in the garage and redid that area too.

Most of my decor was using what I already had. These angel wings got a spritz of blue Glimmer Mist, and I wrapped lace around the dress form and added some birdie brooches from my jewelry box.

That keeps costs down for the event. I don't spend more than a few bucks on things like the table covers, all of my decor is done with clutter and crap I have lying around pretties from my studio.

Another new idea for this year, was to add seating in the living room for meals.

There isn't enough space in the dining room for those who didn't want to eat outside.

Although, we got pretty lucky with the weather. We had a miserable, drenching start to the weekend, with a monsoon as everyone got out of their cars. But after that, the clouds cooperated and we were able to make use of the new patios.

I'm so in love with the new backyard! Even after all the stress and hard work of getting them done in time for Birdsong. I think that the remodeling was so hard that all the other work felt like a breeze. After all of that, I was thrilled to just be rearranging things in the studio and sprucing up for the guests. That patio about did me in.

I'll leave you with some more pre-Birdsong pics and will be back with more photos of the weekend in a couple days.

A little paint, a little shuffling, a little bit of a new look

studio tour

By Karla Nathan / May 8, 2014

My studio is hard to rearrange, because there is soooooooooo much crap in it. All the cabinets are overflowing, and all the surfaces are stacked to the brim. But I had some ideas for a little shuffling to make a bit more space and decided to battle the clutter and see what I could shove where to make company feel more comfortable. A few inches here and there make a big difference when 30 people join me in the room!

I started with the office section. That blue hutch is much heavier than it looks. I was shoving and pushing and getting no where. I realized that taking off my shoes and pushing barefoot gave me more traction and had better luck with moving it. Because when I wore my slippers, the hutch stayed put as I pushed, and I was the one sliding across the floor!

Maybe, unloading it would have been even smarter, but I'd still be working on that if I'd taken every thing out of all the cabinets before I moved them.

There isn't a big change in the area, seriously, it is only a few inches. But, those inches helped. The spot seems more functional to me, and I was able to shave off enough space to move that big white piece in the first photo to the area behind these doors to the left that I use as a divider.

(It's tight in my office, but most of it is only used for storage for my online inventory and packing materials. The area around the desk, where I actually spend time, feels more open than it looks in the pictures because there is no wall behind the chair, it is open to the main part of the room)

The blue desk and green table to the right still need new homes, and the little white piece near the door is going to the girls' room.

I'm not sure about the new door color. I like the shade, it reminds me of vintage lingerie. But it might be too dark. The back door is also painted that color. And the outside of the back door is a deep, azalea pink. That pink looks great for the garden, but was too bright for inside the studio. Which is why I toned it down with tan to make the color I used on the interior doors.

I hung this old poster on the closet door, but over night the washi tape peeled off.

So, I patch-worked wallpaper on the door and glued the poster over it. A much better look anyway, I should have taken my time and did it right in the first place.

These toy appliances got a fresh coat of white paint and are headed to the grand fairies' room.

Originally, they were done for a friend's business, and another friend bought them at the closing auction. She is moving, and gave them to me. So, I touched up the paint while I am on a redo binge.

The front of the studio should be more spacious with this narrow cabinet in the spot where a bigger one previously sat.

But I'm not done yet….Oh my, what lot I have left to do. It might look awful, but actually this is pretty organized. Two tables hold kit items for Birdsong, another holds sponsor gifts and extras. Cardboard boxes are being filled with Goodwill donations. The pile in the foreground is stuff to tag and get ready to sell for my vendor spots at Downton and at Birdsong.

So, now that the foofing and painting and moving is done, it's time to start sorting through this mess and getting this side of the room straightened up.

Romantic Cottage Christmas in the Studio

celebrations, holiday decor, studio tour, vintage paper/collage art, Workshops

By Karla Nathan / November 30, 2013

Seems like I've been full tilt into Christmas for weeks now. With all the fun of getting ready for my holiday workshop, I had my decor up and running way early this year.

I don't always deck the studio, but I sure am enjoying having all the holiday pretties up in here.

The party itself was such a good day. I hope the ladies enjoyed it as much as I did.

On Monday, I've got another group of friends coming over for an ornament making party, and on the 20th, I'm having a family ornie party. So, I'm hoping to keep the room tidy till then.

There is something about a tidy studio, that just fills me with anticipation. Because I know that it wouldn't be all cleaned up, if something fun wasn't about to happen in it!

It's exciting knowing that the room is looking it's best and ready for company!

And having holiday decorations in the room makes it even more fun. I kept the decor simple, but still festive. I exchanged the hanging birds, still up from Birdsong, with some ornaments.

And traded out bird pictures in the old frames for some glittery holiday messages and stars.

And of course, the Treat Cabinet always looks better when filled up with goodies.

But my favorite part?

A room filled with creative souls, laughing and making pretty things together.

I'll leave you with some pictures from the day.

PS, there are still some kits available for the cherub and the tree on a spool in my Etsy shop.

Where Women Create

dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), magazine pictures or articles, photography, studio tour

By Karla Nathan / November 4, 2013

What a fun day!

Carol came out to shoot my studio for Where Women Create. After me cancelling on her TWO times due to illnesses. One nasty sore throat bug and another was when I swallowed a string from a grilled tenderloin, and ….. well, it's an odd story and ended up with my esophagus being scratched, then irritated, then dilated at the hospital through a scope… but anyway, finally, I was able to reshedule Carol's visit to Lawrence.

It wasn't easy, she is a busy lady (and rightfully so). And the editors gave us a deadline extension, so all should be set for the January edition.

Unless I broke Carol's camera. She did her best to get some portraits of me for the article. But posing isn't my strong suit. She had great directions for me to follow, but when I am told to do something with my body, I seem to be totally incapable of doing it, and do the opposite instead. You should see me in something like aerobics. I'm the one turning right instead of left and hopping back or into the next person. No grace, no skill. Kind of the way I dance.

Which is about as good as my singing…

When she asked me to drop my shoulders, lean forward, cross your legs, put your weight on your back foot, relax my forehead, lower my chin, all it sounded like to me was, "pretend that you are Quasimodo."

Carol had me laughing, so most looked like this, or if it was any good at all, my eyes were closed, of course.

I watch America's Next Top Model, but it didn't seem to help. To "smize", you need your eyes open.

I offered to throw in a few booty tooches.

But do you know who is a good poser? Tinks.

That dog was a real ham, and a hard worker too. Whenever there was a "hole" that needed a styling fix, we plopped in the dog. And she was pleased a punch to help out.

When we tried to get photos of the two of us together, Twinkle followed Carol's direction, cocked her head, smiled, kept her eyes open. Too bad she had eaten a pile of cat poo earlier, her breath wasn't too sweet when we were up close and personal for the shots.

By the end of the day, she was worn out from all the hard work and was done with helping out. She'd filled holes in several shots and I think made for some really cute vignettes.

We were all tuckered out at the end of the day, and finally stopped for a lunch break about 3. I picked a couple handfuls of greens from the garden and warmed up some soup I'd made for Sunday dinner. It had started out as vegetarian chilli, but I kept adding to it. Our garden had too many goodies still growing in it that I wanted to use. I even added pureed pumpkin, and it was pretty durn tasty.

Isn't soup always better the second day?

I've got a billion or so photos that I took with my camera, but I feel like I've shown my studio a billion or so times. You might think they are all kinda redundant. I guess if I don't get any other pictures taken this week, I'll show them. I mean, these are new and different angles and not boring at all….

Details about the winter workshop, Romantic Cottage Christmas, here at the studio are on my side bar.

If you'd rather come to see the room in person, I'd love to have you join us!

Studio Tour 2013- Where Bloggers Create

cottage, Dew Drop, studio tour, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / July 12, 2013

Karen Valentine is once again hosting a "Where Bloggers Create" blog hop.

Thanks for stopping by!

I've shown my studio so many times, I wondered if I should join again, was there anything new to see?

Basically, it is still the same. But there has been some rearranging.

At least a few tables were shoved to new locations.

And a 2nd table was added to the fairy grand's area. I finally got smart enough to move their things closer to the sink, broom, and TV (behind the lace). This spot is much more convenient for them to work in.

They are no longer teetering across the room to the sink with a tipsy bowl of paint saturated water, that splashes and spills half the time. Now, it's a quick reach over to the sink to wash out brushes.

I also moved their cabinet of supplies right over next to their work area.

It seems to be a hit.

(I love the clothes they pick out when they dress themselves. Dewdrop's shirt is inside out and backwards, Sugarwing's dress is vintage silk and also inside out)

Lately, home made play dough has been the craft of choice, but moods change, fairies are whimsical sorts who flit from one activity to another.

I really do love my studio. And even if I have shown photos of it over and over, I never get tired of the space.

I like that it's such a homey place, filled with things I love, my fairy babies and the dorkies. Since both girls have moved into the cottage with us for about half the week, my work schedule has changed a bit. There is often a couple of little faces pressed to the glass door waiting to be invited in.

How can I say no? But we did have to make some firm rules.

First Rule of Studio Club:

There is no crying.

Second Rule of Studio Club:

There is no crying.

I tell them that the Studio is our Happy Place and no tears are allowed. If someone happens to feel like they should have the pink paintbrush instead of their sister, or that the other girl's wad of playdough is bigger than theirs, they have to talk it out. If crying occurs, the cryer is picked up and set down outside the door till she is ready to discuss the problem instead of crying.

Other rules? You work at your table, I'll work at mine. I won't use your supplies without asking, you must ask to touch mine.

It's going well. There is only a trace amount of snot and tears on the door from cryers on the outside wanting back in. We are keeping the Studio a Happy Place.

I've enjoyed the company of my two little sprites, but it's nice to have the space to myself every once in a while too.

Here is my work spot. I rarely have more than a 8" working area, because I clutter up so much. It was nice to have the excuse of this blog hop to clean up a bit.

Who am I kidding? A bit?? It takes more than a bit of cleaning to make my studio look good for photos. I spiffed it up all morning. See, all of the ink pads are even neatly tucked into their box.

Everything was tidied up for Birdsong last month, and after that, I did some rearranging and found a new order for the room. I'm trying a slightly different set up and it's working out pretty well.

Whenever I host a class here, I end up moving things around afterward when I put the room back together, and end up getting a more useful and better set up every time. This year, since I had more attendees to the event, I had to clear out and make extra space. One thing I did was to make the office part of the room smaller. I thought I'd change it back after, but I kind of like it this way. I'd rather have the roominess out in the room, not in the computer area.

I've also changed the spot the jewel table sits. I'm not sure if it will stay there. If I leave the lid open, it gets in the way of the TV.

But that isn't too bad. Since I am such a TV addict, I have to be careful to limit myself out here. I listen to NPR on weekdays and don't allow myself to turn on the set. Unless the grand fairies are visiting, and then only when they have been working awhile and begin acting restless. We are all trying to control our addiction, they love TV as much as I do. Especially Sugarwings.

Most of my Birdsong decor is still up.

Including the little wire cages we made in my class.

I'd made so many to perfect the technique before I did an online tutorial and a class here for our arty weekend, that they have taken over!

Plus, I like them all too much to pack them up yet.

And some of my Birdsong decorations just might be permanent. I really like this old poster. Although, I do think I'd like to paint the door. I'm over this green right now. I've just not had a chance to get rid of it. I'm thinking about aqua.

Most of the little birds from around the room have been packed away till next year, but some favorites remain out.

And the birds I made to hang from the ceiling are still there because I can't reach them without going to get a ladder. Which explains why I had to take down Valentine hearts from the ceiling in June when I hung these birds up for our party.

This is another thing I'd been putting off. All of my cabinets are pretty full, and each is meant for different category of supplies. But this fabric wardrobe had really gotten away from me. I hate folding and my linen closet doesn't look much better, I'm afraid.

I'd taken on a sewing project this week and had such a hard time trying to find my rose patterned barkcloth, that I decided enough was more than enough and I tackled this jumbled up mess after avoiding it for years.

A silly little tiny amount of time later (only an hour and a half out of my life, why didn't I do this sooner instead of ignoring it for sooooo long?) and it is not only functional, the door shuts correctly now.

Most of the cabinets around the room are display pieces for my supplies, so I keep my favorites out where I can see them easily and get to them quickly. I mix in completed pieces and pretties too.

I've got a ton more photos to show you. I'll stop rambling and yammering on and just leave you with some pretty pictures. It's more like bombarding you with pictures. There are a LOT.

Thanks again for coming by.

You can see the rest of the studios on tour (and it's always a treat to peek in on the creative spaces!) by going by Karen's blog for a list of sites.

And if you'd like to see my studio from previous years, you can see the past couple here.

2012 Studio Tour (Where Bloggers Create) A cottagey art studio

collections, Hand Painted Furniture, studio tour

By Karla Nathan / July 14, 2012

Karen is hosting the Where Bloggers Create studio tour again, and of course, I had to participate! I adore my studio and can't believe how lucky I am to have it.

The blog hop was a good excuse to get the room cleaned up for one thing, and for another, its a bunch of fun to surf through all the links and see all the creative spaces.

The nice thing about a blog party, is that you can take your time, look at a couple here and there, then the list will be waiting for you to come back and check out a few more later.

Beware, this post is a LONG one.

I took over 200 photos of the studio. Don't worry, I'm not posting them all. And I promise, I shut up about half way through and just start posting pictures.

My own studio is all about the things I love. I like to have them out where I can enjoy them, not packed away waiting for some future use. Someday, I might make something with these vintage dresses, but for now, they are curtains.

I'm also all about re-purposing, and salvage. And finding cheap stuff!

This table was a dollar at a garage sale because the veneer was a wreck. I covered the top in textured wallpaper and painted the piece. (you can find custom painting tips and how-tos on my side bar under Tutorials)

The drawer was saved from an old wallpaper chest that had too much water damage to keep. But I love the drawers for holding special tidbits.

Wallpaper chests are one of my favorite storage items. I never pass one up. Even when I come across one that isn't all that pretty, I get it anyway and add different paper to the front of the drawers, like the dark green one with silver paper.

And when my husband got a new desk for his office, I moved his filing cabinet to my studio and covered the drawer fronts with some pretty wallpaper to girly it up a bit. The top is granite, but was actually free! When our kitchen was being remodelled, the guys cut the counter tops wrong and had to replace a piece. They gave me the incorrect one, so I use it as a table top over the file cabinet.

This spool shelf was from a garage sale too, and was cheap as can be. I painted it white, set it on the granite table top and then stuffed it with supplies. This sits right behind my work station so I can wheel my chair around and have everything within easy reach.

The spools of ribbon hang from a ribbon tied to the shelf. It works great till there are a bunch of empty ones, then I have to untie it, to slide them off and put it all back up again. Seems like the empties are always dead center, never on the ends. Still, its worth the effort, I like having the ribbons on display and handy.

This is my desk top. The shelf on it lets me have even more supplies right where I need them, so I don't have to get up and hunt.It doubles my table top storage space, but is low enough that I can chat with friends across the table on craft day.

I'm a big believer in pretty storage! Teapots, floral mugs, old boxes, and other garage sale goodies are put to work all around the room.

This old hanky box is full of ink pads. I like the 99 cent ones from the bin at Michaels. I buy handfuls when I have one of those 25% off your total purchase coupons.

And this little wire plant stand is perfect for keeping a selection of glues and glitters upside down. I store all glue, Stickles, and paints that way, it keeps them fresher and easier to squirt out.

The table itself is not very pretty, but sometimes I'll glue things I like to the edges of it.

This is my glitter storage cabinet.

Because having plenty of Sparklies in life is important!

Besides the large folding tables from the hardware store that I cluster around to use as work spaces, this glass top table is the only new piece of furniture in the room. The rest of the things are from yard sales, auctions, and fleas. I've painted most of them white, like I did this table, so that they have some flow in the room and all the different styles aren't as distracting. Some have rosy wallpaper borders like I added to this one too.

Here is a close up inside. I have plates and bowls filled with different types of jewelry:

clear rhinestones
colored stones
pearly things
porcelain or enamel flowers
buckles
cameos
lockets
figural pieces
hearts
brass charms
and probably some other crap

My friends get tired of seeing me perched over the Dollar Jewelry tables at flea markets, but I find my best stuff while sifting through the piles there.

Its good to have big bowls of flowers nearby too. I tend to buy a lot of hats…. and while most are stored away as is around the room, I do try to pluck a few so that this big punch bowl stays full.

There is a glass front buffet (I got for $40 and fixed up) that I store hats in, but it overflowed, and there are hats everywhere waiting to be plucked.

And birds. I have little birdies everywhere. I set them out for Birdsong and haven't had the heart to put them away.

Seems like flowers have found their way to most of my lamp shades. This lamp shade is an old hat itself. I've just punched a hole in the top to attach it to the finial.

And there are bowls of flowers in the cabinets too. They might be needed someday for a project, but in the meantime, I want to be able to see them and love them, and wipe drool off of them every once in a while. I can never get enough old millinery blooms.

The buffet on the back wall is the one full of flowered hats. I didn't get a close up of the hats themselves.

My studio is one big room, almost 1,000 sq ft. (yippee!) One side, is set up for every day work. The other has two dining tables in it that I use for company, they can be pushed together for parties. But normally, when the studio is not cleaned up (which is most of the time) one table is full of things to photograph and add to my Boutique, and the other is covered with sewing things.

See all the hanging birds? I really need to get a ladder out and get those down, or they will be nothing but dust balls soon.

This bench was made by my son from an old head board, and I painted it.

Here is the view from the dining table side of the room into the working side. The tables there aren't very nice, but they are versatile and can be moved to different configurations. Plus, I can spill paint and glue all over them, slice with exacto blades and not care.

There is a central support beam that we turned into a column, and I've grouped storage pieces and old doors around it to create a divider.

The old doors are hinged together and make great fake walls. Especially the screen and glass doors, they divide the space up while still letting the light come through.

I've used old doors to section off my computer/office area.

The doors also provide spaces to hang more stuff! LIke my great Aunt Caroline's clock and portraits of my grand fairies.

The office space sits inside this room built of doors. (the rug is hand painted vinyl flooring)

Sugarwings has her own area, and these hold all of her art supplies. (but she prefers mine)

Behind Sugarwing's supply chests and work table is this closet. Its overfilled with shipping supplies for my store. If I ever disappear from this blog and you don't hear from me, it will be because I opened that door and was buried in an avalanche of packing peanuts.

This table is actually a pretty antique, but I have so much junk on the shelves below it, I made a table cloth to fit it and hide them.

The door is an original door from our farm house that I painted an iris on.

The metal chimney cabinet is filled with old books.

And the wallpaper box is filled with lace.

This room was built as simply as possible, a cement floor, and dry wall. I've stained and painted the floor, and tried to foof up the place with my pretties to make it feel like home, not a big square space.

Adding vintage chandeliers has helped the room not feel as new as it is. Our cottage is around 100 years old, and I didn't want this room to look blindingly brand new when we added it.

I've also tried to keep everything functional while still being things I liked to see around me. Each cabinet has a purpose. Its pretty well organized, and I can find what I want when I need it. Unless I've set it down somewhere as I walk through the room. Then, its hopeless. I usually have piles of projects all around the room, its easy to lose stuff in them.

Well, I've probably done enough blathering. I'll finish with some closeups around the space, and inside some of the cabinets.

And maybe of a friend here and there around the room.

Thanks for stopping by!

A studio tour, a giveaway, and a how-to

studio tour, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / July 15, 2011

Welcome to my studio! I'm showing (tons and tons) of photos of it today as part of Karen Valentine's "Where Bloggers Create" party.

Last year, I was chosen as one of the winners of the tour, and my studio was supposed to be photographed for Where Women Create. But… I've worked with enough magazines to understand that things don't always play out as planned. I've done dozens of articles over the years for many publications, and I've also done quite a few that have never appeared anywhere.

It happens.

But I'm still happy to be a part of this tour and I'm glad Karen is hosting.

I'll start with the views from my desk, standing at my workspot and taking a few pictures in all directions.

I've shown lots of photos of my studio on my blog, so these might be redundant to you if you've been here before.

But there are always changes here and there throughout the room, so maybe you'll see something different. I was looking through my post from last year and decided that the room is much nicer now.

Its still over-full, but to me it is less cluttery. Not to my husband, he mentions the "H" word sometimes when he ventures into my space. I always cringe, and start to justify my pretties. I saw 3 episodes of Hoarders and can never watch it again, its just too spooky.

Yes, I have a lot of stuff. But its good stuff!! And its organized, and I have plans for it. (does petting it and saying "my precious" over and over count as a plan?)

But I have a feeling that I don't have to justify any of my pretties to my blog friends. Unlike my spouse, you guys "get it".

It takes stuff to make stuff! And I looooove to make stuff.

This side of the room, that I've shown you, is the working area. I have one big square space, just under 1,000 sq ft, and I love every inch of it.

The front half of the room also over flows into work space, I usually leave my sewing machine set up there when I am not entertaining. We use these two dining room tables for big dinners.

And they come in very handy when I do a tag book swap. Here is just the beginning of the tag piles that I'm stacking up before I start making the books.

But mostly, the front of the studio is just storage.

All of the furniture has to do double duty, and has to have plenty of storage space as well as being pretty.

And its has to be cheap too. Every single piece is from a garage sale, flea, or auction, and I repainted and fixed it up.

The treat cabinet is very useful. It holds a great deal of wallpaper up on the shelf, and under the table cloth, I store all of my paper plates, cups, etc.

And of course its always good to have sweets available on craft days!

The furniture isn't arranged in a way you'd do in your home. I clump the pieces together to seperate the room into different areas. I also use old doors and screens to divide the space.

To create an office, I grouped French doors around a faux gazebo made of salvaged porch columns.

The rug is actually painted vinyl flooring. Here is how to do it:

Buy a scrap of heavy vinyl from a remnant pile at most flooring stores (usually under $10)
Trim to the shape or size you want
Flip over, and use the smooth bottom side to paint on
Roll on a coat of BONDING primer (the label will say "will adhere to glossy surfaces", I use Glidden Gripper from Home Depot)
Paint or stencil as desired (I hand painted mine like rocks and moss)
Top coat with Minwax Polycrylic (or whatever product you like, I personally love this one)

Even Sugarwing's work area has double duty furniture. Her block seats are also storage for play dough and coloring books.

She has her own cabinet full of supplies too, but I guess I cropped it out of this photo. I took a photo of her corner, then when I edited it, I forgot that the focus was supposed to be her stuff.

This column might not be out here long. We are thinking of remodelling the kitchen, and it will possibly be used in there.

The dress form was decked out for Bird Song and liked the vines and birds on it so much, I'll probably leave it this way.

I've painted the stand, and wrapped the whole thing in grape vine that I cut off our fence.

While I'm talking about dress forms, I'll let you know that I'm having a giveaway for one of my Mini Dress Form online tutorials.

Leave a comment if you'd like to win one. If you have already purchased the $15 class, and I draw your name, I'll send you a kit of vintage goodies to make the dolled up dress form with.

Here is some good news! A box of these little girlies are on their way to Somerset. Its always an honor to be in one of their publications.

Lets see, where was I? Here is a bigger picture of the front part of the room.

We added onto our house about 6 years ago, and I didn't want the new part to look too out of place with the original old farmhouse. So, I've tried to add details that give this space some age.

I trimmed these windows and did some of the baseboards myself to save money on the construction. Since I'm not a very good mitered corner cutter, I butted the boards up to these vintage bullseyes instead. No mitering needed, and it ages the window.

Okay, this area might be one of the reasons my husband uses the "H" word when he comes in.

The buffet top sure is not going to be cleared to serve a buffet from anytime soon.

Its a bit full.

But I love my stuff and pretties. Some of it is completed work, some is supply type stuff for future work, others are just things I like.

Having it out in the open where I can see it, reminds me to use it.

Although, sometimes its just plain fun to set up and arrange. Kind of like playing with a doll house.

This banner was one of my examples from the Bird Song weekend here at my cottage. I've had lots of inquiries about when the next is. Well, we are still waiting to see what our remodelling project will entail. No one would want to be here during that! So, I am waiting to get things settled with the contractor before I plan anything.

I'm hoping to do something early in November. I'll let you know. The last one was so fun, I can't wait to do it again. I'd have had one already if our redo plans hadn't been so up in the air.

Beth and I wanted to do one in September, kind of a B&B weekend with just a few guests staying here with us and creating in our jammies at midnight, sipping wine, eating chocolate and playing with old wallpaper. Sounds fun doesn't it? But I don't know if I'll have a kitchen then, so that is probably out of the question.

Durn it.

But I do like the idea of a new kitchen.

This lamp shade was Debbie's project for Bird Song.

And this is what I made in Lisa's class at Paper Cowgirls.

Well, I've been blathering on for a while, and still have what looks like about 300 photos yet to load. If you are still with me, maybe you'd prefer just some detail photos of the room, and not so much chitter chatter?

Because I know that there are a lot of studios to visit on Karen's list.

Isn't this pretty? Beth made it for me.

Here is a photo I did of my littlest fairy grand baby. I love having sentimental things around the room.

Like this watercolor of Sugarwings for the Grumpy Fairy book.

And gifts from friends, this is from Hope.

And this basket is from Lori.

And here is another gift from Beth.

She gave me this little wallpaper cabinet just this week.

The pink cup is from her too. I have Beth gifts in every corner of the room.

Of course, this is one of the best things in the studio.

Its always wonderful to have my little buddies at my feet while I work.

(millinery)

Did I say that I was going to stop chitter chattering and just show photos? Then, I just kept chatting.

Sorry! If you are still here, I'll stop the rambling on and just leave you with the rest of the photos. Enjoy the studio tours, and thanks for coming by to see mine.

(Charlotte (Charlottes!)

This is a long one! A studio tour, two giveaways,almost 3 dozen pictures, and a rambling video

celebrations, collections, I do tend to run on, don't I?, paintings, parties, show and tell, studio tour, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / June 18, 2010

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!