Organizing Patterns

                               

January is almost over and I've decided to get on board with some fresh organizing ideas for Studio B. I was browsing the internet and ran across this awesome idea for patterns. Don't know who to give credit to for this but honestly ... this is NOT my idea. However it is GREAT! took about three days to get'er done, but finally it's completed and
I absolutely love it.
                                                           Things you will need:   
                 
                                                               Sheet Protectors    
                 
                                                           Small mailing envelopes 
                        
                                                             3 Ring binder notebook 

                       STEP 1       Remove guts from pattern and place in mailing envelope. With permanent
t
marking pen write the company of pattern (Simplicity,Mccalls etc.) in one corner and in the other write the number of the pattern or whatever description you'll need to identify with later on .


     STEP 2  Place Pattern envelope in sheet protector and place in notebook.

                      

 

  STEP 3    File envelopes in your special place. When you want to select a pattern just enjoy thumbing through the pages of your notebook , find what you want to sew, go to  your file and at your fingertips, without the mess of sorting thorugh a mirage of patterns, wa-la.
 

                                                                             ENJOY!

ALong with orgznizing patterns, I've sorted through buttons, old jewelry for mixed media collage, pencils, pens, paintbrushes and I thought I'd share how I've mastered this wonderful art of organizing.(let's see how long it lasts (lol)  
Gotta get some happy paint on those walls. QUICK! 

      This is my work table. It's huge so I have plenty of room to operate while I'm painting and such.  Now all I need to do is insulate the ceiling so it will stay cool in summer and warm in winter. Luckily I live in an area where winter doesn't get too cold, but summer......that is another story. 
                                                      
                                        Quite proud of myself for a long, hard job well done! 

                                                   LAMP REVAMP

In case ya'll didn't know (yup Im from the south) I've joined the antiquing , art gallery boothing scene that seems to be the big thing now days. Rent a booth, sell your stuff. So.... I've called mine "Yella-Wall Creations" cuz I painted my wall Bright Canary yellow and everything is so bright and colorful. So...My mother (I love her so much) was dumping these little life-guard lamps, ( maybe you've seen them around) and I screamed NO!!!!!!! don't do that! Let me see what I can do with these bobaloos!  Here goes........................

                                Before their world began- dirty, dismal and  boring!


 

 AFTER -  Happy, and full of life! So.......

  LET THERE BE LIGHT!
 

 

A little paint goes a long way and I've decopauged the shade with those cute little umbrellas people use to put in their tropical drinks. Of couse rhinestones is a must and tulle gathered together makes a beautiful little flulffy along the edges.   

I hope you've enjoyed your visit today and will drop in again soon. Until then.....get artsie-crafty and make something cool! I've got real work that must be done today. Don't like it but smebody's got to do it!

             











            
                
 

In The Beginning

I've been thinking about how my creative journey got started and I ran across these adorable little sequin ornaments in my holiday decorating and then it came to me. 
When I was seventeen ( ouch! so long ago) I was visiting a friend for an afternoon.  She brought out these little sequin craft sets and that's  how we spent the afternoon. Actually these are my very first hand crafted .... anything that I ever made. From that point forward my heart is sold out to all things hand made.

There are so many good things that come from "making it myself". Here's a start,

                                                           1. (1) It keeps my hands busy,Momma always said " idle hands are the devils workshop"
 
                                                           2. 2. It gives me a sence of accomplishment

                                                           3.  It occupy's my mind
                                              
                                                           4. Relieves stress

 I think that artsing and craftsing is just who I am. I come from a long line of Do-It-Yourselfers.

I can remember my Great Grand-mother with her little bun wrapped on the back of her head sitting for hours making rag dolls, teddy bears, aprons or just anything and everything that touched her heart to do so. My Grand-mother was also handy with her hands and then my Mother made our dresses, costumes, choral outfits, and stage settings and has become a profilic artist over the years painting with oils in realism.

For me doing it myself, means everything. My desire has always been and still is, to make all of my curtains, table cloth's, comforters, pillows, paint my own pictures, make everyone's Christmas gift, and decorate elaborately for every holiday with everything hand made, by Moi!

As I look back over the years it seems that I've been true to myself and the wonderful world of hand-made. I don't have a daughter who will grasp my mantle and run with it but I am so very blessed to have an awesome Son who is artistically gifted and without a doubt will teach all of my beautiful grand children the precious gift of " do it yourself". Now just think ... it all began with sequins, pins, and an afternoon with a friend. WOW! I'm blessed.

                                                        

Christmas at My House

Seriously, what is it going to take to get some attention around here? If anyone just 'happens" to drop in and if you "happen" to know how to get traffic to your blog PLEASE  pass the good news on to me.

I've been posting stuff since the middle of the summer and obviously I am doing something wrong. I would appreciate any advice and thanks in advance for it.


                                  
   Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

 I want to share with those who "happen" to drop in that I have had an awesome Christmas. My son Jody was home with his beautiful wife for an entire week. Now that's something to shout about. Anyhoo, it has been lovely. I'm looking forward to the rest of the week with lots of shopping, eating, sharing and just plain old being Momma!
I hope your Christmas has been blessed.

Don't ya just love these two little show guys? Smiling and waving to our guest.

Candy filled jelly jars glued to some glass candle holders with E6000 glue. Sold like hot cakes! 

 "Winter People" made of paper clay and paper mache'. Setting up getting ready for my yearly Christmas Bazzar. ( or however ya spell it)










Here's a couple of little snap shots of a Florida Christmas living room. Not that All living rooms in Florida look like this cuz they don't but this one belongs to MOI!

 Today I finally completed the task of moving into my space at the local Antique and Art Gallery. I wanted to share with all of you my merchandise. I think it looks cool and inviting. If I choose to name my booth I'm going to call it  COLORBURST! I think that fits don't you?

So now I'm off to gear myself toward Christmas. amazing how time flies. I'll be back in touch soon. Happy crafting arting and wish me luck on my booth. I'm believeing for a great success the coming year. This is a first for me so if anyone reading this post has ever done anything like this before leave me a comment. I need all the tips and treasures I can get and thanks to all.  

HANDMADE M ARKET DAY

                                                            Handmade Market Day


This is my favorite time of year and October is my favorite month.  Here is the Sunshine state we experience some lo temps last week but today it was back in the mid 80's and very sunny. Of course it would be since I don't have a tent and I did an art show . I have more of a tan today than I've had all summer.
It was a good show. Met lots of new contacts, found out about some great venues in the area and actually sold "a" painting. One is better than none. I'm really greatful that I am still encouraged. Sometimes sellin in the handmade market can be quite daunting. Up one day and down the next. My salvation is not over pricing my work just so tht it moves. There are some pieces that I m wiling to haggle with but I always have those that mean as much to me that i don't want to part with. Unless of course the price is speaking my language.
 Here is a photo or two of todays show. I really like my little portable gallery. It's heavy and bulky but when you are close to the beach the wind gets high this bad boy never budged! 

 This was a new experience for our area. It is a prime location but today was the first time it's ever been done. It will be open every month. I think it's every third Saturday and Sunday. I am very thankfull to have this opportunity for here in my town it doesn't happen often. So.....let's take a peak at what's happening inside Studio B.

 This is a happy mess. When I get into painting I sling it, throw it, and when I'm finished I look like I've bathed in it. Yippee!!!











   
To the right is my Halloween wreath I've made from a "pool noodle". You know those things the k ids play with in the pool? The paper mache witch and moon have been hanging around since last year and this is where they've ende up. Cool huh? I think they like it there.


I hope all of you are having a blessed day today and will continue to join me in the Studio as I embark on the nw frontier of Handmade Happiness. See ya soon. Oh yea, leave a comment. It makes my day to know  you've  dropped in. Toodles!

Fall Is In the Air

 

                                 Little Houses


Can you smell it? Can you feel it? I can . Absolutely fall is in the air and I'm thinkin of Christmas, and all the great days that are leading up to it. I can always tell when this season is coming becuse I have a tendency to sleep a little longer in the morning and it's hard to get going. But......when it's s in full swing and those cool crispy days start creeping in I'm  up super early and ready to jump into the day. 

I put my smelly-good out in the studio today. You know, the ones that smell like "fall". Pumpkin, Sugar Cookie etc....then I turned on the greatest Celtic cd that I've ever heard it's called "Sweet Prospect" and put my hands to the grind. Couldn't help myself. I've been seeing these cute little cardboard houses all around and I wanted to try one. It's not what it could be but my next ones will be better. I think I will do them much smaller so I can make a little snow village. Humm.... Sounds great to me! Let's go do it! 

Here 's a photo of the awesome cardboard house I've created. Hope you like it so much you'll want to live in it.  The grass needs cuttin but it's to be expected in Sunny Florida. When it rains ya gotta mow every week. Won't be long though and the grass cutter goes in the barn for the winter.  

I'm woking on my faces in Studio"B" right now. Gotta get those lips and eyes just right. I'll post some of those when I get much better. Have a great arsty, crafty, do something weekend. 

Busy -Busy -Busy

I've been busy -busy - busy. Just piddlin round in the studio the past few days. Here is the Mermaid I've been promising. I finally got around to posting her. I'm not good with faces so her expresion may be a little evasive but I promise you she is a happy  girl. 

 

 

 

This is a beautiful lamp that was given to use at our church but when we made the transition to a larger fascility the shade busted and fell off. I decided to make the best of it and look what came out. Using things that have been left over for years from my stash I wrapped and glued and wrapped some more and glued some cool little embellishments like old jewelry and fringies. I love it so much I'm on the look-out for more little lamps with sad shades so that I can have more recycled fun.

Then last but not least we have our lovely little brush holder. Another way to use up scraps of yarn and macremae cord. It is a ten ounce green bean can covered with yarn and cord then embellished with stuff. I made about four of these so far and I have them hanging from a shelf in the studio. They hold tools, brushes, rulers, scissors and all kind of things that I can keep at my fingertips. When i made these I completely got lost in the creative process. They are so simple to do they  don't require a lot of "thinking" and I can easily escape to my own little creative world.

 
I hope you have enjoyed these projects and keep stopping in to see what else will be coming to the forefront. too-da-loo