Tour: Art Studio

I spent last weekend cleaning up my poor neglected & disorganized art studio. It was a hum-dinger of a mess. But now it's all spiffy & pretty-like! YAY!

I've had eager fans wanting to see pics. I'm almost embarrassed to show them. Honestly, it's nothing fancy. And it still looks kinda messy. I'm just not one of those "everything in its perfect place" kinda people.

My style is that slightly disheveled, lived-in, wee bit unkempt, work-in-progress sort of look. All the time.

But here it is anyway...

An eclectic mess. Complete with a hottie picture of Mr. WhiMSy love when he was a teenager.

This is how I create my Vintage Button Rings. I work on a TV tray.

This is the view looking inside the walk-in closet turned shipping station. It's a mess.

We won't go in there right now.

Mostly vintage fabrics. And old records.

Knick-knacks on my computer desk. The wind-up Panda pencil sharpener from the $1 Store is a fave.

Stuff.

This is where I blog. And edit photos. And fill my Etsy shop with goodies. And read your lovely comments & emails.

Things.

Sewing station.

 {Mostly} handmade magnets.

That's Harold. Remember him?

Miss Roxie Valentine.

♥

My Mess is Un-Messy!!

Do you remember this mess in my art studio? I felt quite embarrassed after realizing how shocked a few of you were at my creative tornado. But NOW look!....

I love hanging out in here now! My new computer sits on a BRIGHT pink desk that I painted a couple weeks ago. The color was called "Brine Rose" but I renamed it "Hot-Cha-Cha". I've got a wee TV in here too. Hey, all I need is a mini fridge, a toilet & a tiny microwave & I'll NEVER leave!!

Oh look! You can see Harold! And do you notice my "WhiMSy love" sign. I lost the "y" somewhere in all the mess. I think Harold ate it. My girls LOVE coming in here & tinkering with all my supplies & doo-dads.

And by the way, I survived my girls' first day of school! I thought I'd have an emotional Kindergarten moment, but I held it together. I had a blast this summer, but I look forward to some structure. And this small makeover is a step in the right organizational direction!

Check back later today for a "celery painting" tutorial!!!

I Gotta Wear Shades...

I know..... We look hot. There's nothing like random silliness with your friends!

Speaking of "random"....this post is.

This is some bread I just baked for my silly friend. It's "Amish Friendship Bread". I received the starter from my Aunt Cleo on the train trip the girls & I took a week & a half ago.

OK, more randomness. My girls are starting school next week. The youngest will be in a preschool & my oldest is starting Kindergarten. Tuesday is the big day! What am I going to do with myself? Last year I totally had a back-to-school party where I put my feet up on the couch, watched soap operas, sipped tea & chilled out. It was awesome. I may have to relive that moment again. But there may be some tears added to the mix. (sniffle, sniffle....KINDERGARTEN?.....WAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!)

Look what my mom, sis & I got last week while shopping & lunching. These are handmade beaded rings. Mine is the brown one. They are really cool with a stretchy beaded band. Less than 4 bucks too!

Do you want a sneak peek into my weekend plans?.....

I'll be cleaning all weekend. Let me explain. I got my very own crafty computer a few weeks ago & so I had to rearrange my art studio to fit it AND a desk in here. I just kinda dumped stuff here & there to make room. Now I can't find ANYTHING (duh) & I'm tripping over stuff & it's just not fun & pretty anymore. I plan on coming up for air on occasion & working on my oldest daughter's upcoming birthday party. Oooh! It's gonna be so cute! I can't wait to show you all the details!

Have a super duper weekend!

Saturdays Are My Bestest Days!

This is how my "Nikki Time" began today....Aaaaahhhh.....I was in serious heaven. I met my sis for a visit & when we agreed to meet at my favorite coffee shop I immediatley envisioned us lounging on their oversized sofa with our feet up on their extremely large foot stool INSIDE the coffee shop, while the garage-style doors opened to the breeze & revealed the beautiful day outside. We could people watch, chat, munch on bagels & make fun of the bicyclers in their skin tight shorts....all the while sipping on yummy drinks. And that's EXACTLY what happened!!! Isn't that the coolest? It was a glorious morning indeed.

We look like a couple of silly fish sipping our drinks! I spent the rest of the afternoon working on a custom order & having a happy day!

I'm so excited to have finally done this next project. Way back in 2007 I saw a post on Laura's blog about a book she read called "The Foof-a-Life" & some projects she created after reading the book. The project I simply HAD to do myself was this candle jar--The Creativity Fairy. You light it whenever you need some help bein' creative. I made mine a little different. It is embellished with pink & glitter--2 of my favorite things! And then I made several tags & decorated them to coordinate. On the backside of each tag is a word I printed out with my awesome "old school" label maker. Each word describes me or things I like: Silly, Create, Draw, Paint, Sew, Giggle, Dream, Play, Love. The candle is the perfect crafty accessory & a neato way to "christen" my new crafty space. As I was making this candle yesterday, I had the most brilliant idea for my crafty room. You see, I have a lot of stuff. And the room is a nice size, but once everything is in there, the space shrinks. I have a table set up in the middle of the room & you have to stand sideways & shimmy your way past the table if you need to get by. I've loved having my own space, but I've not loved hanging out & crafting in there. Something's just bugged me about it. And then I had an amazing thought. "I don't even like to sit at a table when I make stuff." I'm a "spread-your-stuff-on-the-floor" creative type. Or a "cozy-up-on-the-couch-with-my-nifty-projects" crafty chick. So, why on earth do I shimmy past that dumb table so many times a day!?!?! Last night I removed the obstacle & I'm planning on purchasing (or MAKING?!) some cushy overstuffed pillows to plop on the floor & now I LOVE my space & last night I had my first chance at spreading supplies all over the floor. I spent more time in my studio yesterday evening then I have in all the other times combined since we moved in 3 weeks ago. When it gets more pretty, I promise I'll take pics.

And this final pic was taken in the last couple days while trying to recover & rest on the couch. My wee ones got all creative on my forehead.

There's No Place Like Home....

Hello!!!!! I'M BAAAAAAACK!!!! And I am SOOOO gonna make up now for the last few posts without photos. Here's some adorable sparkly shoes my oldest wee one got for Valentines Day. I thought this pic went along well with the title of this post. And then, my youngest wee one wanted her shoes part of it all too. You can totally see their personalities even in their footed attire. I love these feet!

The glass painting last Tuesday at my MOPS meeting went well. I think so anyway. I was beaming with cupcake pride as my original cupcake design was copied as lots of the other moms had trouble coming up with ideas for a design. Yay for cloned cupcakes! I made a plate that, instead of saying "Happy Birthday", said "Sweet Day" so it could be used for more special occasions throughout the year. I gave it to my 3-year old niece for Valentines Day, along with a felt "E" for the firts letter in her name. And, though you can't see it very well in the photo, I also attached a cupcake soap I purchased from Sublime Dragonfly. This scent was Pink Cotton Candy.

I also bought 2 soaps for my daughters: Chocolate Buttercream & Mint Chocolate Cookie. I SWEAR I saw my daughter take a lick of the mint chocolate cookie one. But, she said she didn't. (Said the sneaky little girl with suds on her top lip.) But, the scents ARE amazing! Sublime Dragonfly even has a PB&J cupcake soap. The soaps in the picture are actually in the process of being used. That's why they look so.....used.

My girls even got into the glass painting action & painted plates for their preschool teachers as Valentines Day gifts! I'm actually excited to paint vases, cake plates, cute little saucers & mugs...

Oh, one last Valentines Day thingie! My fam was at our old house & we get a knock on the door. One of the little neighbor boy's was standing there & asked to see my girls. He's 5. He gave my 5 year old daughter this Valentine card....So cute! My daughter made him a card in return & daddy walked the girls down the street to give the midget suitor a cookie, a valentine & a card.

OK, I lied. One more V-Day bit. Here's a pic of a tulip's private parts. My hubby gave me & the girls our very own bouquet of flowers.

I have been showered SO sweetly since moving into my new home. As we were cleaning & painting last week in our new home, a neighbor brought us cinnamon rolls--handmade! I use the canned version, so this was a special treat indeed!
And a couple ladies from my MOPS group (Mothers of PreSchoolers) have brought us meals--unexpectedly! I am just surprised & loving the thoughtfulness! I've never had anyone do this kind of thing for me before. It's sort of weird & cool. These people are definitely seeing me in my raw state. Pajama's all day, no makeup, hair a mess. It's my unpacking attire. Glamour is not at the top of my list this week. Or next. And come to think of it, unpacking's not really up there on the list either. Hm....

The moving went well though. I am super tired. And there are boxes everywhere. Sometimes I know I SHOULD be unpacking, but I just walk by the large mound of boxes that I'm sure really do create some sort of hazard & just shrug & say, "Eh" & keep walking by. But, there is a sweet note on each & every box in our house: At our old house, I would pack up the boxes & when I was finished my 5 year old would write "DONE" on the top of the box. HAHA! If the closed box with the tape sealing every opening might not have given me any hint that the box was ready to go, the word "DONE" sure helped! And the backwards "D" is just precious.

And here's my art studio! This is the "BEFORE" & "DURING" shot. The "AFTER" shot is still to come. The walls & ceiling are painted in the same color & it just looks TONS better! I'll be unpacking this week & figuring where things go. I'm excited to have a place ALL to myself! I'll make sure to get pics of the progress.

I used my dishwasher for the first time last night & the girls & I shouted "Hip Hip Hooray!" like a million times because it is so fun to have dishwasher. I love my new home SO much. It has lots of cuteness potential. OK, I better go & [not] unpack. Goodnight! I love being back! I've missed this LOTS!!!!

My Mini Vacation is Over...

Hiya! Well, the company is gone & now I can get back into the swing of things. Our last day together was so nice just relaxing by the river. The water was cold, but crisp & refreshing! I loved, as a kid, writing my name in the sand on the beach. Or just dragging a stick behind me as I walked & watching the little trail it created.

It has been SO hard to be away from my crafty supplies! There are a few projects half done that I can now--finally!--get finished. I'm speaking of my cupcake button pendant/ornament/thingie, my nifty idea for a collage using my old stamps, & another new idea: a cute little mini banner--you'll see!!

I'm also on the hunt today for a full-size vintage apron. I've had a request from a potential customer to create one of my cupcake aprons in full-size, instead of the half-size that's in the shop. So, I guess the girls & I will go out today for a jaunt to my favorite thrifting spots. Wish me luck!

And, "THANK YOU!" to all that have decided to play along with me in the "Ugly Biz Card Contest"!!! So far, there are 15 participants & another Etsy artist has signed on for a donation to the contest, so that's a total of 5 artists supplying sweet treats to the winner(s)!! Thank you! I'm so thrilled! Click HERE for the link to the contest & for any updates at the bottom of that page. I'm also asking for those that receive the cards, if you could write your name on the back of the cards as "Artwork by (your name &/or Etsy shop)". I thought I was going to do it myself, but I'm realizing that will take a long time on 150+ cards!! I'll also send an email out soon with this request/reminder! I've changed the last day to sign up as August 3rd!!! (I'll be out of town August 4-12th, heading to Oakland, CA to help my church youth group do dramas/skits, work with some inner-city kids there, feed the homeless, & other awesomenss such as that!)

And, call me crazy, but I've joined another swap! A cupcake swap!! I squeaked in on the last day! It was destiny I tell ya. My partner is Jeannie & you can check out her blog HERE.

I'm off to get ready for my apron hunt!!

I am NOT bored...

OK, it may APPEAR that I'm bored. And, seriously, it's not like I have all the time in the world. I don't. There's much to be made, lots of creatin' needs to be happening! But sometimes I get in these moods where it's hard to push myself, so I have to do silly stuff instead.

I could have stacks & piles & mounds of stuff already made if I wasn't tinkering around Etsy & the forums & reading this or typing that. Or making awesome dork rings.

It's thundering outside. I have candles already lit in my studio. The power seems to be going out a lot lately- twice in the past week & a half. Once was because a squirrel was playing truth-or-dare by himself around the power lines behind my house & ZAP!---he should've chosen "truth".

I'm really getting hot from all the candles. I wish the power would go out already.

Oh, & if you didn't notice, "DORK" is a 9 point word. I think I've only played Scrabble once in my life. I have 2 boxes of the scrabble game. I love boardgame pieces. One of the Scrabble games I got at a thrift store for 2 bucks--& all the pieces were there! That's amazing. I'm always sketchy at those thrift store games.

Anyway, I better blow out my candles as I hear the thunder rolling farther away.

Hey, do you like my "tough chik" face? I tried.

Artistic Chaos!

OK. I should just be totally embarrassed about this. Right? This is my "art studio". It's very chaotic. And, we're not even talkin' about "controlled chaos". It's just flat out messy. I need a bigger house. I need organization. But at least I'm surrounded by all the things I love: glitter, pretty papers, my old button collection, mags, just old stuff in general, weird finds, thrifted goodies & my 1960's desk lamp that I painted pink with brown polka-dots.

This is just half the room! Oh my. Did all the good thoughts you had about me just fly away? Feel free to post links to pictures of your creative spaces...

Harry, Come Craft With Me...

I just realized that when I craft, I work in silence. Not on purpose. I just sit down to do my thing, listening to the Hello Kitty angels screen saver on my computer. There's even a stereo about 8 inches from where I'm typing in my art studio. I love music! So what's up with all the silence? I think I just never sit down for more than 5 minutes at a time (with kidlets and all, ya know?) that I don't think about popping a CD in my music player. Until now!.....I went downstairs & gathered my favorite tunes. I'll share them with you, but only if you share what you groove to while in your crafty bubble.

I have been addicted to the 1989 soundtrack of 'When Harry Met Sally' forever! Harry Connick is my favorite, for reals.....

Let's see, I've got Billie Holiday "Lady Day" (1939-1944) The Sixteen Original Commodore Interpretations. It's all scratchy sounding & lovely just like the real old records.

And I've got a 1987 CD of Frank Sinatra's 'Songs For Swingin' Lovers' with music from 1955 & 1956.

Those are just a few.

Silence no more.

I gotta go.....Harry's serenading me & I'm feeling all crafty inside.