What Do You Love About Your Home? Party with Karla...

Karla over at Karla's Cottage is having a party and has invited us along...she is celebrating her article in the most recent issue of Romantic Country magazine. How exciting is that! I will have to get a copy of that mag. I love reading Karlas blogs and she is so super talented.

Let me preface my blog by saying that I didn't plan this through very well, and definately procrastinated and then not getting home until 9pm last night, so....having said that, I have taken strategically placed pictures of specific vignettes in my house, hopefully hiding some of the dust and CLUTTER! I should also mention that I like stuff and am a firm believer in "more is more".


First of all, I love everything about my home, but I have a real fondness for my beautiful bedroom. Pictured here is a dresser that was my grandmothers with some of my beautiful finds displayed...I have also attached a close-up picture. It just makes me happy to be in this room.



Okay, now on to the little vanity alcove in my bedroom....love it.



I also have a guestroom that is in the process of being created (no pictures yet...yikes!) and my studio space (which I wrote about in my previous blog). As we head down stairs, I just love what I did on the hall and it goes all the way down the stairs. I just painted squares in a lovely burgundy color and then the photos are arranged in and around the stairs... the squares look crooked, but I think (hope) it is the angle of the camera....c'est la vie!

I won't show you my whole living room, as that is a big culprit of the messy dust and clutter, but will show you a few sections that I just love....I kind of wish I had an armoire to hide the big television (and like Karla admitted to in her blog, I also am ADDICTED to television!), but I just love the old music stand it sits on now...and the two etageres have been with me forever. And again, the walls are all full.....did I mention "more is more"?



Last but not least I just love the art of Henriette Ronner-Knip (dutch painter, 1821-1909) and have several pieces that I adore!

I am so in love with my kitchen, too, but it looks like a disaster hit at the moment, so will save that special room for another blog.
Thanks for sharing just a few snippets of my home that I love so much! It is filled with lots of stuff, but more importantly it is filled with lots of love.

My Studio Space....

I always enjoy reading other bloggers' posts about their studios/craft nooks, so thought I would share my space! I am actually very proud of it. The room I use is the third small bedroom in my house. I have put a LOT of stuff into the space, yet I don't ever feel crowded or overwhelmed!

First up, here is my actual work space.....I converted a closet into my "creating" area....you can't see it all in the pic, but the storage goes UP into the high recesses of the closet and still everything is very accessible. The countertops are about waist high, so I use a bar stool to sit and a small stepladder for accessing things up high. Note my constant companion, Freida (I hand raised her from the time she was about 2 weeks old) on the bar stool. What a cutie!





This is the other corner of the room with window, chair, bookshelf, etc.....excuse the unfinished floors....I laid linoleum and need to finish the edges.



Here is the corner that houses my television, desk, printer, etc. In addition to my full time job and craft endeavors, I also have an ebay business and an AVON business, so a lot of stuff happens in this room and at this desk. Note the walls are literally covered up to the ceiling with all of the pics andplacques that I have accumulated, a lot of them cat related, since I am the crazy cat lady. These are things that wouldn't go with any other room in my house, but I love them, sooooo......



This is another shelf that is next to my work area....



Note this (dusty) pic of my sewing machine (to the right of the bar stool in the flowered case). This is actually a brand new sewing maching that I bought 2 years ago.....I have yet to use it....shameful!



Another pic of the corner with my tv, printer, et.....





Well, there you have it. Portions of my beloved studio! I am so happy with how it has all turned out.

BLACK CAT AND PUMPKIN SWAP

I wanted to share some of the goodies I sent to Catie. We were swap partners in the BLACK CAT & PUMPKIN SWAP hosted by Deb over at HOP HOP JINGLE BOO.


First up, this collage. It is on an 8x10 canvas. I really like the way it turned out. I will have to make one for myself!




Then I threw in this trio of pumpkins. They are all very different, but each unique its own little way and I love them all and couldn’t choose just one, so I sent them all to Catie. I DON'T KNOW WHY THESE PICS ARE ACTING THIS WAY.....hopefully I CAN FIGURE OUT WHY AND EDIT THIS POST.


I also sent along this pumpkin spice sachet (smells divine!!) and the cutest, tiniest little pumpkin soap from AVON.


Above are some vintage magazine pages rolled up and tied with a cute little pumpkin/fall pick…..
This is a lovely vintage hankie with beautiful lace bundled together with a new hand towel that actually has a picture of a silly black cat.


OK, I know the rest of the stuff I will list here is not black cat or pumpkin, but I really wanted to send these things to Catie. Above is a an adorable vintage Golden Book entitled C……well, C is for Catie Ann….you get where I’m going here, right?


Here are a couple of vintage button cards, BUT ALSO a couple of vintage-inspired buttons that I think are just lovely. I thought Catie would like them.

There were a few other miscellaneous items in the box not listed here, and I of course had to throw something in for Caties sweet cat, Callie. Hope she enjoys…..
I had such fun putting this swap package together and I wish I had actually HANDMADE more items, but I am happy with the collage I made and the other contents of the package and I hope Catie likes it as well.

Collage Love

I am really loving collage these days. Here is a pic of a collage I just made for my mom. That is a picture of her in the middle. Mom is a very cool chic, my best friend, and an amazing artist. She loves anything black, spider webs, and diamonds, to name but a few things, but that is what I have reflected in this piece that I call the "Spider Woman" collage. I gave it to Mom last night and she loved it. I did two other neat collages for my two swaps I am participating in and will post those once they are in the mail to my swap partners. I have about five other pieces in the works. I am having so much fun!

Here is the "Spider Woman" Collage and I really like the way it turned out....

How Lolly got her craft groove back...and two cute cats!

Sorry I haven't posted a blog in more than a week, but once I jumped back into my crafty self, I lost track of the days! I am just so inspired and am having so much fun! I will post some pics later this week. I am trying to finish one swap that has to be mailed this weekend and will post pics of that this week.

Some parts of my life are in still in chaos and I am working on those, but when I am being my artful self, I am so happy and so content......I had forgotten what that feels like. The art really feeds my soul.

I love my little studio/office and feel so much at peace in there. I have actually found myself sitting at my desk at work (I work a full-time 9-5 job) counting the hours until I can get home and make something. Fun, fun, fun.

I am going to make a commitment to post regularly and try to become a real part of this wonderful and amazing artful blogging world.

Pictures of some of my creations will come later this week. In the meantime, here are two fun pictures of two of my cats. This is my dear Spike....and yes, he likes to sit like this when he is with me......

And here is my old man, Charlie....he recently became blind due to two detached retinas caused by high blood pressure, but nothing slows him down....love that snaggle tooth....