Almost there...

When I think I'm almost there, a quick scan of the horizon tells me I still have so very far to go.....do you feel like that sometimes? This past week has been another incredibly busy one, but tasks are finally getting crossed off my list and the ground is starting to solidify under my feet again - for the first time in months.

NEW SPACE CONT'D
Pegboard is now installed over my worktable, yay! I'm still tracking down display/storage shelves for it, seems like they still think these boards are only for guys and garages, lol. I think pegboards are coming into their own; I'm starting to see them being used all over the place as functional, cool, quick and easy solutions for having everything at your fingertips - from creating to cooking.

It started out white but I painted it the same buttery color as my walls so it would give a more unified look to the room. The boards come in 4x8 lengths, I had mine cut so it would measure 4x5, so I have an extra piece 4x3 that I'm thinking of using in the closet. You'll need a level, furring strips (we used 4 and cut them just shy of 4 feet so they'd be a bit smaller than the pegboard) and screws to install it. And you'll need to make sure the strips are secured into wall studs for stability.

My mood/inspiration board was the first thing to go up and I know I'm going to get a lot of use from it - I love how I can just change it out whenever I feel like it, no big commitment or decorating decisions to make! :) I'm still in Autumn mode but Hallowe'en is coming up quickly and I've always been inspired by the festive colors and magic of it. As I sifted through more boxes I had tucked away, I pulled out a few things and tacked them up...



PRETTY & PRACTICAL STORAGE IDEA Also on my desk below my mood board, you can see the top of a yellow, metal planter box with file folders in it. It was never actually used for plants - instead I used it to house files of current clients (at the moment it's been taken over w/tearouts & paper bits that need to be filed in those wonderful IKEA boxes!) It's a great way to keep your projects in sight and easy to add to or change something out quickly. I always keep digital files of clients too but this is a great 'powers out' backup for information.

B O O
Below is a Hallowe'en banner I just finished - I've seen various ones in decorating & arts/crafts magazines and have wanted to make one for awhile now. I think it makes a nice, whimsical topper for my pegboard so will be making other seasonal / holiday ones. I used vintage book papers, textured cardstock, cupcake liners, buttons, ribbons, stencils and black glitter. I totally winged it on this one as I didn't follow any instructions or use templates, although I'm sure there are some out there. The great thing was that everything was on hand to make it which also amazes me because I honestly did not realize how many craft supplies & paper goodies I had until recently.



The close-up shows the wonderful texture of the orange cardstock and also the sparkly glitter - which as you probably know goes everywhere!! Special tip for clean up: I take strips of packing tape and wrap a few strands around my hands then move them all over my table, it really seems to pick most of it up. However, this is in reference to regular craft glitter, you may want to handle fine German glass glitter differently.



More pics soon - promise! Have a GREAT week.

Muse Monday: week eight - SNEAK PEEK

Okay so this is just a sneak peek into my new space as I'm still getting organized & moving in. I'm really taking my time sorting through everything because there was just SO much of it. I didn't realize how much stuff (read: crap lol) I had accumulated running my stationery biz!!

Below is a pic of the newly restored floors gleaming and gorgeous. This room has original pine plank flooring while the rest of the main floor level is hardwood. I love wood floors and actually we only have a few areas in the house with carpeting. When we found out how bad they were for the allergy-prone, we got rid of most of them and experienced an immediate improvement in the air we were breathing!



And.... TA-DAH! Here is one of my corners, a standard white bookcase housing assorted organizers and 'schtuff' :) The kraft colored square boxes and white magazine holders are from IKEA. The square boxes are so cool - they fit file folders perfectly so I can now finally organize magazine pages that I rip out (of the ones I don't keep, I have a serious collection and didn't realize how many I had until this move!) for inspiration and to organize all of my collage bits & pieces by color, theme, size - when I'm looking for something in particular it will be right there, no sifting through piles of stuff to find what I want - organized BLISS!



And although they are nice & neutral, those kraft colored items are begging for some color/pattern so I need to do some serious painting and papering on those - just need to pick out some colors & get busy!

I'm also going to do something decorative with my initials. I love typography & monograms and have seen these letters in different fonts, made from wood or paper mache and either painted & collaged, ribbons & tags added etc. Hmmm.....ideas are already brewing :)

Next week I'll have more pics and will hopefully be able to show you my pegboard project: I still need to pick a spot in the room to install it! Stay tuned...

Fall-ing in love with Autumn

Just wanted to share some of the glorious color we're seeing outside our windows these days. I have always loved this time of year - crisp smokey air, wildly colorful & crunchy leaves dancing carefree in the wind and of course nature's bounty which finds its' way to our supper table where we give thanks for all that is good in our lives.

I've had much time to reflect on things of late while in transition mode for my new space. Having to sort through and organize things that I put off for far too long has also helped me put many things in perspective. I'll follow up with a recap on completion of the room next Muse Monday and of course will let you in on my storage and set-up ideas as well as helpful tips/links that I found along the way. Until then...

October's poplars are flaming torches lighting the way to winter.
-- Nova Bair



Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn.
-- Elizabeth Lawrence



A child looking at ruins grows younger
but cold
and wants to wake to a new name
I have been younger in October
than in all the months of spring
walnut and May leaves the color
of shoulders at the end of summer
a month that has been to the mountain
and become light there
the long grass lies pointing uphill
even in death for a reason
that none of us knows
and the wren laughs in the early shade now
come again shining glance in your good time
naked air late morning
my love is for lightness
of touch foot feather
the day is yet one more yellow leaf
and without turning I kiss the light
by an old well on the last of the month
gathering wild rose hips
in the sun

-- W. S. Merwin, The Love of October

Muse Monday: week seven

First of all - wow! I can't believe it's been seven (7) weeks since I started posting inspirational ideas, unique finds and progress on my new studio space for Muse Mondays. I have to say it has been such a pleasure sharing it with you, dear blog visitor/reader and has really kept me motivated and inspired throughout the transition. I hope I've given you some ideas or inspired you and at the very least, entertained you somewhat :) The pic above is my new inspiration board propped up against one of the walls, I went with a light buttery shade of creamy yellow for the walls, it really opens up and brightens this north-facing room. I'm still debating on accent colors.

Second, I'm thrilled to announce that the remodelling is almost done - yay!! We've had some stops and starts but really made progress this past week so I'm finally feeling like this fresh, new space will soon be mine - all mine, hee!

I also feel really good that we recycled and refurnished wherever possible - case in the point the baseboards below. At 8" high and solid oak, these beauties are a wonderful way for us to preserve something original to the house, so we decided to refinish them. After sanding, it's paint & installation tomorrow!



Layers and layers of paint had to come off first though and what a job let me tell you. However, as I worked at removing the layers, I couldn't help but think about all the layers that build up in our own lives over the years. As we grow from young children into adults with children of our own, every experience adds a layer to who we are. Some layers are filled with happiness and joy and some are sprinkled with imperfections and rough spots. Some are thick and enduring while others are fragile or faded. But there's beauty in layers...and each one of us has different ones built up - even two people experiencing the same thing tend to 'layer' the experience in their own way and that's what makes us unique!

How may layers do you have? Maybe you've peeled away or shed ones that no longer 'fit'? Have you revealed or revelled in the beauty of your layers recently? Remember, it's what makes you YOU.

Muse Monday: weeks four/five

Muse Monday - is a day early! Much to share and I'm tied up tomorrow so here we go. Enjoy!

If walls could talk - have you ever watched that show on HGTV? Well let me tell you, when the walls came tumbling down this past week in my new studio space, one wall had a lot to say. I was soooo hoping to find something that would give us a glimpse into the lives of the previous owners and the room didn't disappoint!

I knew it was going to be a mess tearing this stuff down, so with protective gear on and hammers ready, we got started.



The first wall we worked on was the one that held all the 'treasures'! Neatly rolled & tied receipts, photos, letters and assorted items such as assorted jar lids, a rusted flashlight, socks (!) 6 different single ones ranging from large to small - I think each family member put one in the wall. I felt a twinge of sadness for this family as the socks were quite threadbare and crudely darned in spots. I believe they had some hard times too from looking through some of the bills and receipts.



There was also a single black shoe - a little girl's and I'm guessing she was about 7 or 8 yrs old by the size of it.



The red 'memorandum' notebook is full of calculations and figures jotted down, a budget perhaps?



The largest photo of the 3 is a wedding portrait and heavily damaged but I may be able to work with it...



Standard postage rate for letters in 1947

I feel so fortunate that we stumbled upon these bits & pieces of the past - my daughter thoroughly enjoyed the experience and marvelled at how unique and 'cool' it was to find things like this in our walls! We've decided that we're going to follow the McKay family's lead and tuck a few small items in before we put up the new drywall, for someone else to find. Please feel free to share ideas or a story if you and your family have done something like that during a renovation, maybe you placed a time capsule in your yard - I'd love to hear about it!

Muse Monday / Inspire Me Thursday: Watercolor

Muse Monday is taking a short intermission - not much going on in the way of progress re: my new space and next Monday is Labor Day so it will return the following Monday - hopefully I'll have some great news to report that we're finally making headway. I do have a how-to organizational project that I'm working on - a great solution to having all my tools displayed neatly and within easy reach, hint: involves pegboard but not in the traditional sense. What I have in mind is way more cooler and decorative than the sheet the guys hang up in the garage!! :) Stay tuned!

Busy week coming up so I wanted to get some quick journal entries done in my moleskine with watercolors and colored pencils. I like using watercolors in my moleskine because the wonderfully creamy paper (I love my moleskines!) resists them initially so you have time to work them before they settle in.

I find myself lingering over the last bits of summer before it fades away and have been savoring my garden's final offerings - flower designs have been on my mind and showing up in my doodles and sketches. I generally don't write a lot in my journals (I'm working on that, it's hard for me to do) but I did write all over the background very subtley in white ink on the single flower pages, a bit of a breakthrough for me :)

Have a great week and wherever you are, I hope the sun is shining on you.

"Be like the flower, turn your face to the sun." -- Kahlil Gibran

Muse Monday: week three

Project this past weekend: make a chandelier - my version of one - using only the supplies I found going through another shelf of stuff. I've seen many beautiful (read: pricey) vintage chandeliers out there and even

some cool, painted & funky redos that are moderately priced, but wanted to see if I could make my own with what I had on hand.

My Muse discovery: The spark-le for this project was opening a dusty box that held the light fixture and immediately after it, the glass beads and pendants delicately wrapped in white tissue. It was most definitely an 'aha' moment!

This project was under $20 - the glass beads and pendants were still in pkgs and all were purchased on sale, the fixture was bought at a flea market about 7 years ago. I modified it a bit by turning the 'arms' up so the glass beads and pendants would drape nicely. The ivory satin paint was the only item recently purchased after an attempt with the white Krylon one didn't pan out - it was a mess too work with, drips, watery etc. so it may have sat around too long, ended up being a good primer though!

Here's an approx. price breakdown so far:

light fixture (flea market) - $3.00
glass bicone crackle beads (craft store) - 1.29 per strand x 4 = $5.16
large crystals (craft store) 1.25 each x 4= $5.00
Krylon Satin-finish paint - $3.49
monofilament string, 60 lb. (varies)
small piece of superfine grit sandpaper (optional)
----------------------------------------
TOTAL= $16.65

I distressed parts of it using a light touch with superfine sandpaper and still need to get some flametip bulbs. I love how it turned out for the most part. Will it actually work and provide light? I have no idea! Does it really matter to me? No - that's what boring task lighting is for! I do know that it will add just the right touch of whimsy, sparkle and shabbiness to my space - no electricity needed :)

Next step: I want to add more strands of colored glass beads around and over where the beads are attached to add a 'dripping' effect and also to cover up the monofilament.

I'd like to pick out a color of the room for that - the fabric swatches I laid it on have colors & patterns that I'd consider. I love gingham & florals together but have been resisting doing too much shabby. After placing the chandelier on a cake stand, (yes it's tiny) adding some fresh roses from my garden and then wrapping a silk mini-rose garland around it, I found myself reconsidering :)

See you next Muse Monday!

Muse Monday: week two

Muse Monday is a day late! Oh my, time flies when you're...busy!!! Where did the last 8 days of my life go?!

So much on my plate last week: more packing/purging, taught a class at our local art gallery, a couple of last minute invitation orders (small, thank goodness!), my brother made an unexpected trip home from the other side of the world for a short visit, organized & held a huge garage sale with our neighbors over the weekend, the weather was hot, sticky & humid, energy zapper big time - whew! Anyhow, lots accomplished but still a ton more to check off my list and I'm really starting to miss all my supplies that are packed up, I hope I can handle being this organized! lol :)

Updates: the walls can't come down for another week or two, so I'm still sketching out placement ideas and researching storage options - there's a ton of stuff at this place, here and I just love the stuff here (I spied with my little eye a really cool drawing table there that I want, hehe!!) I'm also fine-tuning my choices for a color palette, I don't want the new space to be too shabby & girly (read: pink) or by contrast, stark & graphic-looking. Would love a clean, simplistic, look with touches of creative abandon & whimsy around the room.


My muse discovery this week: what can you create with a pastry bag, gesso, paint, crackle medium and a piece of 8x20 matboard? The results are shown at left - I may just leave it as an inspiring technique piece but I think it would make a great sign, with ribbon or braided cord to hang it up and of course some lettering - maybe an inspirational word (serendipity?!)



See you next Muse Monday!

**P.S. I promise to catch up soon with everyone's blogs and Flickr 'streams to see what you've been up to. Thanks for all your lovely comments and encouraging words, it really means a lot! :)

Muse Monday: week one

Thanks again everyone for your wonderful support and welcome to my first Muse Monday! As I mentioned in my previous post, I hope to inspire and inform with this project. Since downsizing my stationery/invitation business last year, I really can't justify taking up the whole front of our home anymore. We all miss the space and hanging out in there together. The trade-off is that the new space, currently the tv/spare room, will finally get a much needed facelift and I'll also get a door :)

At this point I'm gleaning ideas, packing, sorting, purging - basically getting things in order in my present space. The real work (read: blood, sweat & tears) hasn't started yet. Well maybe a little as we started on the floor of the new space by ripping out the carpets over the weekend. There were 2 'lovely' ones over the hardwood floors, which we also discovered had been painted - twice - so it's going to need some refinishing too.



My muse discovery today: pics of the floor make a great background for use in Photoshop.



I've read some good reviews on this book "Where Women Create: Inspiring Work Spaces of Extraordinary Women" by Jo PackHam so went ahead and ordered it. It features over 20 artists' creative spaces with fields ranging from papers crafts to gardening. If nothing else, I'll be hugely inspired (the title alone is empowering) and have a beautiful reference to spur me on when things are moving slow.

With regards to resources, I've been searching everywhere out there for any and all ideas but most involved heavy duty remodelling, organizing closet space (which in my circa 1940 home is almost non-existant!) and/or were for setting up spaces specifically for one thing or the other. I have sooo many mediums that I'm into that I need to devise a multi-tasking room where numerous projects can be accommodated as each particular muse visits. Each medium will also need its' own storage system that's fairly contained but easy to rotate out at whim. And so again, I need to reinvent the wheel :)

We're also contemplating a move in the next year, so that means I need to come up with workable storage ideas that can also go with me. That said, I don't want to alter the structure of the original space too much for resale reasons. I am however going to utilize the built-in bookcase in this room as much as possible and want to take out the existing window and put in a larger one to allow more natural light into this north-facing room. I also want better task lighting and a flat storage area for large sheets of papers and to store prints. Not everything works out though so have to remember to be flexible and keep it real. Which brought about the subject of budget recently with my 'contractor' and I said, "what's that?" *huge grin*

See you next Muse Monday!

'Muse Monday' - coming soon

My studio will be in transition mode the next 4-6 weeks as I downsize into a smaller (but brand new!) space so to help me stay focused, I've decided to try and find creative ways to use all the little bits of stuff that I'm finding as I wade through 5 years of stationery, art and craft supplies (!)

I'll be posting my finds and what I did with them, before and after, that sort of thing on Mondays, soon to be known as 'Muse Monday' - title of which I've already shortened to keep things simplified!!















A hint at things to come: I started in on a corner of the studio this morning and found a bag of paint chip swatches from like 3 years ago, I collect those things what can I say *smile*, lots of yummy colors and textures. This little swatch above (2x2) in particular though had an amazing texture as well, sandpaper-ish, and I've been wanting to try a technique that I came across recently using colored pencils on sandpaper - so there was the connection :) I spent about 10 minutes on this and loved the results.

I'm also very much into remodelling pics, how-to's, storage & display ideas so I'll be sharing that with everyone as well as I go along. It's gonna get messy and it might not be pretty at times, lol, but I'm hoping to make this fun and productive. It's an exciting project but I also know that some parts of it won't be, so I'm looking forward to Muse Monday to help me get through the not-so-exciting parts. Would love for you to join me here!