4th Annual Where Bloggers Create...come see my creative space!

Hello, and welcome!

I hope you have a happy time exploring my studio.
For me, that happiest of places!

You'll be in good company....everyone here is friendly and welcoming.

Like most of you out there with your own creative space, I have a lot of "stuff". And I like to make my storage as pretty as possible, something that makes my space beautiful. Like these vintage cigar boxes I was lucky enough to find, they house vintage blocks and office supplies.

Some of my business cards waiting to be cut out.

Some local folks I've found recently....love them!

Glitter in vintage containers...I use a lot of glitter!

My pretty Nancy Ann collection....love their sweet faces!

My pink hanging basket thrift find, in pink no less! I love it to hold my vintage flowers.

An old photo that I love and some old flash cards on a cabinet door....

My sweet bisque girls and some vintage storage boxes.

My initials, in wallpaper of course...:)

Some hatbox storage....love the florals.

I found this beauty on Etsy and was so happy that she was a seller in my own state of Oregon....I use it to store my tags from my Etsy shop.

A pretty barkcloth knitting bag that holds old trims.

I found this cool wire storage piece at HomeGoods and it fit this weird space in my studio perfectly! I use it to hold my antique cabinet card photos and some bits of ephemera.

A table that I added this past year. I love the faux bamboo trim and the floral oilcloth top....I use it to wrap my packages for my Etsy shop.....it's been a wonderful addition to my studio. My dh put tiny wheels on the bottom so it's easy for me to move around if need be. The leather train cases underneath hold some of my Etsy items for sale.

A work space with necessities above....

Storage, storage, and more storage! I love to use old locker baskets, tiny jewelry boxes, vintage file boxes, and floral glove boxes....hmmm, guess I like boxes!

Florals are my favorite!

Lots of vintage floral wallpapered drawers.
These hold my stamps, and things to alter.....

A stuffed dresser top.

Leather doll bodies, don't know why I love them, I just do!

Another knitting bag....

Supplies on my wrapping table, I made the string box with some vintage wallpaper. Wish I had a whole roll of this gorgeous paper but I just had a small piece.

A tiny bit of my vintage wallpaper collection.

Vintage sewing box with old supplies.....

Are you still with me?

Another cool storage piece from HomeGoods.

Some old friends!

Clear hatboxes make the BEST storage, you can actually see what you have.

Well, I'm exhaused, how about you?! Thank you so much for visiting me today...I feel so fortunate to have my own space to create in. When we go on vacation each Summer I actually pine away for my studio....:). Whenever I'm feeling down I know just where to go to make myself feel better.
I can't wait to check out all the other creative spaces in this years party.
Thanks once again to Karen for hosting this awesome event!!!

How I feel today....

It's been a super busy week and we're headed to the beach for 3 days to celebrate a big birthday!
Which means tying up lots of loose ends.....and I've surprised myself with getting my studio pics ready for the "Where Bloggers Create" party that actually starts on Saturday...or Friday evening.
I may be posting mine early, depending on when we leave tomorrow. Today was spent finding a bathing suit for dd when the one we ordered for her didn't come yet from Land's End (love you Land's End!). So we bought a stand in and then she wanted to do her slip n'slide today......so much fun watching her have fun!
Anyway, I'll be posting my studio space tomorrow and then looking forward to coming home on Sunday evening and checking out the entries on Monday morning.
In the meantime I hope you all have a great weekend....I know we will because what's better than being at the beach?

Let's jam!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's a very tiny portion of the jam that we put up today.....it took hours but in the dead of Winter when it's freezing cold outside and you want some toast with jam...this fits the bill. It's a taste of Summer in the middle of Winter.
I highly recommend! Sorry Smuckers...:(
You've been replaced!

~~~~~Happy 4th of July~~~~~

I hope you all enjoy a safe and fun holiday!
And please say a prayer for all of those in harm's way today.....

When it's time to move on.....

I've decided to sell some of my vintage children's book collection.

These books were used to decorate my dd's spaces when she was a baby...I find the covers, colors, illustrations, and the stories so charming!

I won't be able to sell all of them, just some....I have a few that are rather rare and dear to my heart.

I'm sure someone else will enjoy these charming books with their own children. The stories are simple and sweet.

No "Hunger Games" stories in this bunch!

Just stories from a simpler time that all young children can enjoy....these will all be listed this week.
Enjoy yours!

Working on some new ribbons on this rainy Saturday.....

So we had big plans to go down to the Olympic Trials here on the U of O campus but the rain kept us away....absolutely crazy weather! But after seeing what some other parts of our country are going through, I'm grateful and happy! I've been working hard in my studio getting it organized as I have to do every year. It actually feels so good to do this...especially when it's all finished!
I'm getting ready to participate in the infamous "Where Bloggers Create" party hosted by Karen of "My Desert Cottage" fame.
The trick now is finding a sunny enough day before July 14th to photograph my space.
Hahahahaha! Sad but true!
I've pulled out my vintage Classroom Printer stamp set to create some new items for my etsy shop.....I love these old stamps beyond all reason and can't imagine ever getting rid of them. This set was gifted to me by a good friend,Cyndi, and for that I will always be grateful because if you've ever tried to find one of these special stamp sets you know that the cost can be crazy...I should say CRAZY!

Anyway, so far I have a bird ribbon and a nest ribbon.....more to come! And I'll be on the hunt soon for some wonderful new fabrics that I can make some special ribbons out of.
What have you done lately that's creative?
Please do share?
Oh, and lest I forget, if you haven't picked up the latest copy of Somerset Life then you're missing out! It's beyond fantastic!
Inspiring me no end.....

Oh my goodness, I must be losing my head!

Yes it's true, I'm feeling that urge....the urge to purge!
I've decided to pare down my doll head collection. Now those are words I never thought I'd say!

But here's the thing....I'm working on a studio re-do, organizational thingy.....and I'm purging lots of things that I thought, at one time, that I just had to have. And as I look around my studio I find that I just had too dad-gum much stuff!
Is dad-gum a word? Probably not but you get my drift.
So off it goes to my shop along with many other items still to come.
It feels really good to pare down and clean up and organize.
Big sigh of relief. Less clutter=more creativity!
At least for me.
What are your weeks plans?

Well hello and happy Saturday to you!

I've been busy creating after finding these fantastic "patriotic poppets" courtesy of one of my favorite online stores
PaperWhimsy
and no, it's not just because the owner's name is Gale!
How can you resist these cuties?

I happened to have the vintage bingo cards on hand already, along with everything else used to make this banner.

I love this vintage patriotic wallpaper that I put on the back. This banner is now available in my Etsy shop....
and I'm currently working on another project using these little poppets so stay tuned.....she'll be listed in my shop later today.
Hope you all have a happy creating weekend!

Okay, so I changed my mind! A woman's perogative and all that...;)

So I just couldn't stay away! I found that there were actually some things that I wanted to share and I realized that instead of cutting myself off completely from blogging, because I really do enjoy it, I'll merely cut back on it this Summer....that is unless I change my mind again...hahahahaha! Call me crazy!

So I found this chest and it was a plain ugly brown color  and it was calling out to me saying, "Make me pretty...please?"

So I used some of my vintage wallpapers, vintage sheet music, and stamps for her makeover.....

Here's the back, just a mixture of some of my favorites!

This is actually quite a large chest standing 13 1/2" high!
I just listed her in my Etsy shop. Aren't her little porcelain knobs cute?
In other news, it's officially Summer vacation here starting today at noon! My dd is over the top excited for a fun relaxing Summer.
And so is her Mom.....I sure hope it works out that way...;).
Talk soon.......

It's time for a break.....a blog break

And I do hope you all have a great Summer! I have so many things calling for my attention right now that I'll be taking a wee break from this blog....I do hope you all have a wonderful Summer break and take some time to smell the roses. See you in the Fall...;).