Serendipity

I had spent a rainy afternoon earlier in the week doodling on an art pad, something
I literally have not done in years. My doodling ended up being mostly words that
were on my mind at the time, but I thought I saw a profile in way they were laid
out. I don't have a scanner so I took a digital picture of my drawing and opened it
in my graphic art software where I added all sorts of fun stuff to the original drawing.
I ended up working on it for hours with no intention of doing anything with it....

And then: I was poking around in the blog world the other night and came across a blog at
http://www.inspiration-avenue-team.blogspot.com that offers a weekly challenge. I had never
been to this site before, but it just so happens that this weeks challenge is to create something
using primarily words! Well what do you know? I love it when stuff like that happens...

So I am submitting my fancy doodle because, heck, why not?

A New Year, Already, Again...

I have such good intentions, but when it comes to sitting down and taking the time to update this and my other internet endeavers and I can find almost any excuse to put it off. It is a rainy evening and I don't have a good book going so I will seize the boredom and be creative here.

I have some updated pictures of my work space, which continues to thrill me, and a couple of pictures of what I have been up to as of late. I have a real fun project going now...I meant to take pictures of the process, something I keep forgetting to do, but I will get some up here as it comes together...

One good wind storm and fall abruptly ended this year. This week we had our first real rain of the season and the 6 inches that fell translated to a very full pond. The mallards are loving it and I am loving watching them!

I made the awning over the door this summer from redwood branches and bailing wire and then strung it with the sweetest bird lights and lanterns. I was trying a new paint technique involving vasolene on the bird house...not something I will probably try again but it looks okay up there. Come on in...

This is the view of my desk from my armchair in the corner. Its a good thing I don't work at the desk because there isn't much room left. Mostly I just sit there watching the ducks and looking at all the cool stuff littering the surface.

When I took these pictures I wanted to record the changes I have made, but I waited so long to list them that I have already made more changes. I guess like me and all of life...it is a work in progress.

I don't go long without inspiration. I just walk around until something catches my eye and go...

I have been having glue dates with my lovely granddaughters, one on one, and it is great fun watching them sort and choose what they would like to glue...Last Sat. was my middle granddaughters turn and she make this breathtaking work of art all by herself...

and her lovely older sister made this one the week after Christmas. They are quite the mixed media artists!

I love religious art of any kind. It all started with the holy cards in Catholic school. I have been collecting for awhile and am thrilled to have an alter corner to display it and enjoy it.

It all helps me stay focused, and God know I need all the help I can get!

I made this box for myself. It's window reminded me of a Catholic confessional so I went with that and covered the whole box with pictures that have meaning to me. Inside I mounted a nightlight. Instead of fearsome priest of my olden days, I have Jesus suspended by threads and reminding me that I am forgiven...as far as the east is from the west...

And this is what I have most recently been working on...mobiles. I made this one for my brother. He sent me a picture of it hanging in the solarium he just built off his front room. It looks good!

Photos just don't do these justice. I have sold one on etsy but for the most part am frustrated with what is lost in the pictures...they are a sight to behold...This  week I finished another one with a Mexican art theme that turned out pretty good. I have to photograph it yet but when I do I will try and post some shots here. That one will be listed at my etsy shop as soon as I quit procrastinating about getting it up there!

Finaly...

After many detours I have completed my 'dream studio'. Welcome...

The bottom floor, and work area were a no-brainer. I just decorated like I do all my living spaces, making do with what I have on hand. Just like my real life studio, every available space sports bowls, boxes, and shells flowing over with pretty, shiny, and potential useful items. I had no qualms using brass tacks as curtain holders because I have been known to use a staple gun to hold up my curtains. To me, decorating is all smoke and mirrors and pragmatism.

Much the same as my own worktable, there are pots of brushes and pencils, and bowls of things I may use someday. The windows are strung with beads and light catching baubles, and the walls are covered with some of my favorite things. In my own studio I have a workbench (made out of an old chicken feeding trough) but I generally use the little space remaining on my table in the middle of the floor to work.

No space of mine would exist without some of my granddaughter's art on the walls and at least one picture of them, and so this bulletin board does the same. On the top is a 'bumpersticker' that has hung in every space I have inhabited for the last 31 years. I have it mounted on a piece of oak. The corners are curling off and the background has faded, but the message is as good today as it was then, and so this work space must have the same message, focus and simplify...

The desk area fits nicely into the bay window. What a lovely place to sit! This desk actually has more open work space then my real one but given a little more time I will probably have it as cluttered!

It was the upstairs I really had to ponder. If my studio had a second story, what would I want it to be? (In case any observant observer should see there is actually no way to get to the second story, I should explain...the staircase that came with this kit was just too cheesey looking and took up too much floor space. I had intended on making a ladder, but the more I think about it, I will just suspend a knotted  rope to ascend and descend.

So after much thought I decided what my upstairs would look like. It would be a space dedicated to relaxing and recharging my batteries. A place to ponder and wonder and reconnect with the God that brings me peace. I wanted the feeling of outside, because it is nature that brings me swiftly to praise. I covered the walls the scenes of wonder to lift my heart visually to that place.

I am really proud of the 'bed'. I would want a place to recline, but I wouldn't want a bed per se, and cots are too cot-ish. So I took a part a little wagon and mounted the wheels on a plank that I padded and upholstered in a lovely felted wool. If I didn't live in a bus I would  make one for my living room! I love how I can leave it in the bay for more floor space, or pull it out to lay in front of my alter space.

Being of the Orthodox persuasion, it is icons that help lead my mind and heart to worship, and the bay is a perfect nitch for my little alter. In my real studio I have a whole corner that holds my collection of religious art and I often look towards it for energy and insight.

Birds are a big part of my life. They are a constant reminder for me that God watches over the sparrow, and He watches over me. And no place of wonder would be complete without a giraffe. How can anyone question creation after seeing a giraffe? I mean, really...

The world is full of wonder. This is what I need to remember...

Making the mobile was a challenge! I had planned to make several, with all sorts of things hanging from them like I have in my studio and my etsy store, but oh man, these hands don't want to do the little stuff anymore!

There she blows...my studio within a studio...and since she sits in the middle of my worktable, it is time for her to be shelved so I can move on to making Christmas presents... and I better get busy because the time is slip- sliding away.

Merry Christmas to you all, and God bless you.

Some important info...

The I'm a Giant dollhouse challenge referred to in my last post is from Emily Henderson...her blog address is http://www.stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/im-a-giant-update.html. I just poked around to see what others are doing and realized some people have some really cool houses...if you want to see some really nice mini stuff go to some of the links at the bottom of her blog and see what fellow creators are doing!

Rabbit Trails to Mini Land

So a couple of weeks ago I was poking around on Etsy and saw this blog about a dollhouse decorating contest of sorts. It was just the bump I needed to pull the dollhouse kit I bought at the thrift store back out and give it another look. I love doll houses and miniatures, and always have. I have always wanted to build my own, though lacked confidence that I could. Well, here I had a good reason for devoting time and energy to what would other wise be a frivolous activity. So I did...a good two weeks worth of time just to put the thing together. It is the simplest of kits, but do not be fooled! Even in the simplest house there is a ton of molding, and each piece has to be hand cut (my bandsaw, by far my favorite power tool, died)  I started on the 3rd of Oct. I only remember that date cause it was our 24th wedding anniversary and I conned my husband into helping me, for a little while that is...He did cut and fit the triangle window moldings on the outside for me and then said I was on my own. If you look closely you will see those are the only dang moldings in the whole house that actually match up at the seams! I am not one for perfection...I go for the effect!

My visions of instant house were dashed early on. This was an excellent patience builder for me. I had to clamp and walk away. Wait for the glue to set, glue more and wait more...sigh. 

All those moldings had to be prepainted and cut to size. I am pretty proud that I saw this through and had it turn out pretty okay. I can't cut a straight line with a paper cutter much less a hand saw, but paint and lots of accessories will hide the worst of my finish carpentry! 

I lined the floors with a black pen to look like hard wood flooring. This picture is before I stained them golden oak. They came out pretty nice. The kit had a spiral staircase that was really cheesy looking. I am going with a ladder which I have yet to make...

This kit was for a gingerbread house. The model was painted pink with white trim, all the windows had the same white decorations on them as the the front door still does, and the roof was scalloped and oh so cutsey. This was definitely not my dream studio doll house. So I did some modification. First I left off all the fancy trim on the outside. I painted the whole exterior with glue and 'glittered' it with fine sand. (I wanted a stucco look and this was my husbands idea...a brilliant one I think, but do not tell him I said so!) It worked out real slick. I painted over that with white and grey and a few dabs of green for the moss that grows on everything here in the redwood forest. I replaced the cutsey windows with sheets of shrinky dink plastic. I like it. It looks like the windows are steamed up, or old, or both. I covered the cutesy scalloped shingles with eucalyptis and redwood bark. I admit if I were a more patient person I would have cut nice uniform shingles, but by the time I got to the roof I was really ready to get to the fun part...the inside, so I made my shingles a bit bigger than standard, going for the whimsical look. (or the 'okay, I have had about enough of this' look!)

So, below is the finished shell... I am going to mount it on a board and landscape a bit around it. I found a great branch that will make a cool tree and have a whole bag of tiny autumn leaves that I knew would come in handy some day. The inside is going to be my 'dream' workshop. Truthfully, I am pretty much working in my dream workshop, but a second level for rest and refreshing would be even better, and this little place has just that. I have a lot of miniatures to pick from. The last picture shows some things in place, but I have not even begun the layout and decorating part. I had to take a break and get some Christmas product made for an upcoming fair (PS I think my Etsy store address link in the last blog was wrong. It is 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/oblations... and business is better than I anticipated!) 

I will post more as I go. I have to make some product before playing again, but I have no shortage of ideas for decorating mini land...till next time....annie

Dreams do come true sometimes!

Much has changed for me since I last wrote. It is amazing such big things can happen in such little time. In the wake of two funerals and much sadness and greiving much good has come. I did not do the show at the end of August. My daughter was full term pregnant and I had an aching heart. First good news: I witnessed her give birth to our fourth granddaughter, and both are well and beautiful! Thank God.  I did go ahead and list my sewing show items in the Etsy Shop I finally got up and runner on Sept. 2. (www.etsy/shop/oblations). I have sold two handmade items and today added some vintage treasure items for sale.

The biggest news is this though...I have a studio! Not only a studio, but in a space I have dreamed about spending my time since we moved back here. On the property we park our bus on, towards the back, is a large pond and next to it is a little cabin, about ten by twelve. The picture below is one I took of it three years ago when I first arrived. It was titled 'dreams'.

I love this spot on earth. I still get a shiver evertime I think about it, and a big grin everytime I walk down there. After three years of collecting bits and pieces and odds and ends at the thrift store I was blessed to work at I now have a place to put it all, and O what a place it is! My rent for this dream studio is maintaining the land around it which is a pleasure for me. I spent this morning wading in the pond cutting back the cattails that are threatening it. I spent several days last week pulling the blackberry vines, some forty feet up in trees, and uncovering a lovely rock wall that no one has seen in a long time. Unforturnately I also found some poison oak, but it is a small price to pay.

On the mornings I don't have domestic duties at the bus I put on my hat and walk across the field and down the hill to my STUDIO!  I try to spend some time working the land and some time creating everyday and I can't think of any life that would closer to heaven for me than this!

Check out my space...

I will update this pic soon. There is now alot more decoration to the outside too.

Can you believe this? I moved all this stuff down here with a wagon...it took four days and 26 loads but there is a place for everything and I have a work table, a work bench and a desk. And when I get tired of those (if ever) I can curl up in my armchair and gaze at the pond.

It is just a great place to be. A real giant step up from the tent I have been using for a shop, and it doesn't leak! I don't have running water now, but the potential for it is close by, and I have a nice outhouse across the path for my other needs.

The pond is full of frogs and mesquito fish. Three ducks have summered here. I am waiting to see if they stay for the winter. There is also what I think I have identified correctly as a green heron, which the guide book says "appears to be blue". Go figure!

Here's something you don't see everyday! Heron tongue. This is one of those shots I didn't know I was getting until I went to edit it.

Well, I suppose that's enough news for this edition. I will add more pictures of the pond and my little piece of the world as I go. I should end with my first creation in the new studio. I love this little lady and secretly hopes she doesn't sell...atleast not too soon! I call her "Bondage" and tell her story at my Etsy shop:

etsy/shop/oblations.  Stop by and visit some time!

There is a music box mounted on the back that plays "Born Free" and the little propellor on top turns!

Life happens...plans or no plans

Funny how so much can change in so little time. When I last wrote I optimistically stated my goal to have my Etsy site up and running by almost two weeks ago. I had gone away for a few days in the beginning of July and gave notice at the thrift store the day I returned. I decided to take the leap of creation on a full time basis. I had one full week of 'retirement' and spent long hours getting ready for a show I am doing the end of August. (More on that below...) Then ten days ago my dear friend, mentor, landlord and priest died suddenly of a heart attack. Today my good friend and neighbor was taken away in an ambulance in the final stages of liver cancer. He only found out he had it two weeks ago. It is hard to create with a heavy heart! I have found having a deadline helps me though. I am not functioning with peak enthusiasm, but am getting the job done bit by bit while I wait for the sadness to subside.

As promised I have included pictures of some of my work. My landlady, a lovely woman, (and now a grieving widow, sigh) had invited me to do a show with her. She works mostly in fabric and makes, among other things, wonderful rugs. See some of her work at ( http://www.etsy.com/shop/NeedlesInTheNest ). She had signed up for a show at Harts Fabrics and had planned to demonstrate her rug making. My daughter is making fabric purses to sell at the same show, and I am to have sewing related items. As it turns out, I will be setting up and running the booth while my friend takes advantage of a little traveling with her son and his family...a much needed diversion for her right now...my daughter will help, but by then she will be eight and a half months pregnant. We will do fine and it all will turn out as it should. You just never know how plans will change.

For the show I made some Altoid Box sewing kits, some project journals, two boxes and a mobile. I use mostly vintage items to embellish. Here are the sewing kits...they turned out pretty fun. I may just make some more for Etsy...

I have always been a saver of things, so working at the thrift store was like a dream come true when it came to access to cool things. Alot of what I acquired would have been tossed. Old magazines and papers of all types...buttons, beads and baubles. I will probably spend the next couple of years (Lord willing!) using the supplies I was able to stockpile. My banner picture on this site is taken of just a few of the bits and pieces I have accumulated to glue on things.

My friend will have a book for sale at this show detailing how to make her wonderful rugs. She told me that in it she encourages her 'students' to keep a project journal- a place where they note what they are working on and any ideas for future creations. So I collected some of the many journals donated (boy I am going to miss that place!) and covered them to theme them. They turned out kind of cute...

I have made some really cool mobiles. I have a couple ready to list on Etsy also, but am finding out they are really hard to photograph. It is a shame they don't translate well on line. I have great fun making them and want to make more...maybe I will figure it out...here is the sewing related one I just finished for the show.

 

 My background doesn't help in these pictures either, but you get the idea. We had received a donation of a bag of homemade pincushions at the thrift store, and I already had bottles of buttons, etc. My daughter was playing with the old folding rule the day I brought it home from work and shaped it into a star and the idea for this mobile was born! It really turned out cuter than I anticipated. There are six pincushions and a variety of other cool stuff.

Below are a couple of boxes I had actually made before I found out about the show. Boxes are my thing. I have been decorating boxes for as long as I can remember. I had intended on listing these on Etsy (and still will if they don't sell at the show)

This one has some great war time advertising. I love the Greyhound ad on the front...This can happen to You!  A greyhound vacation. What more could a person want? On the inside I sacrificed a wonderfully intact Happy Home needle package. It is attached to the bottom, but open and functional. The bottons and other embellishments are fixed under many layers of glue and going no where...

The buttons and bone crochet hook, pins and thread are all a part of the bottom of the box now. These boxes can be used to keep things in, or displayed as conversation pieces. I am hoping to get one more done before the show, but time will tell. Me thinks this is enough for tonight! I want to get this loaded before I have a computer glitch and lose it...(thats the kind of day its been...) So long for now...an happy crafting!