pamgarrison

bye for now

Well my friends, I am leaving first thing in the morning for artfest. I hope you have a great week. If you happen to be there too, please do introduce yourself! I thought I'd leave you with a photo of what I bought at the grocery store today to read on the plane...(I had to stock up for the kids' lunches while I'm gone and get the snack for soccer this weekend...wouldn't it just figure that it's our turn the one weekend I'm gone, so typical)...look at those gorgeous, delicious, eggs! Dying to get home and make some. I sure do miss Martha by Mail...she actually used to sell these paper mache egg candy containers, as well as many other great craft kits, but of course you knew that! Anyway, take care and I hope to be back blogging Monday. xox pam

scroll patterns

I love scroll patterns, I have no idea why. Why does one love any shape, or color, or design? A personal preference, what is pleasing to one's eye. I think it's instinctual. I personally have never been a fan of orange. Then my son was born. He LOVES the color orange and showed his preference early. I have to say, it has  taught me to see orange differently and appreciate it more. I certainly am happy for him when we are handed down an orange shirt and I think he looks cute in orange as well. Tastes change too, I like different shades of a certain color than I did before, or fall in love with new colors all together. I'm suddenly attracted to a pattern, color, shape, deep inside, not because someone says it is what I am supposed to like, just because it suddenly strikes my fancy. Scrolls have always been a pleasing design to me, hope that doesn't change. This morning I walked around the house and took a few photos of the shape to share, maybe you too like scrolls, or maybe you'll see them in a new light like I did orange.

good morning

Yesterday the mail brought a fun new art tool. I had ordered these from Teresa at Paper Bella. Now, how cute is she to package things this way? She could have just slipped the pens as is, in an envelope, but no, that would not be her way (that's not how she rolls, right Teresa? wink wink). You know me, I'm a big appreciator of packaging, of tags and ribbons, and care and thought. I was so tickled with the presentation, it probably wouldn't have mattered how they worked...but, work they do! I love them! They are fun and easy, nothing like the paint pens of yesteryear, that's for sure. I am always struggling with white gel pens on painted surfaces, but not with these. Teresa has some fun new things, especially the yummy glass glitter that tarnishes. And when you see her current monthly paper kit know that she didn't copy me and I didn't copy her with the banners...there just in the zeitgeist right now, and you know...great minds thinking alike and all that (ha ha).

Having a new toy can be a great kick-start to creating. That proved true for me last night. I doodled in my journal and then suddenly found my way to the latest self-portrait collaborative due out the first of April. This month I received Jeanne Minnix's book. Wow! What a big, bold, colorful creation. The book itself is 15"x11 1/2" and the pages for contributors measure 14x11". Fun! So I just started playing with the scraps from my vintage paper packs and added some paint and before you know it, something started to take shape. Now, again, never what I set out thinking I'd do...this project is so interesting and good for me, because with 25 books, you just have to branch out and find different ideas within yourself. Again, this month, I went with a transparency photo...I just wanted the image of me to disappear more. I thought I was going to do a real photo and make a paper doll Pam, but I guess not. (Thankfully, we were lucky enough to have a family day with the fab miss Tara last summer, because I am learning that I am not in many photos at home, always the taker -I know this is a common Mom thing, we must get in photos more, for the sake of our little ones).  I wish I had started the blog last summer, when this project began, because the pages I did then were very different than these three that you have seen. These last three seem very similar. Maybe I'll try to scan the old ones. Just know that I'm obviously in a phase of sorts, a certain style right now. Since I do not really draw, not real people, I feel that I have to use photographs of myself, (it is a self-portrait theme, after all), but somehow, that ends up looking a bit more like scrapbook/photo journal pages than unique artists portraits, the format for this collaborative is less traditional than the visual journal/scrapbooking forms. I have always been so dog-gone literal. Some of the artists that have come before me in the books are so non-literal, revealing themselves without photos. I know I am a crafter, and many of these people are artists, degrees and all. Don't get me wrong, I love crafting and am not ashamed that I am not credentialed, there is a place and a need in the creative arts for everyone, I'm just not sure if artists want my literal crafty/scrapbooky photo portrait in their book of different (non photo) artist portraits.

I am trying. I am learning, I am growing. I am lucky to be in such a group of welcoming collaborators. You know, as anyone would feel, I just don't want to disappoint. Interesting. It seems I'm back to the entry of a few days ago, I am not where I was, nor where I'm going. Where I am right now has to be good enough, because it is all that I have.

I am turning off the comments on this entry just because. I write all this just to share my journey with you, not fishing for praise. It's nice to know that you've got my back. :)

 

pretty pictures

 

secret stash

Tine asked us to show our "secret stash", what is hidden in our studio. Here's my secret stash. Inside my art room desk drawer I keep my little home made "fanny pack"- (I hate that term, but it describes what it is perfectly). I made it out of an old lingerie bag I bought at a flea market. I found out later, after I had washed it, that it was by a highly collectible lingerie bag maker...I can't recall the name now, no matter, because when washing it the tag fell off. I made it to wear on the front of my jeans when going flea marketing. I grew tired of panicking about where my money was and if I had lost it shoving it in my pockets. Now I know right where it is and know that no one is going to pick my pocket, that's for sure. I get many compliments on it and plan to make some one day to sell...add another thing to my list of "things to make". All this leads us to my secret stash of course...

Inside the bag I sewed a couple little pockets, one for money, one for handiwipes (my hands get so dirty at the flea market!) or my cellphone. Once money goes in my flea market bag, it does not come out unless at the flea market. If I don't spend it, it stays there, waiting for the next day it might get called into use. Of course, I don't report the fact that I have returned home with money left over, or it would be used for lunches, errands etc. No thanks! This way I can get up and go at the spur of the moment some morning when I wake early knowing it's all set to go. What's your secret stash? See more stashes here.

our truck

Nina asked us what trucks we have, so what better to show you for this Thursday's corner? This is a snippet of my son's room. I made my girlfriend buy this truck for her kitchen years ago, to store silverware, or candles, or napkins, or what-have-you. After she married and that idea became less than adorable, I made her give it to me for my son. I have loved it since the moment I saw it. A perfect shade of blue and the perfect amount of age for me. My son loves it too. Here it is, in his room, amongst blocks and books and little chairs... more home corners here.

So, a big big big thank you to you all for all your understanding, encouragement, and support regarding my previous post. It's such a process learning about ourselves, isn't it? I am grateful to have new and old friends to discuss my journey with. My daughter's arm was, of course, just fine...the x-ray showed a little fluid and so they say it is a strain or sprain...I can't remember which, one for ligaments, one muscle, but thankfully, no break. As Lesley said in her comment, "whatever happens, happens", and that is the lesson I am constantly learning: surrender. As Corey said, "live it (time) each moment"...not wishing I was anywhere else, but being right where I am and finding the beauty in that. I am learning.

more tomorrow, nighty night friends.

 

so many ideas, so little time

We're still not where we're going, but we're not where we were. - Natash Jasefowitz

As I am trying to prepare for teaching, selling and attending artfest, I am constantly thinking about how nothing is as I thought it would be when presented such an opportunity. I just thought I would be beyond prepared, totally ready, but I am not. There are so many ideas I have, and yet, no time to make them happen. I thought I would have tons of things made to sell (in my mind I've made so many things!), and a fun and creative display for my table...time to revel in the fun of it all, but no. This is a constantly frustrating thing to me, not just with an event such as this, but with my life in general. I imagine it is this way for most, but others do seem to get so much more done. I am not an inherently  organized person, maybe they are. As the day is coming when I must ship off my items, I am feeling the need for time. Time to myself. Time to think and dream and play. Ha! That is obviously not where I am in life. For the most part, time is not my own, and really, I know deep down inside that I wouldn't want it any other way. I am lucky to have my family and most days I don't begrudge all that that entails...however, as I have to take my daughter to the orthopedist for the arm that is still hurting from the tumble she took in soccer on Sunday, I can't help but wish it wasn't today. I know if I take her, it will be nothing, but if I don't, she  might have fractured her arm (again). Argh. So off to spend all that time and money we go, wishing of course, that it's all for naught and she just needs to let it mend on its own, that these x-rays are the end of it.

This is where I am right now. It is not where I'm going, it is not where I was. I am learning to appreciate being here, that what I am, what I have done for now is ok, as it is supposed to be even, no matter that it's not where I thought I would be. At least I'm not saying "where I should be" anymore. That's a step in the right direction.

The pictures are from some of the shadow boxes I have been making.  The class I am teaching, "Box of Whimsy and Delight" is a shadow box assemblage, so I thought it fitting that I make some shadow boxes to sell as well. These are the two class samples: 

 

and these are the two that I've made to sell (you've seen bits and pieces of these before):

Here's wishing us all a little found time somewhere today, that something goes more smoothly than expected, and we find ourselves with time to think and dream and play.

coming soon

Lauren of Alice*lands told me to look at the coming soon section in Somerset Studios, and so I did. Saturday night we went out to dinner and popped into the bookstore while waiting to be seated. Sure enough, there it was. I showed my son, who has just learned to read and asked him what it said...slowly he read it and then looked at me with surprise. He then said to my daughter, "hey Ali, they're talkin' about Mom in there"...it was sooo cute. I have to say that my two kids are the ones that get most excited when any fun little thing like this happens. I was asked to write the article after the editor saw the class offerings for this coming artfiberfest. My class is called Flights of Fancy. Above is a new one I made to sell at vendor night at the artfest in two weeks.  I'm going to try to make some more in the next few days before I have to ship everything. Hopefully, the pictures in the article will be much better than the ones I submitted for the class listing, that was back in summer, long before I bought my digital Rebel. Oh what a difference a good camera makes! Thanks for the heads-up Lauren!

And Julie, lest you think I have  forgotten that I owed you a "trade" from Monterey, I am happy to report it is finally on its way, sorry for the delay.

  Happy Monday cyber friends, xox p

 

sharing

Look at what I received as a treat for buying something! What great finds just because someone wanted to share what they knew I would love. A scrap of vintage fabric, vintage music sheets,  millinery goodies, and some vintage postcards just for me. Who would send me such lovely things you ask? A very sweet, obviously generous girl named Katie. I ended up at Katie's website one night and ordered her small stationery box and a few other vintage things. I was more delighted with the stationery box today when it came than I expected. Very cute stationery made with obvious love. Look at how sweet all the goodies are, all for only $32.00. I couldn't decide which theme I wanted for my box, birds or crowns, but I don't think it matters, they are both so adorable. Thank you Katie for the wonderful stationery box and even more thanks for sharing your treasures with me, I really appreciate it! You can check out Katie's cute website, Sparrow's Cottage here.

I also wanted to thank all of you for your recommendations for clear bags to store the vintage wallpaper for sale (more on that soon, suffice it to say I will find a way to make enough so that you can buy some whether you attend artfest or not). Right after I asked the question I received an email from Janice telling me where I could buy them. I thought it was particularly kind of her to share such information because she has her own business selling similar vintage supplies. Even though she doesn't sell wallpaper, certainly vintage paper could be seen as competition, but not by her. I have bought many things from her before and will again, especially because she was willing to share. Lucky for you, it's her company's 1 year birthday, and there is a special sale going on in celebration, check it out:  Papier Valise.

Thanks for sharing everyone!

studio friday black & white

This week's Studio Friday challenge was black and white. What is black and white in your studio? Although I love all shades of white, especially creamy white, I don't think of myself as a black and white only kind of gal. I didn't expect I'd have much. The first and only thing that came to my mind when I read the topic of the week was my "P" mug from Anthropologie. I love the graphics on these mugs and the shape. So when I went up to go take the picture, I was so surprised to find it amidst a sea of black and white tones. Truth be told, there was a diet Pepsi can in it, as there always is. That's it's purpose, to hold my diet Pepsi can so I won't spill it on whatever I might be working on at the time (as, of course, I have done many a time). It just looks better without it. There was also a water bottle on the table, but it wasn't pretty either. This is a little table just off to the right and slightly behind my desk (under the dream letters of a previous post). There is a black and cream pitcher that holds long paintbrushes, a jar FULL of mother of pearl buttons (one of the ebay obsessions of long ago), some millinery flower bunches and an old folding picture frame that holds black and whites of my Dad and Aunt Bonnie. A lot of black and white after all. Surprising.

The Studio-Friday game was on! To see the  black and white. This photo is the corner of a tray that sits on my desk...an all black and white (ish-I'm including cream as white) corner. There is an old tarnished silver box, the porcelain letters found on my trip, the heart medals and shoe clip from the flea market, some paper place cards and some felt balls I was trying to make this Christmas. I don't know how to felt yet, but wanted a strand of felt pom poms for the tree...this is as far as that got.

Then I saw this, a little wall by the closet with an old chalkboard. On it sits a smaller chalkboard with a design scratched into it by my daughter years ago (how cute is it that she wrote "I love me"?) and a clothespin I covered in music paper after seeing one somewhere. A rhinestone shoe clip hangs from white ribbon. There is red in the chalkboard and red on the little strawberry I made, but overall, black and white.

On another corner of my desk was this black and white grouping, white trays for sorting small things on my desk with a photo of my kids from Halloween a few years ago-(I can't believe that their costumes are pretty much black and white too!), a white candle, black ink bottle, and a diminutive white teacup with little bits of mostly black and white things tucked inside for safe keeping.

Smack dab in the middle of everything on my desk was this black and white: a pile that has Teesha's latest Art & Life zine  (love this issue!), the confirmation packet for Art Fest, and some doodles I was drawing while at my son's baseball practice. Obviously, I had to crop this one tightly to keep it black and white, the rest of the pile that it is lying on is many colored.

Then this little pile of photos caught my eye. This is from when I was having my Dad's birthday party and copied a bunch of his childhood photos to place around the party. Of course, I need to put all this away, but it was another black and white corner in plain view waiting to be discovered.

And yet another vignette of black and white. This is a little box I found and bought to use at Christmas time to hold a feather tree. It holds fragile silver Christmas picks throughout the year. In it is an old photo from my childhood. My Mom and I were searching for shells. I love to look for shells and my Mom did too. Once she made a giant shell covered mirror for our entry. I know that if she were alive today we would go shelling together and make crafts together from treasures found. I also think it's funny that while my older brother was there watching us, he clearly does not share the scavenging gene, poor guy.

So that's my Studio Friday black and white entry. This was a very fun one for me. Who knew I had so much black and white? Some of the magic of Studio Friday is that it makes me look at my own studio, myself, a little differently, see things that I didn't even realize were there. Thank you Tine for coming up with Studio Friday and organizing all that that entails! More Studio Friday entries here.

thursday's corner

This is what I found when entering the dining room this morning. I love it when I stumble upon the remains of my son's play. I love seeing into his mind; that he chose to play with dinosaurs instead of planes or cars this time, that they are all in a line, that they are smallest to biggest. Sometimes the dinosaurs are all lined up facing the planes/cars/blocks/whatever as if a war is about to begin. I rarely have the heart to make him clean it up. This is one of those things I know I will miss when he grows up. To me, finding this is as fun as hearing kids play...you know, when they are involved in some imaginative fantasy and don't know you are right around the corner, or when they are singing to themselves, just love it. I'm going to try to catch these moments in picture form from now on, it's so him at this moment in time.

Then there's this, a little bit more grown up corner of our home entry. This is what is currently over the fireplace in the family room. A great old peeling paint mirror from a junky antique store long ago. I know I've found something I really like when it gets put to use all over the house. This mirror has hung in our master bedroom, my daughter's room and my art room before landing here for now. Gotta love it when a inexpensive purchase stands up to the test of time.

The NEST letters are metal, probably from some old store sign. I bought them all together at a hole-in-the-wall shop outside of Mammoth Mountain. We were on our way home from a family trip and while my husband and kids filled up the gas tank I ran in to see what might await. It is fitting that they spell nest, because I am a really a homebody and always happy to get back to our nest after being on vacation.

As always, more home corners here.

dear one

Think of this paper piece as a little thank you to all of you that have been so kind to encourage me and my blogging with your words. I made it last night with a happy heart after such sweet words were sent my way yesterday. You are indeed dear.

Regretfully, I am finding that I am unable to reply to every comment, but I wanted you to know that I  appreciate every single one. I will try to reply to any questions in the comments section where they are asked. Hopefully, I will learn to reply right under the question, but for now look for my answer to any query asked in the comments at the bottom of the comments section.

Here's something new I've been putting together today to sell at artfest. I know I am not alone in my paper love (I haven't even spoken of fabric yet...oh boy, another love), the comments and emails I received expressing  similar feelings made that clear. I thought I'd share the luck of having found the papers, a way that people can use a bit in their artwork without having to find or buy a whole roll. Melissa had the great idea of selling sample packs, so here they are. (Thanks Melissa) Each pack is the same mix of vintage wallpapers and a few other papers. Just enough to add something vintage to your creations if you so desire. I had no luck finding poly bags to package them in, so for now they are in/sticking out of clear plastic sleeves...does anyone know where to find such a product online? (Thanks in advance for any heads up on that.) Of course,I had fun selecting and cutting up the paper, but the most fun was placing the sticker with the little millinery flower on top of the bag. It felt like wrapping gifts. I know I am not alone in my enjoyment of that either. Ah, it's so nice to be understood.

gifts

Oh, how I love blogs! They are such a gift. They are a constant source of inspiration and stimulation. (Although scarily addictive). I get so excited when I check by someones blog and they have made a new post. Alicia wins the prize for best blogger ever in my book...with her almost everyday postings, her beautiful photos, her unbelievably talented writing, and her honesty and openness, the depths that she shares... such a beautiful person shines through...finding her blog was such a great gift to myself. And  there are so many other wonderful blogs as  well. One thing I love about bloggers is that they want share, not just their thoughts and creations, but they want to share blogs they read too, so others can be stimulated...a very supportive group it seems (maybe just the craft bloggers- my addiction hasn't wandered anywhere else yet, although there was that brief foray into reading Tim Gunn's project runway blog and the writers of Grey's Anatomy blog). There is only so much time in the day, and far too much of it seems to be on the computer, I'm sticking to craft blogs for awhile. I imagine my desire to see/read everything will taper off a bit, similar to my first foray into ebay years ago...a daily obsession that quickly switched to once in a while (phew!).

In this sharing I have been remiss, I need to get my links up on the side and I will, soon, I promise. Mostly for you, my friends who stop by, so that you can find other blogs that you love, but also for my blogging friends so that their love and effort does not go unnoticed. I have told you about Amy, Corey, Nina, Lauren, Corey (Cor-ay), Tracy, Claudine and Tara, but I look in on so many more. (Did you know that you can click on the comments under posts and read peoples comments about my posts as well as click on the name of the person that wrote the comment and see their blog if they have one? I know some of you will be saying, "uh, ya, duh"...but others, like me, that are a bit slow to discover the whole blog world and its workings might be pleasantly surprised to learn this.) There is Ulla, Melissa, Lesley, Celine, and so many others. But the one I started this whole post today about is L.K.'s. I popped by L.K.'s to see if she had anything new up and sure enough she did...recommendations of blogs to visit, one of which is mine. Thanks L.K.! I love L.K. and I love her art. I met her when I first took a class from her at artfest. She is very sweet and also very cool/artsy. When I saw her work in class I just fell in love big time. Her "birdlike heart" book sealed the deal. In the class I took we made a house book. Here are some photos of my book:

The cover is an old book that we brought. We tore the insides out and decorated the front/back/sides. L.K. gave us some copper tape that you can see on the edge of the binding. She taught us how to age the copper tape in class. I added many little bits here, but my favorite is the old magnifying glass over the lady pictured and the metal trim at the top. I don't often work with metal, L.K.'s class pushed me to grow in that direction.

L.K. gave each of us some picket fencing and then taught us her secrets for aging the white wood to look like metal. Isn't her idea, to use picket fencing to hold up the sides of the book and keep the loose pages inside just the cleverest? It just fits so perfectly with the house theme!

 

 

It was a great class. I enjoyed it so much I signed up for her class the next year too. I'll show photos of that another day. I highly recommend you take a class from her if given the chance. One of the favorite pieces of advice I gleaned in class was to "use your good stuff". She talked about how we find these wonderful things that we treasure and then we put them in a drawer for safe-keeping and put all the wonderful creative energy we had when we found the object in the drawer right along with it. That message really hit home with me and I have been using special finds more freely now. It has added to not only the final project, but to the process of creating as well. Good advice L.K., thank you for that gift.

Speaking of gifts, the photo at the top and above is a snapshot of the gifts I'm giving my students at artfest this year. A tiny little token of friendship for spending the day with me. Maybe they'll use the vintage wallpaper, flower, or ribbon in their project. If you read my blog, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out what's inside. They just looked so pretty sitting in the basket on my chair in my art room that I had to share.

 

 

saddleback mountain

I took my camera for a little walk this morning. My Dad called and reminded me to go take a photo of our local mountain, Saddleback. (Thanks Dad) It is very exciting here when it gets this cold and there is actually snow to be seen. Everyone walks around saying "...have you seen how low the snow is on Saddleback? ...did you see Saddleback today? ...can you believe how cold it is/how much snow there is on Saddleback?" etc. etc. When I was a child I found it annoying, sometime in my mid 30's I finally got it. It's beautiful. All the more beautiful for its rarity. As you can tell, it's been a cold weekend here in Southern California. When my son came home from school Friday I asked how his day was. "Great!!" was his reply. "Great huh? What made it Great?" "The HAIL!!! The HAIL made it great! I even got to touch it!"...Ah, children, they don't miss the simple pleasures, do they?  Somewhere between ages 6 and 40 I lost the desire to reach out and feel the hail, but the excitement of its existence was not lost on me, I just enjoyed it from inside the house, looking out the window. But this is Southern California, so the snow will not last long...you must photo it,see it,enjoy it in the moment, most likely, here today, gone tomorrow. To show you why this snow/weather other than sunny is so exciting,unusual,rare, here's a photo of what I picked from the garden on Saturday between scattered showers and our one blast of thunder (which is the MOST exciting!), spring flowers on the door. Flowers, not snow, is the usual in March.

paper love

Ok, so if you've read my blog at all, surely it is no surprise that I have a thing for paper. Love it! Old, new, everything in between. Wallpaper is a particular love. You can see my treasured rolls above. Many of these were bought at flea markets, but I have also gotten lucky at thrift stores and antique malls. It pains me to think of how many partially used rolls have been tossed over the years after people have finished installing some in their home. The old wallpaper is often very fragile, better for gluing than sewing in projects, but I just can't resist it, limitations and all. Of course there are wonderful shops (I think the names are Second Hand Rose and Hannah's Wallpapers) that have been featured in Martha Stewart's Living magazine. Each time I see one of those photos I swoon...roll after roll after roll stacked in a giant room. You can shop from them online, although I never have. I have also had good luck at wallpaper stores themselves...if you go to paint stores that carry wallpaper, wallpaper stores, or even big home store chains such as Home Depot, you can ask for their old wallpaper sample books. There have been times I've come home with as many as 30 from one store. 30! Sooo fun. Of course, many books have nothing I'm interested in, but some have many beautiful pages in one book alone. My daughter has even used the wallpaper book's themselves for a little scrapbook/collage base. After I go through them, madly tearing pages out, I donate the remains to a thrift store. I've never ordered any new wallpaper, but I'm sure there are many beautiful papers out there that would be gorgeous in art projects, I just assume they'd be too pricey. Here are a few things I made this week using paper, much of it wallpaper. Don't even get me started on all the other paper out there!

another studio friday-eyes

The topic for this week's Studio Friday is "eyes in the studio". This one struck me as tricky. I sure could have used the photos of my loved ones that I posted as inspiration last week this week. Instead, I'll show you some other eyes that are in my art room. The picture above is an old French portrait on poster board. It is a little larger than 3' x 2'. I bought it for $15.00 at a store that imports French antiques. They thought this was rather silly, thus the low price. I love the joy you can see in the children; I imagine someone was being  quite silly for their entertainment. They add many happy eyes in the room.

There are some other eyes in my art room, eyes that are in my journals. Like the eyes I drew over water colored pages on the left. I was feeling a little blue on that day, the eyes tell me that part of the story.

There are the eyes drawn on the little girl pictured here, simple little drawings telling a little visual story. This was a journal page from last December when my daughter was turning 13.

This journal page is a magazine page with a quote written on top of it. Her eyes command my attention. The quote written on top says, "Life is haphazard and full of beauties which I try to catch as they fly by, for who knows whether any of them will ever return?" by Margot Fonteyn.

And another journal page where the eyes reveal a feeling, sort of melancholy, somber.

For me, this challenge was hard, but I just started participating last week, so I didn't want to skip it already. Photos were the obvious answer for me, but like I said, I did that last week. I can't wait to see what creative things people come up with. I do want to thank everyone in the group for being so welcoming and kind . More Studio Friday eyes here.

 

thursday corner

Another Thursday, another corner for "corners of my home". This is a corner of our living room. The table you see is used as a game table off to the side of the room. The blue cabinet holds some of my white pottery and ironstone collection. The birdcage inside was my mother in law's. It's special because she had it out in her home and she didn't really collect things (unlike some people I know).

This picture is an official "corner" of my art room. You can see the tool chest and baskets from a previous Thursday entry to the right. The set of drawers in the corner is from Ikea. I painted it white and sanded, and painted, and sanded etc. etc. to give it a thick feeling. Originally, I had put library  pulls on for drawer handles with paper lables, but the pulls kept pulling out...the little nails were too little. If you look closely, you will see the nail holes near the handles. After giving up on that idea I decided to use old printers stamps that I hot glued on...again, sometimes they would pull off, so I eventually  went with the pre-drilled holes and put in good ol' knobs...almost all of them are old, collected here and there along the way. More storage for art supplies. Yummy.

mailorder club

I wrote about angrychicken's mailorder club quite a bit ago. I was able to secure a subscription, though they sold out fast. It was soooo fun when it came. I love it. The creator, Amy Karol, did a great job.  She has a fun sense of humor and of course, a love of paper. She has even started a "very official mailorder group on flickr" where people show what they have made.

Here is my finished paper project for March, a birthday calendar. Maybe I really will get better at remembering birthdays now. Below is what I made up to hold all the other mailorder goodness like mailorder money, official club member card, merit badge plaque, recipe card, postcard, etc. etc. It's not too late to sign up for the second month if a simple paper project sounds fun to you!

flea market sunday

I woke up early today and decided to head to the flea market. Wanna see what I found? The girl above is from an old scrapbook I bought today. I love the saying at the bottom. In the next photo you can see the book that it was in as well as a couple of old books (look at that cute crown) and an old school photo.   

I also found some loose pages from an old scrapbook. There were only 6 pages with images on both sides. Some old advertising cards and a shoe buckle.

Next you'll see some little Easter chicks, a crepe paper basket, some little Easter seals, two vintage hats, a napkin, tea towel, and scrap of old stiff velvet for millinery use.

The photo above shows some jewelry and buttons, 3 little mercury glass candle ornament pieces, three little boxes of a cute winking girl, some stars, and some tiny shamrocks, some cupids in that glassine envelope, a tiny ring box with a small velvet heart for $1.00(!!!), some initial tape, some calling cards in a cute pink paper box, a rhinestone shoe clip, and a box of filter paper (I think this was used by pharmacists-who knows what I'll use it for, but the graphics on the box added to the appeal).

And lastly, but most certainly not least, a pink laundry basket and an old blanket/sort of quilt for $2.00 (!!!) Overall, some fun little things and some good prices. Sometimes I think I have more fun collecting supplies than I do using them...but just sometimes.

 

studio friday

Oh boy, I have found another group that I want to play along with. It's called Studio Friday. It's been in existence for a year, I've only just discovered it. It seems that there is a weekly topic, and people take photos to fit the theme, the only requirement being that the item pictured is in your studio. This week's theme is inspiration...what inspires you to create? It could be so many things for me, but what first struck me when I walked into my art room was family, loved ones. At left is a picture of my Grandmother on my father's side, taken when she was in her teens. The other photo is of my dad as a young boy. We had a surprise dinner party for his 70th birthday this year and made up these photos of him on sticks for everyone to hold up in front of their faces when he walked in. When sitting at my desk, this is what I see when looking up to the wall across from me.

Just below them are more loved ones. My baby nieces are here together. Since my nieces weren't able to attend the 70th birthday party, I enlarged some photos of them, gave them party hats, and brought them along. It was fun to have them at the party in spirit; we took group photos with them being held. I had intended to make life size photos of their parents, but ran out of time and money. Just under them you can see a little paper chain of my ancestors. I made this for a house project I was doing, intending to have them come out the door, but instead have used them in many different ways. Sometimes they sit in a cabinet in the living room, sometimes they sit here in my art room as they are now. They have even been tucked into a branch on the Christmas tree. I thought it would be so great to make a chain of family like this large enough to wrap around the base of a cake for birthdays or anniversaries etc., but have never gotten around to that. My parents are on the right, my grandparents, and my two favorite Aunts are also in the chain. I like to know that some of my loved ones are hanging out with me in my studio, joining me, cheering me on in my creative pursuits. You can see what is inspiring others here, at Studio Friday.