First Pic of my new Art Room!

Happy Saturday Everyone! It is an absolutely stunning day here in N.C.
Here is a picture of how my art room is coming along. I am hoping to get curtains made today for the window. The chair at the side of the room will be covered as well. You can see one of my new studio lamps (well, the white umbrella part) on the left as well.
I am ordering a few more containers. Oh, and can you see how my table is messy already!!!

Oprah is always saying that your home should rise up to meet you when you walk in. I have kept that in mind with my home. And I must say that when I walk into this room I feel such a sense of wellbeing and excitement that it is astonishing! It is hard to sleep at night (o.k...hot flashes aside!) when my head is brimming with creative ideas I would like to do in this room!

So I am truly grateful, for my generous husband who knows my passion for crafting.
Thank you dear Karl!

Hugs to you all!

The Elegant Shoe Tutorial

Well, it's finally done. In this tutorial I explain how to use the my template to create a Marie Antoinette style shoe from paper. This was originally created for a swap I am hosting at Marie Antoinette Mail Art Ning group. These shoes are really fun to make. The possibilities are endless!

Click on the template and do a "Save As" and then enlarge if needed so that the sole of the shoe is 8'' from tip to heel (it may print out the correct size as it is). When cutting out the shoe front trace an extra 1/4-1/2 inch for tabs. The tutorial gives options for different ways to expand the toe area so that there is more room to tuck in a little gift.

I hope you find it useful.

Hearts for Theme Thursday

I made this necklace with some of my vintage button collection. If you click on the image you will be able to see better the little round buttons, the rhinestone buttons, and at the bottom, I put a black glass button in a cabochon to make the charm. I stamped the word LOVE on paper and put it under glass in another cabochon. It fits this weeks Theme Thursday of "Hearts". I love making jewelry and as soon as my art room is all set up I will be making more.

Today I am putting the last bits of supplies away in my room. My linen bins arrived and it was amazing how fast they filled up! Didn't I throw enough away??? I have a few more bins coming in the medium size and that will help with finishing up the job of organizing.

I am planning to make some curtains and a chair cover, and I am scouting out a chandelier to shabby up for the room. It has been a lot of work, but I feel so renewed by doing it.

This morning as I was filling up little vintage glass dessert cups with colorful beads I was feeling very grateful for my life, for my room and for all the creative ideas that rush into my mind. The sun was streaming through the window, and I felt such a sense of wellbeing! I know I am in my right place.

Thanks you for coming by!

First Try at Gothic Arches

I have wanted to try the Gothic Arches challenge for a while now. I have seen so many beautifully created ones by fellow bloggers. I felt inspired to try. This weeks theme is "Gemstones". My birthday gemstone is Aquamarine, so I made this piece with those kinds of blues.

My art room is coming along. Yesterday I sat on the floor sorting through a huge mess of ribbons and fibers. I am thinking of a way to store them so that they will be more accessible. Do you have any ideas?

Progress

Hello All,
My Husband surprised me a week before Christmas by starting a new project, shelves for my art room! Was I surprised or what when I saw what he was doing. Here are a couple photos of his progress. They are beautiful built in shelves. He has never done this before and I think he has done a marvelous job!

I am ready to move in. I have ordered linen baskets of three sizes from The Container Store, and as soon as they arrive I will be able to put everything away in it's proper place. I have a vision for this room now and it is exciting to get it all together. I also saw three vintage mail baskets at a antique mall an hour from here, and if they are still there tomorrow, I will get them too!

One thing that did shock me was seeing all the stuff I have when I had to clean the room out! Did I really collect all that stuff!!!??? I was very brave and was able to weed out quite a bit of stuff. Whew! It does feel good to let go of excess stuff! It clears the way for creativity and I feel lighter already!

My husband also bought me special lighting for video, so as soon as my room is ready, it is back to tutorial making! I love doing it and I am deciding what to do a video on first. There is so much fun to be had!
I will be putting up photos soon of my finished art room. I think I may even have a party to celebrate!

Paris in the Spring Time!

I have always wanted to visit Paris, and I came close to doing so last year....but alas, I did not actually get there. I have been dreaming of visiting the Louvre for years now, as well as antique/flea market shopping in France!
So this year is the year to do it! My husband and I are committed to visiting in the spring! I am very excited about this!
I made this gift box with the Eiffel Tower a few months ago and since the Theme Thursday for this week is "Paris", and since I am planning a trip there, I thought to post it today. I got the template from Clipmarks, and the small box from Walmart for less than $2. This was so fun to make!

A Long Winter's Night

Hello All!

I am back from my trip to the Great White North! It was very enjoyable to visit with so many of our relatives this holiday. There was a lot of hugging, eating, driving and laughing going on. This photo is right outside the back deck of where my Mother and Father in-law live. Lake Simco is very close to their house and as you may be able to see in the photo, on it's way to being frozen. It was such a beautiful view!

While I was away we rung in a new year. So I want to wish you all a Fabulous New Year, full of joyful opportunities and fulfilled goals (so you can create more wonderful goals!).

Hugs to you all!