My Little Studio

When I first started painting (back in 2006) I set up shop at the kitchen table.  I stayed up late listening to cds or our local country station.  I didn't care if I got paint on the table ~ it was old & I thought we'd be getting a new one soon.  Well, we still have the same old table with the same paint smudges but I DO have a new little studio!  Actually, not really new...a few years ago I graduated from the kitchen table to our upstairs loft & fixed it up all cute & cozy.  I already had the southwest theme going on & I still like it ok but someday I'd like to brighten up the room with some lighter paint, especially since it's kinda dark.  I LOVE my window view & being able to watch birds & squirrels in the Bradford Pear tree right outside but it doesn't allow for much natural light to come in.

Markie & Zoolou usually keep me company while I work.  I got this kitty condo off Craig's List a while back for a steal!  I have one just like it in our bedroom & thought putting one up in my studio would give the cats something to climb on other than my art table!  It works some of the time - ha.  Depends on what wildlife activity is going on in the tree outside & where the sunbeam is shining.  At some point they have to inspect my work & I've cleaned my share of paint off little kitty paws.

I found this adorable vintage desk at my favorite local antique store.  I LOVE it!  It's old & shabby & has WOODEN casters!  The 4 drawers are perfect for all my painting supplies too.  I bought the beautiful braided rug for a measly $20 from my former next door neighbor who was moving & having a garage sale.  It's an authentic hand braided rug from Pennsylvania & worth much more!  If I could just keep the cats from using it as a scratching pad!

I have a dvd player so I can watch (or listen to) movies while I work but usually I have cds playing in my little Sony cd player. 

Here's where the stichin' happens.  Please excuse the mess of cords under the table.  The computer is old, nonworking & needs to get off my table!  Just one of those things you never get around to doing.  The stack of fabric pieces are just waiting to become new pillows,  pillow covers or door hangers!

Here are a few "works in progress" I plan to get to today!

And finally, my wall art inspiration ~ BLOOM!  It reminds me what I hope to do here...create...express...open my umbrella...make people smile...enjoy creating art!

Thanks for visiting my little studio.

Enjoy spring...take time to smell the flowers...Bloom!

Pillow Heart Finished!

Voila! Got my little heart pillow finished quicker than I thought. I think it turned out really sweet. Already got it in the SHOP too. Now I'm ready to do something PINK for Valentine's Day! I'm thinking pillow cover.

Oh, & by the way ~ any of you out there have trouble with ribbon-happy cat thieves stealing your sewing supplies? I made a special trip to the store the other day to get blue ribbon, came right home & set the roll down next to my pillows I was working on. The next day when I was ready to work it was nowhere to be found. I looked everywhere! Zoolou, my ornery furball, has stolen my ric rac from my sewing box & drug it around the house several times so naturally I suspected her. Annoyed, I made another trip to the fabric store for more ribbon. Yesterday I heard something bouncing down the stairs & looked over to see my new roll of pink ric rac being batted & chased by Zoolou. She was having so much fun I just let her play with it! (she needed the exercise anyway) Maybe I should think about getting a lid for my sewing box.

A Few More Pillow Ornies in the Shop

Just a quick post to show you 2 new pillow ornies/door hangers I put in the shop this morning. They match the ones I posted earlier. I love the kitty playing with the toilet paper roll! (at least that's what I think it is)

I'm also finishing up a cute heart shaped pillow I'm excited about! Had to run to the fabric store for thread that matched so that slowed me down a bit. I'll post a pic of it soon. By the way, hearts are NOT fun to sew! Too curvy!

Hope everyone's having a happy Monday!

A Crafty Sunday

I've had a busy day with the sewing machine today. Made another set of pillow ornies (still need to attach the ribbon hangers) & a cute pillow cover that I'm really tempted to keep! I just LOVE pictures of vintage looking cats & can't resist when I find some cute fabric! Don't you love the dancing cats on the pillow fabric block? So sweet.

Hope to get these in the shop tomorrow after a few finishing touches. I've been having some camera issues that are holding me up a bit. I'm using my hubby's fancy schmancy big old camera with a million different settings (ugh!) when I'm used to my daughter's little "easier to handle" camera. She & my other daughter have been in Washington, D.C. for the March For Life & she took her camera with her. They get back tonight so I'll be able to take better pics & post some pics of their trip too! Can't wait to see them! Happy Sunday!

Not Too Shabby!

THEIRS (from my "Inspiration Room")

AND MINE!

MY HANDSOME MARKIE! Don't you love his little goatee?

I finished my bed skirt yesterday & it actually turned out pretty good if I do say so myself! I can also safely say this will be the LAST bed skirt I ever make! Not that it was all that difficult, it was just wrestling with the mountains of fabric, miles of pinning & trying to keep everything in place while sewing it. It's actually sewed onto a fitted sheet & that was pretty tricky but I managed. I also learned 2 more sewing skills I hadn't done before ~ zigzag stitching over cording & sewing over gathers. I'm pretty proud of myself! I think I matched my "Inspiration Room" bed skirt really well. Now, it's on to pillow shams & curtains ~ they should be a cinch compared to that monster bed skirt!

Hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July holiday weekend! We're off to Kansas City for a family get-together at my brother's. Can't wait! xoxox

Yesterday a Kitten ~ Today a Dog!

Sweet little doggie we rescued today!

It must be rescue week for me! This morning I was picking my son up from football practice & as we were leaving saw a cute little Shih Tzu running down the middle of the street. My son got her in the car & she had a rabies tag but with only a hotline no. to call. I got the first name of the owner & her contact no. from that so I called but only got static & then a busy signal. Ugh! These things are just never easy are they? We ended up taking the dog home with us & dogsat for 3 hours. She was just the cutest thing & so well behaved! After several more tries I finally got through & then was given yet another no. to call & spoke with the owner. I then drove the little dog home & the owner was very happy & thankful. I did another good deed for the day.

On a creative note ~ I'm almost finished with my bed skirt I'm making. In an earlier post I had a picture of my "Inspiration Room" that I'm modeling our bedroom after & I just had to have a striped bed skirt like the one in the picture so I looked up directions on the internet, found the perfect material & went to work. Talk about miles & miles of fabric! We have a king size bed & you have to double the length so you can imagine. I'm not a big sewer so this was pretty ambitious of me but once I have my mind set on something I just want to get it done! It helps having a crafty big sister too who is a big sewer & can answer all my questions. I plan to finish it tomorrow so I'll post a pic providing I don't completely screw it up - ha! Hope to have a new painting finished soon too. All these animals needing rescuing has taken away studio time. They are worth it though! Happy Hump Day!

New Pillows!

I bought an old tablecloth at an antique store several weeks ago (really cheap) & knew right away I wanted to make pillows out of it. I loved the bright old fashioned flowers on it & thought it would brighten up our dull couch.

I finally got the sewing machine dusted off last weekend & thought I'd whip them up in an hour or 2. After all, it's just a quick pinning, sewing a few straight seams, stuffing the pillow form in & stitching them closed right? Well, I sewed 3 sides of the first pillow before I turned the material over & realized the other side was a big mess of tangled thread! It took me a while before I figured out my "thread tension" knob had gotten moved & was set on 0! I had to rip out all the seams & then was not in the mood to mess with it anymore that day so started up again the next day. Got the first pillow done but when I began stuffing in the pillow form I realized I hadn't left a big enough opening so it was on to more seam ripping & fixing. Ugh. The 2nd pillow went more smoothly but halfway through I ran out of bobbin thread. I hate when that happens! Last night I finished hand stitching them both closed & it was all I could do to keep Zoolou from attacking the thread as I pulled it in & out! Anyway, they are all done now & looking bright & happy on my boring couch. Zoolou tried one out for size & seemed to approve - ha!

My next door neighbor is fostering 2 kittens right now & I get to kittysit them while she's out of town this week. They are so adorable & just romp & play & do all those cute kitty things! I'll have to take some pictures & post them.

Hope you're all having a great Monday!