As anyone who keeps up with my writings knows . . . I'm a very crafty person, and I mean that in a nice way, I do! I always have one project or another on the go. All my friends know as well . . . Todd is a neat-nik! I can only be described as chaos in motion. If you were to draw a cartoon of me walking down the road . . . there would be miles of clear road stretching in front of me . . . and chaos and clutter in my wake! I put my hand up and admit it freely . . . when I am on a creative roll . . . I forget about everything else.
Todd's been after me for months and months to sort out the craft room. He had a very clear vision of how it would be . . . as did I. In his vision there was a place for everything and everything in it's place. In mine . . . well . . .
I had the same vision . . . albeit with a lot more colour involved . . . unfortunately our budget did run to either one of our visions . . . but I am close enough to finishing it off now I thought I would show you how it is looking right now! I am pretty excited about how it is turning out. I hope you will enjoy!
The very first thing you would see when you enter the room. (I know . . . I don't like the pink walls either, but what can a gal do. Todd only has so much energy and he didn't feel like painting the walls.) This is my Susan Branch Wall Calendar for 2013. I have always adored the work of Susan Branch, from way back when she used to have illustrated recipes printed in Country Living Magazine. I used to have stacks and stacks of that magazine, but . . . alas, no longer do. Anyways, I think this is a pretty cheerful welcome to the room, don't you?
On that same piece of wall you will find little bits of artwork I have collected from fellow artists that I just love as well as a fairy thimble collection . . . the much treasured gift from a friend. You know how much I love fairies.
My craft room is also home to some of my Cookbook collection. Here are 6 bookcases filled with some of them. I have 8 more in various spots of the house . . . yes . . . it is an illness, or at least Todd thinks it is . . . but . . . can a person REALLY have too many cookbooks??? I don't know!
This is the wall on the left side as you walk into the room. I think of this as my sewing station. Here is my sewing machine and everything I need to have to do sewing. My cutting mat, a variety of collected tins and bins, holding all of my notions, etc. My collection of pin cushions . . . some made by me . . . and others . . . created by other talented people and collected by moi!
I used Washi Tape to edge the shelves. I thought it would be an inexpensive way of bringing colour into the room and when I get tired of it, I can just change it. I have been collecting tins for a long time now and they come in handy for so many different things. There are bobbins, and pins and fasteners and all sorts in those tins . . . and I know exactly what is in each tin. I know . . . Todd thinks I am pretty amazing too! ☺
Doesn't everyone have a little Bluebird of Happiness hanging around?? I love this little bluebird. I used to have two, but someone who shall remain nameless (BUT WE ALL KNOW WHO IT WAS!) knocked the other one off the shelf and it smashed to smithereens. This one is the sugar dish . . . the creamer is no more. Next to that is a little pin cushion I made from a pottery pot I found . . . the pins in it are butterflies, also created by me. Not a great view of that I am afraid!
Cutting tools, measuring tapes, more pin cushions, a chocolate box button box, and needle books . . . another obsession of mine. Can you ever have too many needles or needle books??? I think not! The same goes for pin cushions.
I have an antique table runner keeping my sewing machine safe and sound and atop that sits a pin cushion/thread ends holder that I made a very long time ago from a kit. It comes in ever so handy when you are sewing as it is weighted and sits on the table right next to the machine, just the right place to keep all of your clippings of threads, etc. I love the little squirrel pin cushion . . . a gift to myself one day when I was walking past Cath Kidston . . . I just could not resist. You know me and pin cushions!
This is the corner part of my work table. (Ignore the pot of dirty water on the left and the bowl of salt. I think every artist has a bowl of dirty water on their work top. If they don't . . . they're just not with it!) This is my Art and Music station. Here is where most of the magic happens. I have my laptop here and all of my Copic Markers, paper scissors, glue, pens and pencils . . . a timer so that I can work even when I have something baking in the oven (such a necessity as I often get so absorbed in what I am doing I forget about the cakes!). I have a cd player because I just have to paint with music. It inspires me . . . a little stuffed beanie baby orange tabby cat, a gift from my son Doug, my little she could and did fairy painting, more shelves, etc. This is all to do with paper and paint.
I just adore my Susan Branch Desk Blotter Pad . . . inspiration for every month of the year and of course I have to have a Mary Englebreit Desk Calendar every year because she is my other source of in-spir-a-tion . . . something which every artist has. It's just the nature of the beast . . . we all have our muses . . .
This is my pencil sharpener, a MUST for me. I used to have an electric one, but it conked out and I couldn't afford to buy another one and so I bought this one, which works perfectly well with a bit of people power. I won't tell you where you put the pencil . . . poor kitty . . . it meows in protest . . . seriously. I could NOT resist this little giggle maker. Rude . . . perhaps, but so cute and so me.
Look who popped in!! It's BlueBell! One of my little paper dolls I created, and she is ready to go to school as she has her uniform on, all neat as a pin. I have some news about her, but I'll share that with you at the end . . . for now, on with the tour!
Doesn't everyone have a Downton Abbey Date book??? If you don't you should have. It's filled with lots of Downton Trivia and pictures. I love it, I really do. It came as a freebie when I bought Series Two on dvd. That is my cutting mat that I do all of my cutting, gluing, etc. paper stuff on . . . it looks well used because it is old and, well . . . WELL used! ☺
This is my water colour/acrylic paint storage station . . . I found these really neat sliding spice holder thingies that were just the ticket for holding all those bottles of acrylic paint. Each one holds 36 bottles and I can store them all in colour order. Very easy to pull out and pick just the one you want and . . . more importantly . . . to put it back where you got it from! Some of my little creations live here as well . . . because they are cute and colourful and I like to look at them. They, too, inspire me . . . every bit as much as Susan Branch does or Mary E.
Oh my goodness . . . that little BlueBell is SUCH an attention hog! There she is again, dressed in one of her party frocks, just gagging to be noticed! What can you do with such a character!! Who would have thunk that such spunk existed in a creature so small as that . . . well, I'm telling you it does! She is one gutsy little lady, but . . . more about her and her friends a bit later on . . . I STILL have more to show you!
This is the wall next to my desk/workstation. My little wire heart holder which holds business cards of my many artist/creative friends . . . my absolutely darling ME Calendar, because I just have to have one each year . . . again inspiration and a framed print of my "Cheered with a Balloon" girl. More inspiration . . . and you can never, ever have TOO much of that!
The final wall is a bunch of bookcases which hold all my novels and more cookery books and little things that mean a lot to me . . .
Like this shelf sitter doll, all dressed up in berries, that my sister made for me aeons ago. She is a constant reminder to me of a Sister's Love, which is more precious than Gold and irreplaceable. I Love this doll almost as much as I love my sister . . .
A Wooden Plate with apples on it that I painted in a Tole-Painting Class I used to teach from my home in what seems like a lifetime ago, almost 20 years ago now. (HARD to believe so much time has passed!) A little country cat cross stitch I did . . . more cook-bookery and shhh . . . those are flavourings that I bought but forgot to tell Todd about . . . unsual flavourings . . . I just had to have them. I bring them out one at a time . . . so they don't get noticed . . . they just appear. Men are much happier when things appear one at a time instead of all at once, don't you think?
And there you have it . . . except for a few bits and bobs, that is my craft room. Don't you just love my little girl on a swing clock! And she's swinging! We picked that up in the Black Forest way back when we were first married and had gone there on a holiday. That wooden Santa is one my Uncle Harold carved in his wood carving class. I am going to paint it one day . . . that little carriage clock is one my mother gave to me a long time ago. It doesn't work anymore, but it reminds me of my mom and I love it so . . . a cross stitched mug to hold more pencils . . . lots of treasures in my room, lots and lots. And it has been no small feat organizing it all. Beneath my work tables are carboard bins from IKEA which hold scrap book papers, and fabric and odds and sodds, patterns . . . and the like. Tucked tidily away, and just waiting to be played with and used.
Speaking of playing . . . (CUE BlueBell!)
If you were to hop on over to my art page, The Artful Heart today, you would see that I have been busy over there as well, creating my new BlueBell and ButterCup shop! I have devoted a whole tab to it, where you can purchase very reasonably priced pdf downloads of my paper dolls via a quick and easy Pay Pal Button. I have BlueBell and ButterCup and a new doll for you, plus a new page of clothes which you haven't seen. It is a page I will be adding to regularly and I'm very excited about it. I am hoping and dreaming for good things to happen because . . .
You can never have a dream come true . . . if you never have a dream.
If you look at the top of the page at the bottom of the header, you will find the BlueBell and ButterCup tab. Just click on it and it will take you on a magical journey, and you won't even have to leave the comfort of your chair.
Many thanks for visiting here today and looking at my show and tell. I'm ever so so glad that you came!!
Cooking in The English Kitchen today . . . Chocolate Cherry Squares. Scrumdiddlyumptious! My favourite word!
Happy Friday y'all!
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