Where Bloggers Create 2011

Come on in! This is a relatively new studio space for me. It was my formal living room a few months ago. It is the first room you see when you walk in our home so we agreed to invest in nice furniture that flows with the rest of our home.  I usually have 3-4 mixed media projects on the table and supplies.  I clean up for company by keeping my mixed media projects on cookie sheets or in box lids. The room adjacent to the studio is our office.  The office closet was customized to fit all my art and junking supplies. It is very convenient and allows me to just keep my "pretties" out in the studio. I have lots of cigar boxes and baskets in there. I could do a much better job of labeling and sorting but this is still a work in progress.  I also have a sewing area set up in the adjacent office. It is just a few steps away. Let me show you around-

A drawer makes it so easy to see my stamps.

 I love my Rusty Rooster weathervane found at a local antique store.

 I use lots of vintage jewelry in my creations. Having these pretties displayed in the printer's tray makes it so much easier to see what I have.

 My mood board is an old garden gate and one of my favorite things in the studio.

 Many of my supplies hidden in the closet

One side of the office holds my sewing machine. I also use the cabinets above for paint supplies.

One of the best parts about the studio is that I can open the french doors out onto the screened patio. I hope you enjoyed the tour. It is a challenge creating a place and storing supplies and tools when you like to play in so many mediums. I love found objects, paper arts, sewing and even a little painting. Now that I have the space, I will be looking forward to visiting your studios for great ideas on how to organize. Maybe the next time you visit I'll have more of my projects displayed on the walls. I'm still working on filling those.  Thanks for visiting! Follow this button for a whole list of studios to visit! Many thanks to Karen at My Desert Cottage  for hosting this great party! xoxo

My Desert Cottage

Sweet treasures

Barbara Jean at Treasures from the Heart is one of my favorite people.  She is so talented and welcomes new bloggers with open arms. She gave me one of my first features and for that I'm so thankful! Barb makes these gorgeous pin cushions out of glass candlesticks. Isn't this amazing? I purchased it from her online store here.

It fits me like a glove. I just love it and plan to use it in the new studio. I find myself drawn to pincushions lately.  How about you? Any collectors out there? I'm thinking we need a pincushion party! I may have to host one. Or, how about a "What I collect" party? What do you girls think about that?

Ready for something really cute? My daughter had a friend over and they were doing some painting on the porch this past weekend. She surprised me with this -

Is that not the cutest rooster you've ever seen?  Smaller is always cuter to me. I big puffy heart this.  I hope you are having a great week!  Thank you so much for your comments and follows. I treasure those too! Linking up to -

New drapes - No more echo!

Drapes are up in the studio and the echo is gone! I'm busy working on several projects today, as you can see by the looks of that table.  I just wanted to share a few quick pictures today.  Forgive me for my lack of attention to my photo editing today! I'm working on handmade goodies to share with you too.

Here's a close up of the trim.  The room feels really cozy now. The drapes cover that green accent wall that I've never been too fond of too.  I've left the palm tree in the corner for now for height. I'm sure it will likely be replaced with some vintage find like a ladder or shutter in the future. For now, it stays. This is Florida after all.

Here's the dining room before and after. Funny thing, both times my kids were using the chairs for something!

Helps finish things off in here.  Here's a close up of the two panels and the fun brush trim.  I guess I need to put those two other chairs back! The kids steal them for the office when they are playing computer games with friends.

The husband is ready to replace the lights in the foyer and dining room now.  Sounds like a plan to me! Get ready to join me in April for a month of giveaways! I've got so much to celebrate with YOU. Get ready for some great handmade items with a twist...there's a theme. Any guesses? I'd love to hear!  Have a blessed Sunday. Linking to -

Collage and painting with the kids

We had Monday off from school and work last week.  I spent the day in the studio with Kara and her friend Sydney.  They love to create.  We spontaneously decided to make collages on canvas board from all of my scrap paper.  I then had the idea to share Kelly Rae Robert's book with them. Kelly is a mixed media artist that creates beautiful paintings which typically start with a paper collage. She paints with everything from her finger to bubble wrap. I thought her paint techniques would be fun for the girls to experiment with on their collages. They loved the idea.

You do not have to run to your local craft store for this project. Dig out your scrap paper! If you don't have scrapbook paper then get creative. What about all those subscription cards from magazines, clothing tags, old school work, junk mail (think envelopes), catalogs....are you getting the picture? We made our collages on canvas board that I keep around for projects. We could have just as easily glued our paper onto cardboard cut from cereal boxes. You just need a lightweight chipboard cut to size.  The glue of choice is Mod Podge. You'll need some inexpensive paint brushes to apply the Mod Podge. It does ruin the brush so keep that in mind.

 Sydney's paper collage

Kara's paper collage

The girls picked out their paper and cut and placed pieces until they were happy with their composition. I took pictures of each collage to help us remember the placement.  Then, we glued on each piece by first applying Mod Podge to canvas then back of paper.  Use a very thin layer of glue and press down hard to remove air bubbles. Any remaining air bubbles or wrinkles will disappear as it dries...trust me!  

I even played a bit with some other materials to create a quick collage.  I was looking forward to painting with the girls. Which will explain the lack of pictures during the painting process. Sorry!  After the Mod Podge dried for 15-20 minutes, we applied coordinating paint with a brayer (rolled in paint) in various spots on the pieces.  I then gave the girls bubble wrap. They applied paint directly to the bubble wrap and then "stamped" it onto their canvas.  We also found a piece of mesh cotton that made a fun pattern and a gift card that made lines when dipped in paint.  The girls used their fingers too and applied paint around the edges of their canvas, like distress ink.  They really had fun. There is no wrong answer here.  You can paint with anything!

Didn't these turn out great?  I love to watch these little artists experiment with all kinds of mediums. Mixed media art is such a gift because there are no boundaries and no one technique to be mastered that defines whether you are an artist.  I only realized that a few years ago. I'm glad I can share this with my daughter at such a young age so that she can soar.  I'm looking forward to our next day off from school!

Speaking of Kara...We will be joining her for the district spelling bee on Friday. She won her school spelling bee last month! We are so proud of our little fourth grader. Will you do me a favor and say a little prayer that she has a great day?  We want her to be confident and feel proud of what she has accomplished. Of course, we'd be thrilled if she did well. She is one of the youngest so it will be a challenge. Have a great week! xoxo

More purchases from Renningers!

Hello, friends! How has your week been so far? I am finally going through my other purchases from my trip to Renningers last weekend. If you missed my last post about the awesome shabby white window frame I brought home, go here.  I love this pile of ephemera too. The envelopes were mostly addressed to a Mrs. Ann Offerman c/o Mercy  Hospital in Pittsburgh. Many say "Maternity Ward."  Isn't that sweet?!

I found some great tins, buttons, rhinestone pieces, lace and trim to play with in the studio. The pictures speak for themselves.  I also found some great vintage hardware for my assemblage projects. Take a peek.

I have some projects in the works that required "wings."  These pieces are ideal. Thank you so much for stopping by. I appreciate your follows and enjoy reading your comments so much. I'm still working on something special for my next giveaway. Stay tuned!  By the way, did you see my new button at the top left? Please feel free to grab it for your site.  I've also created a Rusty Rooster Shop blog with the help of Karen Valentine. No merchandise yet, but one step closer.  So many wonderful things going on here.  Thank you all so much for your support and friendship.  Linking up to these parties -

VIF party

Just a glimpse!

 

 Hello, friends! I played hooky this afternoon and came home to play in my studio. My plan was to work on some rusty horseshoes for St. Patty's Day but instead I was inspired by this print ad above that I found on The Graphics Fairy.  I recently purchased some vintage whisk brooms from Anything Goes Here on Etsy.  I've been wanting to alter an old broom.  This ad with the "Modern Household Fairy" is just perfect!  I have two other brooms that I'm working on too. This is just a glimpse. I'm looking forward to sharing the finished pieces with you this weekend.  They really are fun to work with and will be great conversation pieces for a wall or shelf.   Stop back by this weekend to see!

WOW! I'm almost at 500 followers. I'm planning a giveaway in celebration so stay tuned! You guys are such a blessing to me. Thank you for the time you spend here. It is truly a pleasure getting to know each and ever one of you.  If you ever have a question or something special that I missed on your blog, by all means leave a comment or send me an email. I would love to hear from you. As you know, I respond to nearly every comment (if you have your email in your blogger profile).  I visit as many blogs as I can too.  I hope you have a safe weekend.  HUGS!