My Happy Room

Well, I am going to attempt to make a coherent post. April was an extremely busy month. Most of it fulled with good stuff but too much of a good thing can be overwhelming too. I am glad that I took a break from blogging but now I am realizing what I have done to myself. I want to tell you all about what I have been up to but it is going to have to come in small bits because if I put it all in one post you would be the one overwhelmed and I don't want that

I know the one thing you all really want to know about is my art studio, so that is where I am going to start. I had many people helping me, thank you Jason, Janene and Ryan. I could not have done this by myself, I just have to say that right up front. And, my husband was patient beyond what should have been expected of him and he paid for it all, love you tons hon !!!

The first job was to move all the furniture and stuff out of the room. I bought 18 boxes and still did not have enough. My living room and upstairs hall was completely full of it all. Then we painted the room, ballerina gown pink.

Nothing like a fresh coat of paint to make a girl feel good. It gave just the encouragement to get going on the floor. We tore up the carpet and laid down Allure oak flooring. Easy to install when you don't have some of the situations we came across, like the hatch my son cut in the floor for his precious treasures. He thought it was terribly hilarious. Me? not so much.

Once the walls and floor was done we were ready to bring the boxes of stuff back in and decide how the room would be set up. Very exciting but not much fun to do. Organizing is not my forte so my niece came over and helped me to hang the slatwall and put everything on it.

It is so nice to have everything out and ready to be used. I'm the kind of person that if it is out of site, it is out of mind. This way I see everything and it is right at my fingertips. Oh, and before we move to the next area, I just want to say, I am not the ever going to be featured in the "Where Women create" magazine. I like creating in a messy space. If it starts out clean, I will make it messy so here is my painting table and all I can say is that it is organized chaos.

All my paint, pens, brushes and tools are ready to be used. I don't have to open anything to create, will maybe the paint bottles but nothing else. I love that I just sit and start. I covered the table with a thick clear shower curtain so the table is protected. On the wall is a huge sheet of metal that is my magnet board. I put all the stuff that inspires me on it. Eventually it will be filled up. Behind one of the doors I have a hanging shoe organizer for things I don't use much.

Then I have a bookshelf that holds all my cutting machines, art books and journals. I also have a paper sorter with all my paper in it.

Now I can sit at my desk and then slide across the room to my paint table. It is really fun to do this btw. In the closet is my sewing center with shelves for storage.
Because my sewing machine is set up all the time now, I have done a few projects that required sewing. I will save the projects for another post. The pink curtains I got in an antique store last year and have held onto them knowing I would eventually use them. It is the perfect touch of pink. One of my friends came to see my room and the minute she walked into the room she said it was so happy. It really is a very happy room and I want to be in here all the time. Compared to the dark cluttered one I had before, this room has breathed life into my life and my art.

I have one oversize window in the room. When the weather was warm a couple of weeks ago I opened the window and a gentle breeze blew the curtains just a bit. It was such a sweet and relaxing thing to sit and watch. Here are some random photos of other areas.

Windowsill

On my desk

On top of the bookshelf

I hope you have enjoyed my little tour of my creative, happy space.

Taking a break

I thought I had better stick my head in here and leave a note. Between kids birthdays (2), Easter, party for a graduate, going away dinners for two kids, anniversary and remodeling my house, and dealing with a hurt knee, I find that I am a bit overwhelmed. I decided to take a small break from on-line stuff for just a bit. If I have the energy I will stop by but I'm giving myself the freedom to just deal with the other stuff for the month of April. I hope you will come back in May and I am hoping that I will have finished my art studio and have pictures. I am also taking an in-person class with Alisa Burke that I will have something to say about, I'm sure.

If you saw my art studio right now you would know the depth of my overwhelmingness :) I am painting the walls and putting down a faux wood floor all by myself and that is not the overwhelming part. Moving all the stuff out of the room is what has gotten me all in a tither. Oh my, OH MY! I have way too much stuff. I keep buying boxes and then running out. How can this be? I can tell you this. I am determined to limit what goes back into the room when I am all done. I keep telling myself, "One step at a time, just take this one box downstairs and then the next box and then the next. You can do this!" Imagining the room in all it's pink loveliness when it is done is helping too. So, I hope you all will be me cheerleading squad from afar and be patient that I won't be posting much this month.

Love and hugs to you all!

Hearts flooded with light

It seems that God continues to speak to me through this painting. At the time that I was painting it I thought having a yellow heart was a bit odd but today I read this verse and now when I see this painting, and the other one where a yellow heart seems to have appeared also, I will think of this verse and the hope it brings.

I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light

so that you can understand

the wonderful future He has promised

to those He called.

I want you to realize

what a rich and glorious inheritance

He has given to His people.

Ephesians 1:18

Two pages and a lady

I have been working in circles quite a bit lately.

I got to spend some time with women who have never art journaled before. I tried really hard to get them excited about doing it. I had four exercises for them to try out and experience different ways to create a page. I had fun but they were so quiet it was hard to tell if they enjoyed it or not. I hope at least one of them was inspired to keep it up.

At the dollar store, I found foam alphabet puzzels and they work great as stamps and only a dollar. Whoo hoo! I used them on the words fun and art in the journal page above.

I have been inspired by my friend Paulette to look for images in the backgrounds.
Her name is Mirium and she is a foreigner, from where I do not know, but she is quite the fashion diva and is very exotic. I think I could make up a whole story about her.
It sure does feel good to be back to painting.

He is with me

The LORD says, "I will rescue those who love me.

I will protect those who trust in my name.

When they call on me

I will answer;

I will rescue them

and honor them.

I will satisfy them with long life

and give them my salvation."

Psalm 91:14-16

But those who wait on the LORD will find new strength.

They will fly high on wings like eagles.

They will run and not grow weary.

They will walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31

I'm back

Well, I am back from the beach. I have to say that I really did not want to leave. It was so quiet and peaceful and I was just starting to relax. Five days would be perfect. Three just leaves me wanting more and seven would feel a little long. Anyhoo, it was a nice time away and productive too. I got some pages done in my journal and some crochet projects finished.

I don't know about you but I seem to wear pants and dresses that don't have pockets to carry my cell phone around in. And, I can pretty much gaurantee that if I go downstairs for anything my phone will ring. If I do take my phone then I set it down and leave it somewhere and am hunting through the house trying to find where I set it down. So, I designed some little purses to carry my cell phone around in. I got a little carried away because it was so fun so I think I will put some of them in my Etsy store. I am keeping the black/white/gray one for myself though. I am just loving how these have turned out.

They have really long handles so you can wear them cross ways on your body so they don't slip off your shoulder. Now I am hands free.

I was surfing the net and found a site recommended by a friend. I love this blog by Mandy Steward called Messycanvas. I wrote down a quote by her on this journal page because I could relate so much to what she was talking about in her blog post. I am finding that the more I look at other artists' work the more uncreative I become. The inner critic goes wild telling me how they are so much better than me and what was I thinking when I thought I could be an artist anyway. It really gets bad sometimes and I have to pray hard to silence the voices in my head. I am truly a tortured artist at times. That's when I know it is time to scale back and just create. I have seriously thought of completely shutting down all my on-line stuff but I don't think that is the answer either. Just do the best I can creatively and be OK with that. That's my goal.

I've also been hanging out with this cutie pie. Last night we took our first mom & tot tumbling class. Or, in my case, Mimi and tot class. I had to do all the stuff with him and boy was I tuckered out when we were done. The gymnastic center was jammed packed with kids everywhere and so I think he was a bit overwhelmed but we had a good time anyway. It is a 4 week trial so we will see how it goes. Gives me a chance to get some exercise too.

Unplugged mostly

Postings have been sparse in the last couple of weeks. Do you ever feel like you just need to be quiet and you really don't have anything to say anyway? Well, that is how I have been feeling and it has led to staying home, dealing with sick family, cooking and laying low.

We have been doing some construction that has our house in quite a mess. We painted the livingroom, put in new carpet and moved furniture around. It is coming together so nicely and now our kitchen is getting a good coat of paint and new ceiling. It will be so nice when it is all done. Right now we can't even use the kitchen. Thankfully it will only take a few days to finish. In the meantime I am enjoying a few days at the beach. I don't do so well living in chaos. I'm hoping it is all done by the time I get home. I am crossing my fingers.

I should have some journal pages done by the time I get home and I will share some pictures. Mostly, I am having fun reading, watching the waves and cooking yummy healthy food that no one else in my family would think of eating and enjoying every bite. Which I am going to get back to right now.