The Desk is Clean! Let's get to work!

Voila! Here it is, the cleaned off desk. I found homes for all the bits and parts I had been just tossing on the desk and rolled up all the ribbon and filed all the paper sheets in their appropriate spot based on color or my whim. I even found a few goodies that I purchased on etsy from Blissful Provisions ages ago...so then I decided to search out Beth Quinn from Blissful Provisions and I see she teaches at the Blissful Living Studio in Arizona. Wowee. Those folks are new e-friends of mine! It is a small, small crafty world, especially when you finally clean up your studio...

Now I have to figure out what I am going to make with those mix-matched doll parts I got from Beth...Cleo has already nicked a few of the vintage alphabet cards for using in our vacation journal. She was pretty helpful today during the Great American Studio Clean Out...she wound wool roving, sorted beads and made several cups of lemon tea with her tea set. The amount of tea in those teeny cups really leaves one a bit parched.























We are off for our week long vacation on Monday. I will do the last bit of packing tomorrow. We are not minimalists when we travel like this. I aspire to be a bit Victorian and drag my creature comforts with me on a trip. We rent this sweet little rustic cabin with wood paneling and windows all around. The kitchen is tiny and there is a bathroom that reminds me of my parent's Coachmen motorhome, a la 1977. We bring a giant kilim rug, tablecloths, a lamp, a million baskets of shoes and swimming suits and the aforementioned craft supplies (it might rain! we also craft in the woods!)and all sorts of treats. We don't bring furniture-we just tough it out with the antique This End Up/State University Dorm Room sofa and beds that come with the place, but don't you think that I don't spend a good bit of time thinking how nice the place would look if I could just get a few truck loads of flea-market furniture in there for a cabin makeover. My husband reminds me that if the cabin looked that nice, we wouldn't be able to rent it!

So do go visit Beth and see her fabulous work and read her blog. She has great bits and pieces on etsy, too, if you need a left arm and a right leg and a bigger right leg with a shoe, but not from the same doll.

(and a big raspberry to all of you, including Kiona, who think I NEED a messy desk to work!)

Cleaning off the studio table

This is what my studio table looks like today. 9:15 a.m. I am going to excavate the wooden surface somewhere below all that crafty goodness TODAY. I am packing for our annual week-long cabin trip where I always take way, way too much in the way of craft supplies. This year I am planning on taking:

*journalling and book arts supplies to work on our vacation journal
*crochet hooks and yarn to help Cleo with her crocheting
*embroidery floss and a few garments that could use a patch or decoration to spruce them up (but no sewing machine or embellishing machine, do you see the restraint I am practicing?)
*wool roving and pipe cleaners and beads and ribbon to make felt fairies (oh, and I have to pop by the store and get a bunch of replacement needles for the felting tools, too since I will be teaching new felters to use them)

I know I will drop a few more items into the box as I am packing. Actually, just now as I am typing this Cleo and Nora are going through the markers making a can of 'going on vacation' markers. Ok, so add paper and children's scissors and a few glue sticks...

Anyway, look for a post tomorrow with the CLEANED OFF table. I may add a few pics of some of the other attractive areas in my studio as a treat.

New dress, makes me happy

Ok, yes, I know I shouldn't be just thrilled by a new frock. It's not 1954 and I am not Blondie Bumstead. BUT I went out and bought myself a new dress last week as a present for, uh, well, just because. I went into one of my favorite stores, Galatea* and tried on a million things and loved the dress but really, probably wouldn't have purchased it. It was so bright and blue. Then, somehow, tiny Nora puts the dress on and walks around the store while I am trying on other items. Now, I couldn't not buy it, what with her practically mopping the floor, could I?

So, thanks Nora. I owe you one. So far I have worn this dress three times and once my sweet hubby accidentally put it in the dryer. It came out unscathed! No shrinkage!

I look JUST LIKE THIS in this dress. Seriously.



*I like Galatea because I used to work for Cheryl AND because they have a store with a difficult-to-pronounce-name just like me AND because their clothes are cute and sorta trendy but don't make me look like I am trying to be 23.

See us at Bead&Button

Well, not really 'us' but sorta 'us.' Let me explain. Our good friends from DaBeads will be exhibiting at the Bead&Button show in Milwaukee. You can go and get a free Ornamentea.com tote bag at their booth AND see some amazing beads that you will love. Jon has great taste and he travels a few times a year to the Czech Republic to have beads made that will make your mouth water. He created my favorite monkey beads, the famous (but sadly sold out) green buddahs, and even the teeny black high top tennis shoe bead. His newest design is a featured above. These awareness beads come in seven color combos. All are nice.

If you are in Raleigh, you can pick up the new Breast Cancer Awareness beads at both stores or see them here.