My Weblog

My dream job{{s}}...

Through the years I've worn a lot of different "work hats"...everything from retail to waitressing to elementary school teacher to corporate business woman to you name it...and I must say I've enjoyed all the varied experiences each had to offer. Some more than others...

But right now, on this given day, if I could pick my dream job{{s}}...

I would work at the altered book factory! There are no "bosses" and virtually no rules to speak of other than JUST HAVE FUN!  

Despite the fact that there's lots of sewing involved, no previous experience is necessary. In fact, the lady who teaches you the ropes for this job refers to her type of sewing as guerilla warfare sewing {or something close to that concept}...

But she ain't like one of these.....Sorry if that offends any blondes...I thought it was hysterical myself and I'm legally blonde. But I do pay a pretty penny to my hairdresser to perk it up a bit. Grin.

  If you enjoy whimsical...or the chance to join papers with fabric and any other type of material you can sew, glue, clip, staple, stamp, or nail down...

I think you would love Mary Ann's online class: REMAINS OF THE DAY!

Once you're finished with your journal and its all been binded together, your imagination is the only limit as to how you might use your new little book.

Personally speaking, I've already dreamed up in my head about 6 different books I want to make....One for garden notes, another for my favorite inspirational quotes, travel journals, for gifts, and on and on...

And as soon as I finished my shift at the altered journal factory, I would head to my next full-time job...

...that being, Kim Klassen's CAFE.................oh my. More on that tomorrow, or the next day, or the next....depends when I get my next day off! That is one of the down sides to these dream jobs, you never want to go home!!!!

In Mermaid Love...

Isn't she D.A.R.L.I.N.G. ?!!!

She swam all the way from Belgium to the U.S.A. I found out she was looking for a new home. Not that she didn't like living in Belgium {Edit: Oops! Dorthe lives in Denmark, not Belgium!} and certainly not because she didn't love her creator. Nothing like that at all...it's more about sharing the love and spreading it far and wide. And that's what her creator, Dorthe does best...she oozes in grace and warmth and generosity and readily shares it with all.

Just look at the delightful packaging...and this is the back side!!!

...delicate little glass leaf beads strung on wire...

My photo blurred the adorable handmade tag with the sweetest note on back...

Dorthe even tucked in a sheet of gorgeous victorian die cuts...

The minute I saw that little mermaid I just fell in love with her. She is such a fun reminder of the ocean...a place I love to visit. A place that I dream of spending at least part of the year when the retirement years {{or before!}} make their way into our lives. Meanwhile, I told Dorthe I might wear her as a necklace as a subtle reminder to the hubs about my someday dream...

Perhaps the necklace in conjunction with my constant verbal reminders might one day pay off big time! Oh, it's fun to have dreams, isn't it? 

Thank you so much Dorthe for sharing your talent and kindness and for your warm generosity! Be sure to check out Dorthe's Etsy shop for lots of other beautiful creations...not to mention taking some time to be uplifted by visiting her blog!

I hope the week ahead will be filled with much deeeee-light...

Xo, Sue

Be a Brave Girl

 
Do you see the new little linky I've added to my sidebar? Every day a little bird delivers to my mailbox a link to an uplifting, encouraging, and inspiring message.

For instance, read this message that came to visit recently...

See what I mean? How uplifting is that?

I first read about Brave Girl Camp on Jenny Doh's blog. But Cherie was kind enough to share the link to subscribe to their Daily Truths mailing list. I've been so blessed by their messages. They also offer a Brave Girl camp over in the beautiful state of Idaho. Link on the little birdie on my sidebar and it will lead you to their site. Something shared with me that I now pass along to you...

Xo, Sue

oops! Clicking on the sidebar item only takes you to the subscription page. Silly me. Here's a link to the Brave Girls Club website.

The little things...

My favorite husband has often playfully teased me {or is he sending a message?!} that I am the world's best starter of a million little things...a million little things that often have to wait a long time before they cross the finish line.

Unfortunately, I resemble that comment to a tee. Poo! 

BUT, {in my defense} often times those just short of the finish line projects look like this little 4 inch flower. Technically, they are finished.  In fact, there are numerous little bitty creations floating around in my stash just waiting for their day to be chosen for a bigger purpose in life.

 
 
 More often than not, me believes that art does imitate life, or is it life imitates art?
 

Some times it's okay, and maybe even necessary to just keep doing the little things especially when you can't see the finish line. Many things in life are a process. But one blessed day the bigger picture will come into focus. There will be a greater purpose for all those little things...

...even little ribbon flowers.  

Lisa's Art Challenge - "Outside the Box"

Ah-ha...now I know why she included the word "challenge"....

And a challenge it was on many different levels...

The first challenge was getting out of Target without straying from my short, concise shopping list. Suffice it to say, I didn't pass the first challenge. Nothing extravagant, but one of these and one of those begin to add up quickly, don't they?

Yet as I rambled through every aisle it was like taking a walk down memory lane of when my children were little ones.  Children crying--more pronounced {and did I mention louder} the closer I came to the toy section! Mothers giving "that look" to those screaming children and me pretending like I hardly noticed that child on the floor thrashing from side to side {professional courtesy from one mother to another} desperately clutching some much-needed toy...

Memories...they are known for showing up in the most expected, and even unexpected places.

{The flowers on the box were once the color of the freshly cut flowers!}

Our challenge was to take these little boxes that originally contained soap and give the box a makeover. After painting the box with a Martha Stewart paint sample called Sultana I began to adhere individual little blossoms of pressed verbena. It took way more than I had on hand and there was no time for pressing more so I even slapped ripe ones to the underside of the top cover and blasted them with my heat gun. Results...not bad.  

After hemming and hawing, staring into space, and staring some more, I finally decided to make mine a memory box.

 
  A few years back I purchased from this gal's Etsy shop two pieces of mirrors she had washed in acid and just like it was meant to be, the pieces were exactly the size of this box. The words were cut from an old novel printed in a large font I nabbed at Goodwill specifically for the larger font size. {Not to read it...but for artsy pursuits!}

 

The second mirror was used over the photo... a few more scratches were added using a file as to open up more peek-through area for the image. 

The photo is of my cousin Johnny and myself when we were wee little ones...fifty-one years ago with the sun shining in our eyes...{not a lot of camera tips floating around for the novice photographer back in those days!}

Our families were inseparable...we gathered together every Sunday if not more often during the week, every holiday including Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, many sleepovers, and so on.

Johnny and I accumulated hundreds and hundreds of hours through the years traipsing through woods, sometimes I was a passenger on his bicycle with the tiger banana seat, or on a mini-bike, snowmobiles, and even harrowing rides on his motorcycle hanging on for all I was worth. He grew up on a large dairy farm and any chance I got I loved to spend days at the farm. They had an old car we drove through the fields long before we ever had a real license.  Finally, a chance for me to give him a scary ride!

Sadly so, it will be five years in July since his life ended tragically. It's still hard to believe at times...I cherish the times I get to visit with my Aunt and we are able to share memories we each hold so dear. He had a brilliant mind, was an accomplished photographer who developed his own film, flew airplanes, motorcycled across the country just to visit places he'd never been before & surprising relatives in many states when he suddenly appeared on their doorstep {!}, backpacked across Europe another year...always looking for an adventure.

 
 It took me way longer to create this little piece than it should have...so many interuptions of getting lost in my thoughts and memories...

Yes, some memories are best never to be forgotten even if they make you cry.

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.  ~Kahlil Gibran
**********

To view the creations of more participants in today's art challenge, head over to Lisa's blog, Tarnished and Tattered. If you've not been there before, take a peek around as Lisa is a talented Texas gal who creates some gorgeous stuff! She is also being featured in a soon-to-be-released Stampington publication due to hit the streets any day now! Thank you, Lisa for hosting this challenging event. Who knew one little box could be such a fun challenge {or make such a mess of my once clean workspace}!    

Where Bloggers Create, Part II

 

I warned ya'll that there might be a few follow-ups to the original tour...was having voo-coo computer issues on my first attempt. Most of my computer issues tend to fall within the realm of  "not the brightest bulb when it comes to technical stuff"...{{{sigh}}}

Not sure about you, but I am in blog heaven bouncing around the list on Karen's blog visiting as many places as I can squeeze in here and there. Going down the list from A-Z was getting boring so in order to mix it up, I copied and pasted the list to a Word document and printed a hard copy. As I visit each blog I place a little check beside the name. It's also a great way to make notes to myself so that I can easily go back and find some of the inspiration I would like to follow up on at a later time!

But over and over again, I am struck by how many creative souls there are scattered throughout this huge world. So many unique expressions of who we are...

   a variety of styles

a wide assortment of creative pursuits

more hoarders {{{ha ha}}} than I dare to count

There's a growing list of blogs I'm adding to my google reader. Not sure how long, if ever it would have taken me to stumble upon them on my own. I even enjoy following blogs of people who create or pursue interests I might not necessarily ever pursue. But I appreciate the beauty of what they create, or the warmth, or humor, or wisdom that oozes from their posts.

 But the one common thread I see over and over again, are the kind hearts living out there in blogland. Hearts that love, nurture, and cherish their family and friends. Hearts that have an instinctive need to express and exercise their creativity in a multitude of ways. I like to think of them as the treasured souls who add color, music, depth, and more sunshine to this world!  

Before I head out as my MUST DO LIST {think: once on to do list but got ignored} is demanding attention, I wanted to mention the paint color on my studio walls as I've had quite a few requests asking for the color. It is a Behr paint {carried by Home Depot} and the color name is Valley Mist 460E-2...mine is in the eggshell finish. Had never worked with this brand of paint before but was very happy with it's quality. 

Looking forward to meeting more of you through your blogs as well as continue to see what other bloggie friends I've been following for some time are up to these days.

Xo, Sue

Where Bloggers Create Party

Don't ya just git giddy when something you've wished for, waited on, dreamed of, but mostly

WORKED HARD FOR, !!!finally!!! happens?

For most of my "creative life" which now spans decades, my creative space and supplies were scattered throughout our home in closets, bins, tucked under beds, and so forth. The dining room often became command central. And upon walking by such headquarters one would immediately receive the distinct impression that command central had been heavily bombed! Chaos reigned supreme.....
 

 But when I read that Karen, at My Desert Cottage was hosting her second annual WHERE BLOGGERS CREATE PARTY I knew this was the motivational spark I needed to get busy.

I inherited the bonus room above our garage several years ago, but as life goes, for a number of out-of-my-control-bumpy-mountains-in-the-road-of-life reasons, the room never got put together.

Until now....still have a little ways to go, but the hardest parts are behind me. NOTHIN' like company coming to set a body in motion, is there?!

I worked like a mad woman. Or perhaps madder than normal would be more appropriate...what is normal anyway, does anybody know? Stay on task Sue...

Jewels got sorted...

...dolls got hats...

...and with each little accomplishment I could feel the cobwebs that had taken my creative spirit hostage begin to release their sticky grip...speak nothing of the physical cobwebs in the actual room...

My rusty imagination began to awaken...it was all I could do not to stop what I was doing to follow the latest inspirational muse...but untrue to my given nature, I kept plowing through box after box, bin after bin, sorting, tossing, organizing...

Why, even fresh flowers were lovingly gathered from my garden and scattered throughout the room...they are such happy little creatures, aren't they? Not to mention that nothing, save a warm hug, says welcome friends more than fresh flowers.

Despite the fact that I am beyond blessed to have such a wonderful place to now work on a variety of creative pursuits, one major flaw in this room is the lighting. Although there are five windows, each is housed in an alcove which can be a real issue...especially at night. One thing I have invested in to counteract this challenge are Ott lamps. JoAnn's, Michael's, Wal-Mart, among others carry this brand and routinely put them on sale at 40% off.

The majority of my furnishings are hand-me-downs that were used previously in our homes through the years. Several pieces came from thrift stores and one piece was stolen. Yep. You heard it right. Theft. That would be the bin housing my stash of vintage wallpaper. It's original purpose was to house goober pairs of golf and other sporting shoes in our garage. The idea being that my family members would dutifully and joyfully place their shoes in the tidy little cubbies......NOT.

 

A year or so ago this vintage dress form came up for auction on Ebay. It is about three times the size of my other dress form I'll show in the next photo. She has been the perfect 3-D inspirational board, if you will, and I continue to pin new items to her daily.  And BTW, I was the only bidder and shipping cost me more than the dress form. Felt badly for the seller, but happy for me!

I've taken way too many pictures of my newly organized space...excitement about my new room and working with crummy lighting conditions most likely influenced my excessive photo snapping...

 

Here's an oversized spice rack I picked up at Goodwill for maybe $5 or so. I love making, giving, and receiving mail {handwritten letters....ahhhhhh....love 'em}. I used to be so much better at sending these personal greetings. Hence, I am hoping that having this little rack hanging on my studio wall will be a visual reminder to improve upon sending more snail mail to brighten someone's day.

 

Not withstanding the fact that I've rambled long enough, Typepad or my computer has chosen this point in time to go into total rebellion. Consequently, on both accounts, I'll bid my farewell and continue this tour in another post {or two+!} in the coming days.

Thank you for your visit and I'm anxious to head out to see all the other creative work spaces. But before I go, I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Karen for what has had to be a monumental undertaking to keep an event of this size so well organized.

Warm wishes to all,

xo, Sue

New Finds Second Time Around...

Part of the fun of trying to organize my creative workspace is finding stuff that's been packed away and rediscovering them all over again. Aren't these old cigarette giveaways awesome? They are filled with creative potential as well as being something you could create using your own stash of old photos.

 I believe I read somewhere that these date back to the late 1800's. These particular ones are about the size of a nickel.

There is no such concept as having too many buttons...just thought I would try to affirm all you button collectors of your deepest beliefs when it comes to buttons...

Same holds true for this nearly 30 inch long vintage French fish poacher. Wish I did have a collection of these...I'm always on the lookout for more but the prices are often ridiculously high. I only paid $5 for mine {which I know was a steal}...

Do you see the "RANCE" that should be FRANCE stamped on the bottom? Wonder if I should send this to Mr. Magpie and have him fix it?

 Or maybe I would do better wondering about WHY I'm on the computer when I need to be packing to head to the mountains to catch up with the crew that's already up there. Youngest child had a tournament and I stayed behind to escort him and a friend up later this afternoon.

But before I go, this technologically-challenged blogger [after I won't tell you how many attempts!] finally added the buttons on my sidebar to two upcoming events. Check them out as it's not too late to join in the fun!

I don't know what it is like where you live, but stepping outside in my neck of the woods is like getting hit with a blast of furnace air saturated with intense humidity. Nasty. Some cooler mountain air will be a welcome relief...

Blessings to all...

xo, Sue

Giveaway Winner and Where Women {collect} Want to Create

I'm still plugging away in "my room" which is the bonus room over our garage. Dragging boxes from the basement and sorting through my stuff. As someone who has collected and crafted for over two decades the stash I've accumulated is.......I can't think of the right word.

Ridiculous?

Awesome?

Hideous?

A Royal Mess?

Oozing with Creative Potential?

Perhaps a mixture of all of the above! All I know is that right now, my work area looks more like where a woman collects and wants to create as opposed to my goal of where a woman actually does create...but I am making steady progress.

 
However, as I rediscover stuff that has been packed away, hidden from sight, my mind begins to fill with ideas. Organizing Angel and the We-Love-Chaos-Demon begin to do battle. It takes every ounce of willpower not to stop the sifting, sorting, pitching and organizing in exchange for running off to chase the latest creative muse.

But I have a huge incentive....On June 19th, Karen, at My Desert Cottage is hosting her second WHERE BLOGGERS CREATE party! As of this writing there are 390 signed up to showcase their creative work areas! How fun! Everyone is invited. You can read all about it by clicking on the link to her name.

I can only imagine all the eye candy and inspiration that will be showcased during that awesome tour of work spaces!

Are you loving that little pink metal doll case? Maybe a year ago [or more!] I bought it from Janna who is now involved in a HUGE antique shop up in North Carolina that I am itching to go and check out. It wouldn't be a bad drive from where I live...it's on my wish list. Janna is a great junker, with a fun blog if you love old, rusty, and antique items. The name of her blog, Artsy Fartsy Finds gives a little glimpse into her witty, and fun humor as well!

Before I ramble any further, let me announce the winner of the book WHERE WOMAN CREATE....

Counting down the comment list, that would be Anne! Congratulations and I hope you'll enjoy this book as much as I have enjoyed it!

xo, Sue
 

 
  
An on again, off again, rainy day in Georgia. Since hubby decided to work from home, I had the perfect excuse to skip a little housework in an effort to not make any unneccessary noise. Not that it takes much coaxing to do so especially when each new day outside holds some new surprise.

The hydrangea patches are so loaded with blooms this year. I'm wondering if it's because of the colder winter we had this year. Each day the newly emerging clusters change from their greenish-yellowy-creamy colors to their grand finale color of blue...

 Plucking armfuls of them, I bring them in and stick bouquets everywhere.

Just off our kitchen is a small upper deck we use for grilling. I've had my eyes peeled for years to find a reasonably priced, smaller-scaled table and chairs. Sometimes things just find you when you aren't looking. I just happened to be driving to the grocery store and there sitting outside one of my favorite thrift stores was this little white wrought iron set [table + 4 chairs]. At a fantastic price, no less... Needless to say, I was thrilled!

Let me also introduce you as well to my newest "dress form"...a man one! Paid $26 for him...did I pay too much? I've got some plans brewing in my head for him...

The base is painted such a great color and has just the right amount of shabby, chippy beauty.

What I'm thinking about is to mount a steel collar plate around the metal pole and to that attach a galvanized steel washtub, or an old oblong enamelware pan. In other words, use the new "manny" as a base for something purposeful. I also think you could mount a tabletop of some sort if you wanted as the base is quite heavy and could handle a little weight. Wouldn't he be a fun, unconventional, end table?!

 I guess we'll both have to wait and see who he grows up to be...

Oh and by the way, look at the one I found currently for sale on Ebay at an asking price of $1100+....yipes. Too rich for my budget, but still quite gorgeous.

 

xo, sue