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Where Bloggers Create

 
With my hand on a vintage french missel {english translation: Bible} I hereby swear that I am a vintage-aholic of the worst degree.

*I have collected "vintage" for decades

**and I stuff it all in my wonderful bonus room above the garage.

***Adding to that overstuffed room are all the supplies I use

**** in my TOO NUMEROUS to mention crafty pursuits.

 
 
The previous photos are a sampling from the pics I posted last year for the tour. The posts are located here and here. I posted so many pics last year, and since not a whole lot has changed, it's easier to refer those who might be interested to those posts.

But a few things have changed...

 
An old vintage french wine rack, or bottle dryer as it is sometimes called, was added to the room.  

 
I've moved it around a few times and continue to add vintage dolls as they become adopted into my collection.

 
 
Another addition to the room this past year is this shelving unit. I just happened to be in the parking lot of an antique store as this was coming off a truck.

 
The top shelf is loaded with vintage Christmas.......it's just too pretty to pack away!

 
I will also admit to being totally obsessed with vintage dress forms.

 
I purchased this one off of Ebay quite a few years back [for approx. $50]...she's a 3-D inspirational board of sorts...and I love her dearly.

 
I am forever pinning new items to the form...

 

As a point of reference, to show you the size of this beloved dress form, I've placed another form next to her...

 
 
Being a visual person, I like to have a lot of my stuff "out"...

 
 
Another way fun addition to my room this year...

 
...is the Crepe Myrtle tree that has now grown tall enough to show off her pink blooms through one of my windows....

I'm looking forward to spending the next few weeks {months?!} visiting all the entries to this year's Where Bloggers Create Party. To see a list of this year's participants, head over to Karen's place at My Desert Cottage.

An enormous thank you to Karen for hosting this spectacular event! One of my fav's in all of bloggieland! May wonderful things come to you for all the time and effort you invest in making this such a special, and much anticipated event!!!!

A Vintage Doll

 
She's German. She has a tin head. A leather body. She's jointed. And she's all mine!

 
I've waited a long time to add one to my collection. Mostly because of the price they fetch. But FINALLY, I snagged one a few months back off of Ebay.

 
...such a soulful look in those eyes...

 
At some point in time, someone has restitched the legs just below the knees...otherwise, she is in beautiful shape. I move her all around the house as she looks adorable no matter where she goes.

 
Even in the rearview mirror she's a beaut!

 
 Who allowed her to slip away?

 

And to totally change subjects, did you hear that Karen is hosting another Where Bloggers Create tour?

  

 It's all set to happen in mid July. Oh my...wonder if I can get my room whipped back into presentable shape by then?! Nothing like company coming to get the dials turned to "clean"............

This was a really fun event. So many creative people...tons of eye candy, inspiration, and ideas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And speaking of FUN,  Mary Ann's newest journaling class, Full Tilt Boogie will begin on June 17th. Sign up begins on June 8th. She's also offering a generous chunk of her proceeds to the Red Cross as well as offering a discount based on need to a sizable number of students. Click on her link to read all about it. There's even a video for your viewing pleasure featuring a sneak peek of the upcoming adventure!

Okay. Time to push that vacuum cleaner around before it hits 100 degrees today where I live. Yipes! So grateful for central air...

Xo, Sue

Hippity Hoppity....

 
Sometimes a little whim has me chasing rabbits...

...or bunny ears...specifically felted bunny ears....

...with wires in them so they can bend!

 
...and might as well make a hat to stick them in....

...and don't forget to hand sew some vintage bias tape around the edges so you can tie it on to someone's head...and add some vintage pom pom balls too!

Easter's on its way you know....

 
...and he could sit on a glass jar filled with chocolate eggs covered in pretty pastel foiled wrappers! {or jelly beans!}

But don't buy them just yet because you know you'll eat too many of them...

 
Those little pom poms made from tulle would sure make a sweet bunny tail...

 
Another one of the dollies thought she should have a chance to have her picture taken in the new hat as well. Have you ever noticed the tendency in curly-haired folks to stir the pot of life just a tad more than straight-hair folks do? That's why I religiously take a flat iron to my curly hair...it improves your personality. Seriously.

Since this little hat I made reminded me of this Ralphie scene from A Christmas Story...

 
I'll leave you with one last picture of a "Ralphie" version of my new hat!

 
Just being silly today.

But also wanted to share the scrumptious ground cover phlox that is showing off in my flower beds right now. Wish it would bloom all summer, but it doesn't....such a hardy perennial to plant that will naturally spread over the years.  

Hope you're finding some time for silly too. It's important too you know!

Xo, Sue

p.s. AND speaking of time, And of PS {PINK SATURDAY} I'm linking to my fellow Duke Blue Devil's fan, Miss Beverly at How Sweet the Sound to play in her weekly Saturday event! Saturday's are typically not a good day for me to play on the computer so it's fun to HIPPITY HOP back aboard for today!

Vintage French Wine Rack

 

Make note of the small words their language...they go well with the next photo.

 
Seventeen year old son comes into the sanctuary {aka: my studio}. Very pleased to see that he notices the newest addition to the place.  When I mention that I've named one of the dolls, he asks which one? I point to the dolly above and tell him that I've given it HIS NAME. Even he couldn't help but laugh, right after he rolled his eyes of course.

I wonder if the prevelance of teen-agers rolling their eyes so much has something to do with their eye muscles not having fully developed yet....you know, like an involuntary reflex? Wink, wink.

  
Back in July after finding this wonderful french bottle {wine} drying rack at an antique shop in Florida, it took up residence in our kitchen. But after spending some time there I decided it was just too big for the space. So I moved it up in the hallway by the door to my studio. My plans were to use it for storage/display purposes...

And it sat.

And sat some more.

Totally in the way. Of course.

    
FINALLY, the inspiration {{{motivation}}} for getting after it came when I noticed that Rebecca Sower has one in her art studio too.

 
With over a 150 hooks and 8 tiers high, this wonderful piece can hold a lot of stuff.  

It would also be a great piece to display vintage Christmas ornaments... or photos,

or a vintage hanky tree,

or just about any collection would be fun...  

 

 Would love to continue adding more dolly heads to the piece. But they are becoming harder and harder to come by...or come by at a decent price. Like a lot of the things I enjoy collecting, I have a price point I won't surpass. But since I am a women as well as a collector...

...well...I reserve the right to make an exception now and then.

Xo, Sue

Vintage Doll

In my last post I mentioned that I was having to go and tidy up an offspring's apartment after a move out.....

#!@&*!!@#%+?<%$#!!!!

Thank you for letting me vent. Now, to more pleasant subjects...namely, new Dolly Love...

...despite the fact that she is in pieces...save for a couple little boo-boo's on the dress, she is in beautiful condition....

I almost missed spying her... in a plastic ziplock, tucked under a shelf...when I saw the original price, which was a steal in its own right, but to slather on even more incentive, she was marked down by 50%.

  

I mentioned she had a little dress...

But I failed to mention that it is stinkin' cute ..... {apologize for the nasty slang but i'm still recovering from my cleaning job from yesterday...}

The vintage millinery flowers are still in her hair...I know if she had been my dollie as a child, those flowers would probably be missing by now! But I know one little pink girl who would have kept her this pristine...

For any Georgia bloggers, I nabbed this little beauty from THE QUEEN OF HEARTS up in Buford, GA. Same goes for the tart pan and the three old Kodak film canisters...

Me been a good little antiquer these past few days. And shamelessly, I'm within an inch of cashing in my stash of coins I save for emergencies...I think I've found something that I can't stop thinking about...sounds like a bona fide emergency to me...!!!

Stay tuned...

Xo, Sue
 

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

Altered Dolls and Giveaways !

She was my first. My first altered doll made by someone whose work I am in awe of...If you follow her blog, you probably already know who I'm talking about just by seeing this photo.

If not, then you'll be in for a real treat to go and visit her blog.

In fact, she's having an INCREDIBLE giveaway...

Wait, more accurately stated, she's having five different giveaways. I love how she's doing this....check it out!

  

The first little doll came to my home over a year ago. Recently, I added her sister, if you will. Her name is called "Love Endures"....

I love, love, love these dolls. They never cease to warm my heart whenever my eyes take them in. Purposely, they've been placed in a spot where I see them all the time.

The details in JoAnnA's work is nothing short of spectacular. But I must warn you, when she adds something to her Etsy shop, and you really, really need it, you better grab it as stuff flies off the shelves before you can blink.

As long as we are talking about scrumptious giveaways, there is another one you won't want to miss either. Lisa at Tarnished and Tattered, another blogger whose work and heart I admire has rounded up a not-to-be-missed giveaway as well.

 

I mentioned in my last post that I had extracted this darling little cupid to share. Unfortunately, Typepad kept freezing on me. It's still happening. But only on my PC that is showing signs of aging.

We have a new MAC, but on a scale from 1 to 100, I know about "10" when it comes to using it. Plus, all my photos are on the PC. But today I jumped another hurdle in the learning curve and transferred these photos from my PC to the MAC via copying them to a CD. That's how I got the "10", otherwise I would have been at a 3.

Have lots more Valentine type graphics I will share in the coming days.

xoxo

Sue

 

Vintage Finds

 

There she sat high on a display case, hidden from view. Stuffed in a box no less with an assortment of other broken dolls. I smiled at her and said dolly, today is your lucky day. You're coming home with me. And don't you worry...I'll put you where the puppy can't touch you!

  

Just look at your sweet little eyelashes and those two little front teeth. Despite your signs of aging, it is evident that someone took very good care of you at one time.

 

Is this not the sweetest little shoe, or what?

 

In the same antique store, in another booth, I spied this little baby bonnet. Love at first sight. It was exquisite in its day...and still is, but in a different sort of way.

 

A view of the back of the hat...

 

 

   Another sweet find this weekend was this adorable photo of Evelyn Lyke. Like so many of you, I adore these old vintage photos. Don't you wonder WHY they ever ended up in the hands of strangers? Didn't someone in the family want them?

  Please feel free to adopt Evelyn for  yourself. Save her to a file in your computer and perhaps she'll find a use in your future creations.

 Speaking of futures, I better go tend to mine. After being away for the weekend, I have lots of catch up to tend to if I hope to have an immdediate  future that runs more smoothly.

Until next time...