ta-da!

It was great to have a 4 day weekend to get this room squared away. It's important to me to have a space that feels good and functions well - I think I've finally got it. The new set-up is comfy and efficient for me and can function well with 2 guests and their own projects.
I reconfigured the bookshelves to accommodate my record collection and set up my record player on an antique sewing cabinet. When I need extra room, the cabinet opens up and extends into a 5 foot work surface.
I'm using the peg board for even more stuff with the new arrangement. I made that sparkly eye patch for a pirate party last new year's eve. The lamp was a wedding gift that has finally found a good spot in the house - it had been in a closet for way too long.
The lavender background is a half-finished painting from a few years ago. It's a section of fake wood panelling that I pulled out of someone's trash way back when. I decided to give it a third life as a support for my new inspiration board - ready to be filled up with ideas & whatever turns my crank.

Now it's time to use it!!!

totally do-able

I want all of these! Wallpaper, maps - on the source site there are pieces covered in comics & photos. This is way beyond decoupage. These are nice.

space

Aww, crafty room. Why do you look so sad?

I need to get my space in shape! Wildeve showed me this not too long ago and I want some of that vibe going on in my little corner of the world. This place has to function as a combination library / file cabinet / sewing center / music room and needs to effectively house my loads of supplies for various artsy pursuits.

So, I am going to call these my BEFORE pics. My after pics will be coming soon... after some serious work. Ok, I have to admit that I enjoy putting together a room almost as much as I enjoy using it. There's an empty long weekend ahead just begging to be put to good use.

how great are these?

I just learned about this dude today - he makes cool stuff! His main gig is illustration, but he made these awesome little characters as presents for his family. Makes me want to mess around with a band saw. I made a jigsaw puzzle for my nephew once, but never anything this cool. On his blog, he says he used a scroll saw. I didn't even know what that was, but now that I've looked into it a little it sure seems like a handy dandy tool. It's way smaller and cheaper than its buddy the band saw, and it can do some of the same stuff plus teeny weeny detail work. Ok, a scroll saw is now on my forever wish list. Got that, Santa? I even found one for under $100!

Clementine's Quilt

A good friend of mine had her first girl this fall. A new baby always inspires me to make a quilt! The quilt is full of pink girlie colors with a mix of the unconventional browns and tans. I machine quilted this quilt and hand sewed the binding. Years ago I bought a "Binding" attachment for my sewing machine, but I still can't figure out how it works.
To tell the truth I actually enjoy finishing off the quilt by hand.

taking pictures

Before I had a digital camera, I was stingy about my picture taking. Film and developing were a pain in the butt and expensive - and there was this whole mystery behind it that I just didn't understand. I had a few darkroom sessions back in college and I was fascinated by the process - but it never clicked for me.

But a few years ago, the husband gave me a basic Powershot and I've been clicking away ever since (thanks, sweets!). I dig the instant gratification, being able to easily edit and manipulate the images, printing photos out at home on different kinds of paper - but mostly I love that I can take as many pictures as I want. When you take a zillion shots, you're guaranteed to get a good one here and there. Here are a few of my faves:

crafty times

Sunday night means Crafty Times. Today my friend and fellow Stuff Maker (plus pooch) came over for an afternoon ski and some sewing. My project was a snore - fixing my brother in law's gloves. There was some real satisfaction in finally finishing them, though, as they were given to me for mending over a month ago. Not a very exciting creation for the day, but an accomplishment nonetheless. My friend was working on a sweet little baby quilt - maybe she'll share some photos later on?

We started our Sunday crafting sessions a while back but our commitment to it sort of fizzled out over time. With the new year, we have pledged to keep making it happen. So far, so good. If only we could lure a certain someone back into it...

animated

Stop motion animation has always appealed to me. Who doesn't love Rudolph? I've been checking out some great examples online lately and figured I might as well give it a try myself. This little video took about 45 minutes from start to finish - it doesn't look like much, but it was easy and fun to make.

our mission

Why are we here? Well, I can't answer the bigger question - and I won't bore you with my personal take on existence. But I think I can sum up what I would like this space to become. I'd like to get a group of groovy creative folks together to share ideas, celebrate successes, problem solve, and network a little. You are strongly encourage to toot your own horn and pat yourself on the back, so please do!

Most importantly, we will be here to inspire one another and encourage each other to pursue the cool things that we do. If you sew, garden, knit, crochet, build, bake, or generally Make Stuff - join us!

A good friend turned me on to Tanya Davis and this song. Whenever I hear it (which is practically every day since I crammed it into my pod) it lights up the whole right side of my brain: