Summertime!

Well, I’m back.  

Now for a few updates. . . 

The Studio

I am working in the studio (can't get used to calling it that--it is my craft room, but my BFF P always calls it my studio--I just have to chuckle).  Here is my messy worktable. Still need wall decor.  I think I will use my PB Flag on one of these walls.

Love the new Grey Chairs!

The Projects

Still working on my Wilna Furstenberg inspired book--it will document the debut of Little Miss H2 and will feature Little Miss H1’s reactions.  Only thing is, I did not make one to document the debut of Little Miss H1. Another project!  Yay!

Cover 

Page Stacks are ready to be put together.

Three of my favorite things right now are my new Gold Stapler and my Gold and Silver Sharpies.

Nate Berkus Stapler (Target)
One Dollar Sharpies (Dollar General)

Have made a few “enamel dots” to use in my book.  Google eyes and Sharpies make pretty good enamel dots.  

Google Eye “Enamel Dots”
Inspiration from 47CMC YT Video

Remember those wonderful circa 1960 book Christmas trees that were commonly made from Reader’s Digest books--well, yes I am making my version.  Will show you the finished project soon.

Christmas Book Christmas Tree!

The Garden

We have had abundant harvests this year--the corn, potatoes, onions, green beans, and tomatoes have produced like mad and we have been busy freezing, canning, and eating our bounty. We have harvested buckets this year! Yum!

A few of the 500+ ears of corn.
Bag of green beans.

Just a few of our yummy tomatoes.

The New House

The kids are also waiting for their new house to be ready for move in.  The basement rooms are framed, the upstairs floor is down, the upstairs rooms are framed, the outside walls are up, and the roof tresses are being put in place.  Each day we see progress! 

New House

The Playroom For Little Misses

The playroom is in the basement of the new house and it will have glass panel french doors into it.  I have lots of ideas for that room.  Hoping to donate my school table and four chairs, the art easel, the rabbit bench (Grandad built it and Grandie painted it back in our craft show days), four large floor pillows, and frames for displaying the exquisite art made by our two little misses.  Here is the inspiration picture and the frames I have acquired so far.  

Via Pinterest-YellowBlissRoad
Love the frames.
Little Miss H1 has these sheets too.

Loving these frames!

Of course, there has to be room for the kitchen, ironing board, and dish cabinet not to mention the baby crib, stroller, and highchair!

The Debut of Little Miss H2

We are anxiously awaiting our new Little Miss. Right now Little Miss H1 thinks that having a baby sister will be the best thing since sliced bread. Hope that is still her feeling after Little Miss H2 makes her debut. It is not long now! Another blessing!

Some likes (have not included any for a long time)--cool summer breezes, gold staplers, edged driveways and sidewalks, my new studio,  and Sunday family days!

May all the seasons be sweet to you,
Mary

Deja Vu?

A time to remember. . .

Growing up with a working Mother it was common to have a Saturday schedule that included several rituals.  Strip the beds, change the sheets, put on a pot of beans, and clean the house like mad.  I still can’t resist the urge to strip my beds and wash sheets on Saturday.  I guess there is something to be said for soaking in a Saturday night bath and then jumping into your bed to enjoy the smell and feel of clean sheets. Some habits do die hard.  

So today as I finished up my Saturday rituals and was making my “army corners” on our bed, I experienced Deja Vu! Along came a memory of making my bed, but having fitted top sheets so that you did not have to make “ army corners”! I remember having fitted top sheets--am I dreaming. You know that Deja Vu experiences don’t necessarily have to be true?? Are there still such a thing? I hope so.

We did not wash our sheets on Saturday because for most of my young life my Mother preferred to go to a laundromat at 4 a.m. on Sunday morning.  My sweet Dad tried for years to buy her a washer and dryer, but she refused. She liked getting all the laundry done at once and having all of the washers and dryers to herself. No one else would be there at that time of day for sure. There was an ulterior motive--she loved to look through all of the coins--pennies, dimes, nickels, quarters, and half dollars (she had an in with the owner of the place) so she could fill coin books for us. But that is another story.

From icollector.com

Happy Father’s Day dear sweet Dad, Dirtman, and Coach! 

I love my washer and dryer!

May all of the seasons be sweet to you!

Mary

Studio Update, a New PaperCrafting Project, and an Old Special Project. . .

A season to create. . .

Remember that desk I pictured in a previous post--well here it is now. . .

Old Desk--almost clean.

I have made good progress--

Studio, Studio, Studio. . . having fun with the big cabinet.  So many options--what to store in it and where should all the treasures go in it??? Can’t resist putting some decorative items on these shelves--of course I move things around daily.

Here it is so far!

Off to buy one more ugly storage drawer system to put in the middle bottom compartment. 

Here is the middle compartment.

Well, it is in place and full--looks messy doesn’t it.  It is organized and my score board, paper trimmers, laminating machine, Zyron refills, and large paper will fit here. 

Now About Projects---the newest project is a mini album based on Wilna Furstenberg’s Family Album. I will be using several cool techniques in this project--applying modeling paste with stencils, filling the frame on the cover with resin, enhancing pages with watercolor elements, layering papers and embellishments, as well as spraying gold paint to create shiny backgrounds papers for some of the pages. Michael’s $1 frames make great covers and a sweet concertina is the perfect binding. Eight pages with delicate grey and pink papers and embellishments along with sweet pictures will make it a favorite. 

Here is the cover--maybe!

Here is a sneak peek at one of my special projects.

Special Grands Book.

Here are parts and pieces--they will be bound into a book that I hope will be treasured by my Grands someday. I will share more later.

Better go for now--need to go watch the rain.

May all the seasons be sweet to you!
Mary

Big Cabinet

A time for more work. . .

Update on the studio

Carpet is down. The closet is organized and full of scrapbooking tools, embellishments, and paper. The work table and chairs are in place.

New Work Table--Projects Too!

Now on to the cabinet--it is a cool piece of furniture. I decided to paint it! Color choice is Annie Sloan French Linen with clear wax. I cleaned it well and it is ready to paint. But of course, I waited until it is too humid to paint it outside.  I could move it to the garage or Dirtman’s shop where I can enjoy air conditioning, but that would be too easy.  So I moved it to the studio.  I did not want to paint it in place, but that is the new plan.  

Of course, I could not wait to start filling it with treasures, so I have a few things in place--yes, they will have to be moved again.

Here it is! Lots of storage. It is deep and 12x12 items fit on these shelves.

Glitter in one place!

Glitter Jar

Shelves for Jars and other Tools.

Tag Jars and Tool Containers.

Another Tag Jar, Baker’s Twine in Jars, and a Clothespin Jar too.

Manilla Tags, Twine, and Clothespins in a Jar.

Yes, I think I will live with the unpainted wood for a bit--it is too fun to organize.  Then when it is full, I will decide to paint it. Oh Man!

Now the TV, Stereo System, and my Decor! Getting closer!

May all the seasons be sweet to you!

Mary

Studio...

A season for work. . .

The work has begun.  The carpet is in place (needs one more thing) and organizing is in progress.  

Project 1 is to clean out and organize the closet space.  Check!

The closet is cleared and organized.  It is full of plastic storage cabinets--I don’t like the way they look but my supplies are organized and easily accessible.  I have some great tools and supplies I had forgotten about.  As soon as the carpet installation is complete (soon I hope) I will be ready for the next project.

Project 2 will be to move my storage cabinet in and clean it.  Maybe even paint it??? Can’t make up my mind about that.  I bought Annie Sloan paint to use.  The story about this cabinet is interesting.  Many years ago a friend bought the cabinet--it was advertised on a local radio “tradeo” broadcast.  She brought it home and when I saw it I loved it.  I told her that if she ever decided to get rid of it, I wanted it.  Well, she got rid of it at a sale in spring, 2013.  I was not there but lucky for me a good friend was.  Good friend purchased the cabinet--she did not know it was “my” cabinet.  Her plan was to take it to a flea market.  Well, as life would have it, she told C (remember her from my It’s a Girl Thing--A Girlfriend Thing post) about her wonderful purchase and the plan, C told me about the cabinet--she did not know it was “my” cabinet either but I knew immediately it was “my” cabinet.  I got it!  Yay!  Friend called to apologize--she had forgotten about my request, after all, it was 20+ years ago. Isn’t it amazing how things work out. 

Project 3 will be to decorate my space.  I need a television and some of my favorite patriotic things in my space. it will be fun to put everything in its proper place.

Once all of these projects are accomplished, it is time to create! Let the fun begin. More soon.

May all the seasons be sweet to you,
Mary

Here We Go! Updates and The Old College Try To Be A Real Blogger!

A Season To Get Back To It. . .

Yes, I know I said that before.  But let’s not dwell on that, okay? I for one am glad 2013 is over. 

A few updates. . . 

1. My Bingo Fridays post is on my mind again today.  My sister called this morning to say that she is driving by the our Saba Grotto everyday--really two times a day.  That sparked a new interest in finding out more about that childhood palace--a place where I spent many happy hours.  Here is what I found out today--this mansion, as it was called in the listing, was sold for taxes by the IRS in 2008.  Just about the time I was retiring, this landmark that made such an impression on the young me was being auctioned off.  I guess it sold--my sister says it looks much better now than the last time we drove by. Here is a picture of it--don’t know when this was taken but this is pretty much how I remember it.

I told you it was a spectacular place.  We even found pictures of the inside (just a few) that brought a few tears to our eyes as we reminisced. 

2. My one follower, long-time bestie and cookie cutter guru, has a new blog.  I guess that her new venture renewed my determination to blog. You can find her blog here. It’s on!

3. I am loving papercrafting--working on a few big projects and adding to my to-do list at a pace that is lightening fast. Have you looked for online tutorial and “haul” videos? Can you believe that paper crafters record supplies they buy so we can see them and then rush to the store to get them too? If you have the urge to shop and don’t want to spend money--just watch them describe what they bought. Hee! Watching these videos lead to the development of my obsession with Target $1 Spots. Yes, it is crazy! Here is the latest project--a bird themed frame.

4. Working on my “studio” is an ongoing process.  I have a basement full of treasures (organized of course) in totes.  I have stacks of treasures on my desk.  I have half-finished, almost-finished, and finished projects on my desk and tucked ever so carefully in totes.  It is a mess--I don’t admit that to Dirtman, but I can tell you because you all will not judge me.  Here is a picture of my desk--organized stacks? Man, it looks even worse in this picture.

My Desk

Progress is being made. The studio and bathroom are painted (Revere Pewter BM), the bathroom floor is all new (Allure Vinyl Wood--Country Pine), the bathroom vanity is freshly painted (Pewter Behr ), and the old blue carpet is removed. New grey carpet is purchased and will be installed soon.  Next week I will begin the task of arranging furniture and organizing all of my treasures.  Hope it all fits!  I will document all progress and will be sure you are up to date. I know you want to watch.

My New Space

Well, that is about it for now.  

May all the seasons be sweet to you,

Mary

Really!

A time to Blog and a time to Blog. . .

Well, so much for my resolution to Blog.  So, Keep Calm and Blog! It is September--barely still September.  So here is a short blog.

I am amazed by the great ideas you can find on the net.  There are so many creative people who are willing to share their ideas with us.  Here are a few of my favorite inspiration locations:

Homemaking Style~

Savvy Southern Style ~ this blog is remarkable.  She makes homemaking a pleasure. She posts everyday and includes wonderful pictures of her home.

Hymns and Verses ~ love, love, love this site. Homekeeping is here.

There are several others I read regularly too, but these are the two that I read daily.

Scrapbooking Style~

Heidi Swapp ~ this lady is amazing.  She has a papercrafting style I love. Layers, pretty colors, and banners--what is not to love.

Janna Werner ~ found her on youtube ~ on the Two Peas in a Bucket site.  She is one talented girl.  Some of her videos are recorded in German--yes, I even watched them and learned some awesome techniques.

Craft Style ~

Creative Breathing ~ love this site.  Such cute crafts--"mintage" stuff!

Everything Style ~

Jones Design Company ~ one of the sites that I ran across and had to watch every post before I was content.  This girl is a graphic artist and she posts home decor too. My favorite things on this site are the four seasons wreaths--they are shown in my Wreath Junkie post.

Just a few of my favorites.  More from me soon.

May all the seasons be sweet to you!

Mary