Working in my NEW OFFICE!!

  I'm really enjoying my new office! Its nice to have room to move around and have everything in its place. I spent a day organizing my supplies...check out how organized I am! I had a lot of these boxes already but I went and bought 46 more at Home Depot. lol....they must have thought I had a lot of shoes to go in these boxes. They never would have guessed I was putting doll hair in them!! I printed  labels and my hubby helped me get everything labeled & in its place. Its much easier when I get an order, now that all my supplies are in one place. We painted the trim today, still needs another coat, then we'll get the doors put back on. I have had  a looong day today, trying to get caught up on graphics  and working on my office in between. Tomorrow, I have more pictures to share. Even some of Rusty lounging around my office!!

Thrift Store finds

Thought I'd share some pictures of some goodies I got at some thrift stores. I found an old cigar box and several rusty old cans. It was kind of funny, in one store every single thing I put on the counter was rusty! I bought all these cans there and a rusty "no trespassing" sign that my husband confiscated! lol! Seems like I got more, but it was before Christmas so I can't remember now! I did get 3 old quilts for $4 each! That was a last minute thing--my husband was looking at an old chest and  he found them in there. I thought they'd be too expensive but when she said $4, I grabbed them up. I love them when they are all worn out! That's a good deal, but once I got one at a yard sale for a QUARTER!

  Don't know if you can tell much about the front of the cigar box here but it looks old. Who knows--I came home with some one day that looked old but when I opened them, I saw they were pretty new! While I was shopping I saw an old cigar display, a wire stand with a space for 4 cigar boxes and a sign on top. I didn't get it and kept thinking about it so I went back for it later. I saw a churn I wanted at another antique store that I had to go back for too. I thought it was just like one Momma has--it was a little different but I still got it.

  Kenyon found this old framed Jesus print....You can see some other old frames, mirrors, etc. I've collected. These are all in my studio waiting for the perfect spot!

Speaking of my studio....I now have internet over there so I'll probably move this weekend! I have a giant ugly heater in the other room now that will keep me warm for now, but I have to get some gas logs in my office and shelves in my closet and that room will be finished! I'll definitely take more pictures when I get closer to being done. I'll still work on my art in my studio in my house while we work on the rest of my studio.

Before I go....I wanted to share this sweet picture of Mr. Spock snuggling up to my husband. Mr. Spock has ALWAYS loved him the best! lol!

A new bed for Rusty

 

I've had these two ugly cushions for a long time, planning to make something from them and I finally got around to it! I plan to make one into a cushion for my porch swing and made this one into a new bed for Rusty to match my studio! Thought I'd share how I did it--its really simple and I didn't try to make it perfect. I know some of you who are really good seamstresses could give me some pointers. ha! But it works for me.

 First I found some fabric and a volunteer to help me....I didn't even have to ask him! I laid the cushion on the fabric and cut around it with about ½" extra all the way around. For the back I folded the piece I just cut in half and laid it on the fabric, then cut a piece that size. The 2nd piece for the back is cut like the other, but make it about 2/3 the size of the front. It doesn't have to be exact, they just need to overlap each other. Then I cut a strip about ½" wider than the sides. I didn't have a piece long enough so I cut 2 strips and sewed the ends together.

   

 

  Turn down the long edges of the two back pieces and hem. Next, sew the strip to the front side of the pillow. Be careful to match the corners up and pin if you need to. (See pics above.) In the picture on the left I was trying to show you how I sewed the two back pieces on! Match up the corners and sew on the smaller piece, then do the same with larger piece, overlapping over the smaller piece. When you turn it right side out, it should look like this:
 

  You could stop here and it would be just fine for a pet bed or a cushion. You can easily take the cushion out so you can wash the cover too! I decided to add some buttons to mine. You could use covered buttons with matching fabric, but I liked the look of mismatched buttons on it.

  I made a couple of pillows too while I was sewing. After I started sewing, I was a little worried that they might not match but look how good they match! Next project for my office is to slipcover and chair where these two pillows will go. Rusty wouldn't stay on his bed long enough for a picture. This is the best I got....

Best of all, when you're done you can feel proud that you made it yourself.....and take a LOOONG nap! Now when you're at the junk store, look out for those old pillows! I got 2 for my outside chairs that I recovered for $1 each and I think these long cushions were $2 each. I got the fabric for the outside cushions for about  $1 at the junk store too and it actually matches this fabric!

TGIF!

  The title of my post is pretty funny....my days are all mixed up and I didn't even know it was Friday! My husband was off work yesterday and went back today. When he got home I asked him, "Is today Monday?" I realized after I said it, but he made me repeat myself. ha ha! Now that I know, I'm glad Friday's here....time to get back to work on my studio! I'm thinking maybe I can get some shelves in my closet and if its warm enough finish painting the trim/door.

 This is a picture of Christmas at Momma & Daddy's house....we spent the night there on Christmas Eve and everyone came over to exchange gifts and eat and eat and eat. There are so many of us there are tons of gifts under the tree by the time we all get there. We decided to open gifts in the den (by the way, this used to be my bedroom!) but realized it is too small to fit everyone and open gifts. We had a big pile of gifts and barely any room to fit everyone in there. I guess we'll be moving back to the living room for next Christmas! Momma & Daddy bought me a GPS, which I can really use when I'm transporting animals. No more stopping to ask strangers how to get to some Italian Restaurant at 9 am with a beagle in my lap or trying to get directions from someone on my cell phone while I try to drive and listen to dogs bark or cats meow. And for my birthday, just a week later, I got a wii....finally! I've been wanting one forever and its just as much fun as I thought it would be. Then I bought myself a wii fit last week, so I should have plenty of entertainment for a while.

Back to Christmas....right before Christmas Tara, Tyler & I made a gingerbread house and tree. It was fun, but hard work--I didn't realize how much work it would be. It was worth it though, even with the huge mess we made. (Sorry, Momma!) We sang Christmas carols and ate the little candies as we worked. We also went to the IMAX theater in Chattanooga to see Polar Express. What fun that was! I had forgotten what a good movie it is, maybe my new favorite Christmas movie. We ate at Cracker Barrel on the way home and I bought myself yet another Christmas shirt and Christmas CD. I know Stacey & Clinton wouldn't approve, but I love Christmas (& Halloween) shirts!

 

Happy New Year!

 I haven't been able to log on to blog for almost a month!! I had all kinds of fun stuff going on and couldn't even get on here to tell about it all. Thanks to all of y'all that emailed and wondered where I was and asked about my kitties. We're still here! I made some New Year's Resolutions and been doing pretty good so far. As usual, I plan to lose weight. I started before the New Year but I've already lost 12 lbs. so that's a good start. The other one was to start working on my studio. We have done some work over there. I have just have a few little things to do before I move over there. I cannot wait! This is my "new" desk. You can tell I'm not done--my walls are never this bare! I have a chair to slip cover, an old white table and a filing cabinet to move over there and maybe that will be it. I'm trying to get down to the basics after working in a cramped up room for way too long. Rusty has been roaming around and he likes it. He just wouldn't be still long enough for a picture in my new office. I have to get him a bed...I can just see him curled up on his bed while I work (or my lap, probably!). We went antiquing on my birthday and got some good stuff. I'll share more pics later, but this mirror is one of them. I'm going through my dolls that were left over from shows and trying to get some decorating done in there too. And notice my new wood floors....those were under the layers of carpet, vinyl and plywood! We had to take out a few bad ones and replace with some that Kenyon had saved up. Then we cleaned and waxed it. I love how it turned out! And I have this big kitty keeping me company in my studio too. Ha! He is perfect for this vintage wooden chair, isn't he? I'm sure I'll be sharing more pics through the weeks. My goal is to have the whole studio ready for an open house this fall and I'll share the progress with you. Almost 2 rooms down and 3 more to go, plus the outside. I shoulda asked for a roof for Christmas!!

If any of you reading are from Scottsboro, I have some of my jewelry at Talk of the Town...if you're down that way, be sure to stop in and look at my jewelry!