I'm Draggin'

Here it is Tuesday already, where did the weekend go?

It seems like I just posted that we were going to

start painting the studio and the holiday just flew by!

Well we did it!

The outside painting is finished and I love how it turned out.

{Don't want to give away too much, just wait for the big reveal}

We whipped right through the prepping and painting on Saturday and then

decided to get started on the inside. {to make up for falling behind}

I had planned to just empty the studio of all the stuff we had in there.

These are the things to work on for the show




Now if this doen't look like something off
the show "Hoarders" I don't know what does.





 

Mr. MySpareTime was moving electrical lines and taking down lights.
That didn't take too long so we pulled up the floor and

cleaned it {this was an unexpected project}

Before we could move any further we really needed to pull all

our set up stuff in and see where we wanted it to go, then

Mr. MySpareTime could move electrical outlets or add a few

and see where the new lights were going to go.

We have a few minor things to do in here before the painting

begins.  We have decided to rent a spray painter, 

{never use one before} so this will be exciting in a

train wreck sort of way!

Our goal is to have this project finished by next Sunday.

Stop by next week and see how it turns out!

Thanks for stopping by.

Work Day

As promised, today is a work day.

Mr. MySpareTime and I will be finishing up the studio facelift this weekend!

By the time you read this I will have already started on the prep work and then

comes the paint.  I love to paint, it is instant gratification.  Out with the old

and in with the new.  My mother painted all the time.  I think it gave her

a feeling of a new fresh beginning.

I was hoping to have this whole studio finished, inside and out, by Memorial Day

but my work timeline hardly ever works.  {I think I can get way more finished

than is humanly possible} So I need to push it a little harder to get caught up.

Also, today I was over at PrimMart and Kristal from Rags-n-Tags was

talking about a new blog challenge she is starting.  It is about spending

30 days to change your view on life.  She has three things she wants to

change in her life and has asked people to join in on her creative journey. 

I wonder if this would help me get started on the craft show stuff?  I know I

am not SuperWoman and my only super power is sarcasim, so maybe I

need a kick in the pants to really motivate me. 

{sorry had to laugh when I saw this!}

To tell you the truth, when I saw all the stuff in the shed I was ready to

start crafting right then, I had forgotten all that was in there just waiting on me.

So check back next week and see if I took Kristal's Creative Challenge.

Thanks for stopping by.

Looking Back

Do you ever go back and read your own blog?

I did this morning and it put me in a state of shock!

I am so far behind on my crafting that it isn't even funny.

By this time last year I was already finished with my Halloween

stuff and moving full speed ahead with other things on

the old drawing board.

Well I am officially behind!

I have been so busy trying to get the house in shape that the

crafts have been put on the back burner.

 

Mr. MySpareTime and I worked out butts off this weekend on the

studio makeover. We got a lot accomplished, but like everything else

I always wish we could have done more!

I am not good at keeping the camera handy so I have finished pictures

not transition pictures.

We replaced all the trim on the studio

Took out an old air conditioner and replaced all the back siding

Removed and replaced this fence

and got this place ready for paint!

Also had a few minutes {OK, maybe more than a few}

to play with the grandbaby!

Mr. MySpareTime is leaving on a business trip in a few minutes

and when he returns we will get this project finished.

I will also have a craft checklist ready.

So my pledge is to start crafting and to stop reading

old blog posts, they're scary!

Thanks for stopping by.

Say Goodbye

Since Mr. MySpareTime and I have nothing to

do most days {wink,wink} I thought we

needed to give my little studio a face lift!

This little Shed {as she is called} was built many years

ago when we made birdhouses.  We paid cash for it

to be built and I thought I was living in tall cotton when

we got her finished.  It was a place I could make a mess

and didn't have to worry about cleaning before I made dinner.

{Yes, my first work room was the kitchen.}

A place all my own!

She has seen better days and the Texas heat and humidity

 gets the better of everything!  The structure is sound

and very well built, but the paint job is faded and the back

 needs some repair from water damage.

So say goodbye to the little shed because this weekend she

will be having some work done.  We are going to replace

the siding on the back and replace any of the trim pieces that have

split or gotten damaged.  With three boys using it as a

"man cave" it has stories it could tell!

We are going to change the look a little and get it ready for

our Holiday Trunk Show in October.  So today we start

the transformation!

Also, today is my middle son Andrew's birthday!

He is my most challenging child.  Full of brutal honesty,

imagination, humor, adrenaline junkie and softie all rolled into one.

Happy Birthday, Drew, we love you.

Thanks for stopping by.



Our Trip to Canton!

I think this was the best trip to Canton we have ever had.

The weather was beautiful and there were

a ton of vendors.

I wouldn't say it was the most productive

junkin trip we have ever had.

I think we purchased more stuff for ourselves

than we did for crafting.

Since we have been re-decorating so many rooms this place

is a gold mine for things for your home.

Cute flowers for $3

This 4 foot metal piece for $35

and a huge pot of herbs for $7

This thing was so large it filled the top of

my cart and everyone stopped us to

find out where we got it.

The smell of Basil and Mint was very refreshing

and the pot has Thyme, Rosemary and Peppers, too.

We did get some assorted wooden pieces for signs

assorted metal pieces

a cute little table

{and no we didn't buy a one legged table, we got asked

that all day long, the other legs were in the cart!}

and even hand roasted peanuts, Gluten Free!

All in all it was a great trip, just to get away and have fun

and find a few things we wanted.

We have also hit a few garage sales and here are the

very best finds!

Another sander for $5

{and yes it works, we checked}

We use the devil out of these things.

and an antique mantel for my studio.

I wanted to build one of these but we ran onto

a gal who was selling this one and I snatched it

up for $50.  Couldn't beat that with a stick!

So that has been our accumulation of stuff over the last few weeks.

I will post pictures of the stuff as we finish it.

Thanks for stopping by.

The Big Reveal!

 I have blabbed on and on about Mr. MySpareTime and I sharing an office.

 I was overflowing with paper, products, printers and just plain

junk! So it was time to make the big move and remodel the large

Game Room into our Office.

Now this room had been my catch all for several years.  I stored all my

Craft Show inventory in here, I had a large work table in here and even

had a sleeper sofa for when we had a house full.

You wouldn't recognize the place now!

BEFORE

So much stuff you couldn't stir it with a stick.

I thought I will never be able to get this all back in that

new space and have it look like an office and

not a warehouse.

AFTER!

These are all my products to sell on Kraft Outlet.

Plenty of storage below and in the closet.

Mr. MySpareTime did a wonderful job redoing these

babies, I snagged them on Craig's List for $200.

A product hang area and samples of work.

Another product storage rack that we made out of

two shoe racks and some garden pot liners.

{Saw this idea on YouTube for Scrapbooking Storage}

My great little Coffee Bar. 

We had never really used the wet bar in this

room and now it is a great place to wash

brushes and have coffee.

We have tried to use things that mean something

to us as decorative pieces. The shadow box

is full of Mr. MySpareTime's old Boy Scout pins and badges.

Old tea and coffee pots and a hand

embroidered tea towel made for me from

one of our closest friends, Donna!

Our postal packing station and Baker's Twine holder.

I come from Tulsa, OK and it is on Route 66

so I needed that sign!

A wall full of inspiration and funny things.

Don't you just love the paper cubby?

Found that at a Garage Sale for $20!

The "I Got Lucky" poster is from the Country Living Fair.

We bought vintage barrel plugs with the numbers "2" & "8"

for our 28th anniversary and put the tickets with it.

The Purdue fraternity paddle hangs over my husbands side

of the partner desk.  He has "fond" memories of that thing

warming his backside!

This is the huge desk we made.  I looked and looked for

the perfect desk.  Nothing was the right size or had all the features

we wanted and needed.  So a few hours on the Internet and I

found the website Ana-White.com.  This is an amazing

site for all kinds of furniture patterns, and they are all FREE!

The desk is 4 feet across and 8 feet long and has a 4 foot

extension off one side for files and another computer.

An Ikea kitchen counter piece that we painted and

stained to hold all of our items that we use when we

fill orders.  It is just the right height and holds everything.

One of my printers and more stuff!

Magazines and twill tape, globes and

gnomes and a bright yellow golf ball basket

to hold old family photos.

My side of the desk!

Work tools for my Folk Art and a bit of color!

The flag that was my father-in-law's for being a

WWII veteran and an old family

painting from Pawhuska, OK.

The Lucky Chair

{named this because we take it to craft shows

and no matter what you put in it, it sells!}

The huge filing cabinet Mr. MySpareTime bought

at Goodwill for $19.99, so now all my files have

one place to live.

And my work table.

Great light and a pretty view, a space where I can stretch out and

still have a plenty of room.  What luxury!

The colors in our office are teal, red and bright yellow!

I know that sounds like a hot mess, but I think it all comes

together with this great  Folk Art hooked rug!

It took a lot of thought and imagination to make this

room come together, but we both love it.  It is US!

The room is filled with things that inspire us or make us

laugh. It is a very workable space.

Thanks for taking the tour and thanks for stopping by!



Damn Pinterest!

I'm sure all of you have the obsession of Pinterest!

What a great idea to have an online filing system for all those

pieces of eye candy that we run across everyday on the web.

When someone asks me what Pinterest is, I tell them is

is like when you used to cut pictures out of magazines or

newspapers and save them.  

Now you have a place to keep all those virtual images without

filling up your hard drive.

I also like that you can become inspired from other boards.

So I am on Pinterest and I see way too many things to

make or cook or do.

Since I have my new grandson and two empty bedrooms

{but a storage locker full of unused furniture}

Mr. MySpareTime and I decided to make one

bedroom into a guest room and one into

a grand-kids room.

{no pressure kids, one grand-kid is fine right now}

I love how the room turned out!

This was all furniture that we bought when our kids were born

and it still looks good. The room is full of vintage finds and family

pieces, like the old baby buggy wheels and nursery print.  Those

hats and baby clothes were from my boys. 

The only purchase was the baby bed,

our old baby bed was a sight and we had kept it all these years.

{truth is it was cheaper to buy a bed at Ikea than fix and repaint the old one}

The yellow baby blanket was mine when I was born.

Now back to the Pinterest obsession, I have admired these two ideas on

Pinterest for quite some time and I was so happy to

incorporate them into my room along with the old books from my

kids and the chair that was my Mom's.

I know you all have seen the floating bookshelves on Pinterest a million

times, but we had an awkward corner and Mr. MySpareTime

made these beauties for next to nothing and they really make a statement.

And the ever popular Alphabet wall!

This is too damn cute and so easy to make.

{I hung all those wood and paper mache letters with Velcro!}

So I have a room already for any and all children,

we can get 4 in this room alone,

"stack them like cord wood" as my grandmother used to say!

Next time I will reveal the NEW OFFICE!

Thanks for stopping by.