Storage Solutions

I am still busy unpacking and "downsizing" my stuff but it sure is hard trying to get rid of things when I have spent years picking them up in thrift shops.  Last week I was looking around on Kijiji for some storage options and I was lucky enough to find a woman selling a 4 piece wall unit.  She was so proud of her units telling me she had purchased them in 1983 for a grand total if $1,400.00.  She was willing to part with the whole lot for $250 so my hubby and I loaded them up and brought them home (with some help of course).  We immediately got to work to transform with chalk pain and moldings.  We decided we would turn them into built ins to add some extra strength and we only used two pieces, the other two are waiting for their re-do in another room. 

 I'm really happy with how it turned out and I love how chalk paint allows you to paint shiny old veneers without sanding or priming.  I guess it's how I get my kicks these days!

Still Settling In!

Still getting settled at the new homestead.  Downsizing has been a whole new thing for me, I'm usually up sizing and dragging new things home all the time....like the ever expanding fabric stash that has now completely taken over.
It's been very busy and hectic since arriving at our new location.  Super challenging to move into a house with no linen cupboard and no coat closet.  The main bathroom had zero storage as well so I have been a regular at the local Habitat for Humanity ReStore.  Thank Goodness for that place!!!
Because of the ReStore, I now have lots of cupboards and a nice vanity in the bathroom albeit a lot of elbow grease was required to make it work but with some sweat and a little skill on our part my husband and I were able to accomplish a lot in a short period of time.

I recently took a painting class focused on the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint line of products.  I love painting with chalk paint but I cannot lie...her products are expensive and I am not above trolling around on Youtube to learn how to make my own home made version...which is exactly what I did!
I did however buy her dark wax and used it to age and give some patina to the cupboard pictured below.
 

The vanity pictured here was an amazing find. It included a beautiful KOHLER Sink and set of taps but was in need of and update and some feet.  It was a super satisfying project that proved my Hubby and I still work well as a team even after all these years.

 The resulting bathroom mini renovation gave me a very vintage, flea market chic kinda feel to the room perfect for hanging up a bunch of my thrift shop finds in.



 I have NO IDEA how I am ever going to tackle my studio space!  We still have some of my boxes to come into the house from a storage unit and all that is left are boxes marked "Studio"...oh dear...I guess I'll be hanging around the ReStore some more! 

Moving on and Big Changes happening!

Well I am finally free of my day job!  Finished there on Tuesday and am now a Self Representing Fiber Artist....officially.  The birds are singing, the sun is shining and all is good in the world.
My husband and I have a big move coming up next month...we are moving up north to a rural location on 5 acres and I am finally going to get my studio space.  My Etsy shop has been temporarily suspended and I will be re-listing my work after I have unpacked from the move...so keep an eye out for that.  The area that I am moving to has a very active artistic community with lots of opportunity to attend sales and farmers markets so I may be selling more goods in person rather than online until I can get my stock built up next winter.

I have not been able to produce as much of my work in the past few months as I would have liked..the job got in the way.  It was a physical job sorting goods for a big thrift chain store...I sorted 2 to 2 and half thousand pounds of "stuff" a day.  Dirty grubby work.  I was shocked at times with the things people would donate....a couple of months ago I got and urn with heavy ashes in it...I am pretty sure someone was in there!  Lots and lots of really bad crap...a word for those of you who donate to these places...if you wouldn't want to buy it at your local thrift store don't bother donating it...they have to toss it anyway. Your not doing anyone any favors by donating your old burnt, disgusting frying pan or Grandmas old written on greeting cards.  From someone who dealt with the stuff everyday...send the gross stuff to the dump please.

Now instead of the view of the back of a dirty production room...this is the view that I will be looking at!  I will be soaking in the wildlife and gently prodding my husband to get working on a Grow-dome for me to putter in.

I can only hope the scenery will fuel my creativity...I don't have to hope..I know it will.

As for my Blog...I will be making a commitment to Blogging at least once a week from our Muskoka paradise when I get all set up in late June.  You can hold me to it if I don't!

Adjusting My Attitude.

Well, here it is.  The first day of 2013...the year I will turn 50...yikes, that's a big number.  It's a big number but a good number and it would seem to me that it would be a good time to really work on adjusting my attitude.  As you can see in the picture above, I was gifted a new iPhone for Christmas by my Husband.  I was not expecting it and it took me a second or two to realize what he had given me...the face does not lie.  I have since had my brain pulled and stretched in many directions while my daughters try to drag me into the present and teach me the ins and outs of this technology. 
My intention this year is to focus more of my time on my artwork and to expand my Etsy business.  I love Etsy and the Etsy community of artists and really want to grow and learn more about being a successful Seller on that site. 

I love being creative and love working with recycled and upcycled fabrics, this I know....but I really have a need to work on a more positive outlook and drawing only the best and most positive of experiences to myself....so that is the one and only resolution I will make for this year...the weight on my body will be what it will be....I don't smoke so that's not a resolution I need to make....I don't gamble or drink too much....I am a pretty solid citizen in the grand scheme of things but I really need to keep a positive mind set and look on the bright side of things....you know, count my blessings and have an ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE.....and that is my pledge for this year!
Happy New Year to all who read this post and I wish only the best for you all!

Christmas is almost here...and the end of the world?

 Five more days until Dec. 21st, 2012....is it the end?..I don't think so but I did make a pilgrimage to Chichen Itza with my husband in February of 2011 to check things out. It was a "Bucket List" trip for me, I had always wanted to see the Mayan pyramids for myself.  An older Mayan gentleman who was selling souvenirs assured our tour group that the world would go on business as usual on the 22nd of Dec. 2012, just the end of and age, not the end of it all.  I am taking his word for it and carrying on as usual...if it's meant to be over and done with, I hope I can still make my crafty stuff on the other side!

 Here is our tree all set and ready to go.  It seems that the Holidays are a lot more low key around here than they used to be.  The kids have grown up as I mentioned in an earlier post on the Blog.  I guess we are in an in between time before they start getting married and having babies...I for one am enjoying the relative quiet.  I have been making a stack of rag rugs, it seems to be my favorite thing to do right now when not at my day job. 

I have also been trying hard to come up with a shortbread recipe that tastes like my Father in Laws.  Since he passed away I have tried to make his shortbread in order to keep my husband and kids happy.  This year I think I have come really close...not quite exactly the same but very close!  Here is the recipe in case you want to try it....Shortbread...1lb. of butter softened, 1 cup rice flour, 3/4 cup of icing sugar, 3 cups of flour.  
I used my mixer with a dough hook to blend the ingredients together and then pressed the dough out onto my granite counter top making it about 3/4 of an inch think, I then cut it into bars and used a fork to make the holes in the top of the bars.  I baked the bars at 325 degrees F until they just started to turn a golden color.  I sprinkled the tops of the bars with some regular granulated sugar.
I really wish I had a shortbread mold but my Sister in Law inherited his molds so I am going to have to keep my eyes open for a good old Scottish Shortbread Press.   The bars turned out very flaky, it just melts in your mouth!  The holes help to bake the bars but they also help to make an even break when you you snap them in half.  I will be making my 3rd batch today because it is just not lasting around the house....I do really think I am close to Jack's shortbread...maybe he is helping me out with it, I'd like to think so.
Anyway...Merry Christmas to all and Happy New Year too....I hope to see you all in 2013....if the world doesn't end.

Anyone for a "Sandwich"?

Hi all, I have been busy this week working on my Etsy shop and making new projects, taking photo's, cooking and baking and walking my dogs.  What a great week off!  I must soon face the reality of getting myself to my "day job" but I have had a blast.  Late last night I finished a new tote bag that I began to work on earlier in the week and I love how it turned out.

 I am defiantly going to try to make more like this this winter.

 I am still waiting to find somewhere at home for studio space...I am spread all over the house!  With kids who are on the verge of beginning their lives away from home we are in a fuzzy transition time around here....they don't want to be here anymore...trying to spread their wings....my husband and I are patiently waiting  things out but it feels like we are in a holding pattern. 

It's funny how life goes.  The kids want to be out on their own and "free" and just when we think we may be free too we have other responsibilities that crop up. 
I believe it is called "The Sandwich Generation"....."The Sandwich generation is a generation of people who care for their aging parents while supporting their own children."

We didn't really see it coming five years ago but here it is...I now understand where white hair comes from...my hubby and I are sprouting a good crop of it each!

So for now, I will tear sheets apart and crochet, crochet, crochet!  Thank goodness for etsy, pinterest, facebook, stumbleupon and all the other places I go to feed my artists heart...it is keeping me sane....well sort of......

Just joined Bloglovin! Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Hey, I am excited to have just found Bloglovin.  I am thrilled to be able to find blogs that inspire me!

Time flies when you have to work!

I am neglecting this blog and that is not my intention.  I have been working at my "day job" and I am spread pretty thin with my need to make things with my hands and my need for rest.  The blog suffers.  I have been busy making new things however and so I am going to share some new pics!

 This a rug I just listed on my Etsy page, the dogs love these rugs, so cozy.  The bag below was made a few days ago and is also for sale online, I am so tempted to keep it, I love the colors.

This rug was made for me...I needed something for the front entry and I worked on it while watching a couple of season's of Dexter....one of my new favorite TV shows...I am also loving Boardwalk Empire.  I guess if  I wasn't watching TV I would be updating this blog!

I have been working to re-stock my Etsy page...I tried a year of selling on Artfire and had dismal sales.  Just a few things but defiantly not worth all the work.  I am hoping success will follow where my attention goes so I am spending lots of time on Etsy.  I really love to see all of the work that everyone is doing out there online.  It is so inspiring to me.  Pinterest has also become a new time sucker...but I love it as well.   Thank goodness my kids are grown...they would be having to drag me away from the computer is they were little ones!

Getting back to it.

This is my first Blog post of 2012.  I got away from Blogging, life was busy and new distractions have come along...Pinterest for one!  I have been busy working away in my free time on making rag rugs and posting them to my Artfire and Etsy accounts. 

As I continue to work on my craft my rugs get better and better and my skill is improving.  I am loving the process of making these rugs.  It actually gets kinda meditative...with interruptions by my Shih Tzu's wanting in and out of the back door.

I've been playing around with making bags as well.  They are fun and funky looking and quite sturdy. 
With my youngest heading off for her second year at College, I can only see this becoming more and more of an obsession....that's OK, it keeps me out of the Malls!

Loving having a week off!

I arranged to take a week off work and I am smack in the middle of it right now.  My hubby took the time off too and agreed to take me gallivanting for a day or two an hour and a half away from home to visit the Kitchener/Waterloo area.   We made a few stops in the village of St. Jacobs (I have blogged about this little jewel of a spot in the past) and I found a treasure or two as seen in these pics.

Here is my Hubby with a neat old stove.  Just after we walked away from taking this shot it was scooped up and carried off by a gentleman who seemed thrilled to get it.

After making a few small purchases, we heading in to down town Kitchener to seek out a little shop I had heard of.  It's called "Rare Funk" and it is a dynamic little place that represents Canadian Artists.  Here is the link to check it out http://www.rarefunk.ca/
I loved it so much I am going to place some of my work in the shop ASAP!  You can take a virtual tour of this super spot by following this link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkP8zJ5Ajc0

Bye the way, the silver hand came home with me and I love it!!!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!  I am finally not alone on this night for the first time in years....my hubby is shelling out treats at the door while I corral our two Shih Tzu's!  The weather is good for the kids tonight, chilly but not too cold.  They all look super cute and are having a blast.  Our own kids have all grown up and now use this occasion to have a few drinks and get silly!

I have been busy ripping up sheets for the last two days...I need to fill a big basket with rag yarn to keep me busy by the fire now that the cool weather is here.  I am looking forward to getting lots of projects finished this winter!  I do love the fall!!!

Been a long time since I Blogged.

 Hello all!  It's been many months since I took the time to blog and for that I am truly sorry.  I have missed putting my latest projects out there for all to see.  A few months ago I was hit with a compulsion and a passion for making paper beads.  For a couple of weeks it was all I could do in my spare time! 
I went "full time" at my place of work just over three months ago and it has seriously cut into my creative time.  I am hoping to fall into a smoother routine this fall in order to accommodate the time I need for my crafting....no the time I MUST spend crafting.....if I don't take the time I need I do become a very crabby girl indeed.

 I am also feeling a little reflective these days....my youngest daughter is off to college in one week.  I cannot lie...I have shed some tears already.  Today we went to Walmart with all the other parents and dropped a wad of cash on school supplies.  She is chomping at the bit to go and experience life on her own far from Mom and Dad.  I am happy to have not raised a timid, frightened child but one who wants to spread her wings!  I send her off with some of these beauties but she won't wear 'em.  My youngest is a bit of a Tomboy, more interested in a rousing game of "Assassin's Creed" on her Playstation than a few paper bead bracelets!

Need time to be creative or I get a little EDGY!!!

I am working on a rug right now that is made with felted sweaters. 

I have sooooo many wool sweaters that I picked up in thrift shops over the last few years.  I have really been feeling the burden of having too much stuff lately but I can so relate to the poor souls on the Hoarding TV shows.  I just can't seem to part with any of my precious stuff!  So what I have decided to do with some of the sweaters is to cut them into one inch wide chunky "yarn" and crochet them into a rug.  The rug is working up really fast due to the size of the material and the large hook. I don't know what I am going to do with it when it is done.  My dogs really like it and want to lay down on it every time I put it on the floor.  Maybe I should market these things as dog beds?  I could just picture a big old Lab curled up on one!  I have done this before on a smaller scale.  See this post http://mypennyheaven.blogspot.com/2010/08/another-visit-to-kniterary.html .  I just really needed to get working on something....I find that I get edgy or crabby or whatever you wanna call it if I don't have a project on the go.  Must use up the Hoard!!!!!

Hot Pads 4 Ways and Hoarding Tendencies.

I've been playing around with smaller projects lately.  Hot pads are nice and quick to make compared to working on a rug night after night in front of the TV.  Sometimes it is hard to know when a rug is done....sometimes it is done when I have had enough of it and just want to move on already!!!
 I have also been having a little struggle with my craft supply hoard.  I am not sure if it is a bout of Spring Cleaning or just a desire to lighten up my life from clutter and excess baggage.  It is a real dilemma when you love to do crafty things and you need to have lots of different materials on hand and at the ready.  Linked below is a very interesting little article that I recently read that makes a correlation between having less stuff and being more secure with who you are.  I can defiantly relate to the notion that people with a lot of stuff are prone to hoarding disorders......hmmmm...food for thought.
http://www.disinfo.com/2011/03/the-more-secure-you-feel-the-less-you-value-your-stuff/

Rolled Roses

Hello...had to cool my heels today to wait for a repair man.  It was my day off so I decided to spend some time playing around with fabric.  I have always wanted to try these Rolled Roses and I have LOTS of cotton sheets that are already ripped and rolled into rag yarn so I got my glue gun out and made these pretty flowers.
When the repair man is finished I will be free to run out to get some elastic....I am going to make some headbands for my girls.  I will post pics when they are done!  Hope you are having a great day!!!

Here are the pics of the finished headbands.

My Pumpkin Bathroom has a new resident!

My Dog "Corrie" and my latest rug.

I finished my latest rag rug last night. It is approx. 4 ft x 3 ft in size....I can't find my measuring tape so I am guessing.  It was made using some sheets that I picked up at a local Salvation Army Store.  It will need to lie on the floor for a while to get it to lay flat....I am still learning how to get the stitches just right in order to get a perfectly flat rug. 

I found this Boy yesterday at the Thrift store where I work!  I hemmed and hawed before deciding to bring him home.  He is an unsigned little oil painting and the price was right..less than the cost of a magazine.  I just couldn't leave this painting behind, the colors were so perfect for my little powder room that I just painted.  I love to pick up things that make me laugh...this little guy with a butt hanging out of his mouth is just so funny to me.  So politically incorrect!  I will have to come up with some kind of important lesson to tell my future Grandchildren about the horrors of smoking or something like that to justify this boy living in my Bathroom!  My husband hasn't noticed him yet...I don't think he will be impressed! LOL!!!

Nice old sign and a weekend well spent.

 

This old sign was an Ebay purchase that I made a few years ago when I was really diggin' Ebay and spending a lot of time on it.  It is a wooden sign, nice and old and chippy.  I am pretty sure that it once lived on a post in a train yard.  My guess is that it was used to measure the length of a train in the yard.....the sign would indicate where there was 110 cars?  Does that make sense?  Anyway it is nice and rusty and looks like it saw lots of weather so I like it!  

I finally got around to painting my powder room on the main floor this past weekend!  We moved in to the house we are in now three years ago.  It was a new build and is an awesome house but it is taking me a lot longer to paint it than I had anticipated.  10 years ago I would have painted it non stop until it was done but the old body AND my old mind just can't seem to move to the pace that it used to. 


I found what I like to call a "Boo Boo" can of paint at the local do it center for 9 bucks so it seemed to be the time to "get 'er done" as they say. 

It's a warm Pumpkin Pie kinda color and I like it.  My daughters think it looks like "POO" and will get you in the mood to use the room for it's intended purpose.  Whatever I can do to help......LOL!

Another Sign from my Travels...and by travel I mean buzzing around near home....

This is my big "D".  I found this wonderful thing at a local hole in the wall Flea Market not far from my house....I always think of that particular place as a crummy Flea Market but I really shouldn't however because I have found a couple of really great treasures there.  I was told by the vendor that this "D" came from a Denny's sign that was on a restaurant in Saskatchewan.  If that is true, it is far from home. When I haggled with him I got the impression that he was glad to be rid of it and he let me have it for $20.00  It is a beautiful thing in deep orange Plexi glass with a metal frame that is nice and chippy ( the paint is half chipped off).  Apparently Denny's moved on to a new logo design with a simpler "D".  Too bad because I love the little curly cue! It has no relevance to our family name but if anyone asks what it stands for, I can come up with any number of answers....D for Duh!....D for Dinner....D for Don't ask me what it stands for!   I am carefully guarding my "D" these days because my middle daughter, Morgan, is dating a guy whose surname begins with a "D" and he has had his eyes on my sign!!  He will have to be VERY good to my girl for me to even consider letting him have it!

Signs, Signs, Everywhere a Sign....more of my Favorite Things.

There is a list of things that I have a "Thing" for....old wooden picture frames, vintage buttons, little chairs, original paintings found in thrift shops, and Signs.  The frame thing really drives my husband crazy because there is quite a stack of them in the basement and he just doesn't "get it".  But the signs, he seems to be able to handle.  He hasn't really been vocal about them anyway.

This is probably my favorite sign and something that I would want to grab if the house caught fire.  It is an old street sign and is double sided and looks exactly the same on the other side with big black hooks where it hung from a bracket outside of a salon.  I found it in a little town I used to live in, Almonte, in the Ottawa valley back around 1997.  It was in a big barn that was chocked full of auction and estate stuff and the old guy who ran the place was a gruff man named Gary who went around the store leaning one leg on a little scooter/skateboard type thing because he was loosing bits of one leg a piece at a time.  I saw this sign and fell in love with it immediately.  I had been a hairdresser back when I was first in the working world (still have my license but have not worked in a salon for years).  He wanted $35.00 for the sign and I just did not have the money but was hoping and praying that the sign would still be there when I was able to get the money together.  A week or so later I went back ( I think I took it out of the grocery money, an old trick that I learned from my Mother) and to my dismay, the sign was gone! Gary told me an Interior Designer from Ottawa had come in a bought it!  I was shattered and went home with my head hanging low.  Weeks later on Christmas morning when all of the other presents had been opened by my three daughters and the frenzy of the moment had subsided, my oldest daughter, Lauren, came into the room with a large square wrapped package.  I had absolutely no clue what it was.  When I tore the corner of the paper I knew immediately and I broke down in tears....no Diamonds to make me happy, old signs will do it for me anytime!!!  My husband had done one of the nicest things he has ever done for me and my little girls had managed to keep it a surprise for weeks! I love you guys....Thanks for understanding me!

Some of my Favorite Things

I thought I'd share today some of my favorite things today.  We are snowed in here, just like a lot of people in North America and I have been told to stay home from work.  A good day to spend online!
I love to shop in thrift shops and at flea markets.  Unfortunately where I live there is limited choice of good places to go to find the types of things I love.  I am envious of  those of you who live in the States.  It seems to me from surfing the net and reading articles in magazines that you have a much more varied and rich supply of places to hunt for "Junk" and vintage collectibles.
Here in Canada it's like searching for the holy grail.  Everyone seems to be on the same hunt and you really have to be in the right place at the right time to find what you are looking for.

   This soldier boy was found at the Aberfoyle Flea Market near Guelph, Ontario.  I just had to have him.  When I was a teenager, I was an Air Cadet.  I met my husband in the Air Cadets and our daughters all did time in the program.  the uniform this WW2 soldier is wearing is  pretty much the same uniform that the Air Cadets in Canada wear today.

The log cabin quilt was made by me back in the late 90's when I was at home with my children and running a home daycare.  I shopped for wool skirts in thrift shops and was usually able to pick them up for a dollar or two each, can't do that now, prices have gone up!  The quilt on top is one that I picked up at Value Village approx. 3 years ago.  It is in fabulous condition and was lovingly hand made by someone very talented.

This painting was another Thrift shop find and I was able to pick it up for $3!  The colors are very funky and it sits proudly on coat rack shelf in the foyer of my home.  It measure 3ft across and 1ft in height.

.Just a few things that I love.  I will post more pics of some of my favorite finds soon! Keep warm everyone!