Yippppeeee! It's The Where Bloggers Create Shin-Dig.... Welcome To My Studio

Hi Chickies! Oh my... I have SO looked forward to this party.... That sweet 'lil Karen over at My Desert Cottage is hosting this party for the third year. I've wanted to participate before, but my Studio (formerly known as the sewing room, but studio sounds so much fancier, don'tcha think??) just wasn't ready... well, it still isn't, but what the heck... might as well share the progress so far, right? :-)



I have lots and lots of things to finish, including a wing chair slipcover.... Pictures strategically taken to avoid the nasty thing. *wink*



I shared before that my goal was sort of a Cath Kidston look. I don't use that style anywhere else in my little cottage, so I thought it would be a happy place to "whip things up"... And there is no red anywhere else either, but I love it here.

I had already purchased a pale greenish paint for this room when my plan changed, so I just added other wall paint and craft paint to come up with this color. I LOVE it.....and..... no waste either.


Beware: Lots of pictures in this post.... and if you'd like to see bigger shots, just click on any photo.

Rather proud of these little shelves. I made them myself. :-) And, they hold lots of lots of supplies and other happy little things too.

My space is very tiny..not luxurious like so many lucky chickies have, so I have to make every little inch pay. As I've said before, nothing is very big here at the cottage.

I made my cutting table too. .... and installed a little light strip up underneath the shelf. It really helps when I'm doing one of those late night projects.



As always, I try to do everything on a dime, so nearly all the fabrics here are from the thrift store. I love the satisfaction of making something out of nothing. And, most of the doo-dads are second hand as well.

All of the eyelet was from thrift store dust ruffles. I got yards and yards of it for $3.99. Bleached, starched and ruffled......just perfect to add to lots of things.


I just couldn't get a decent picture of the darn curtains..... dang.

A studio necessity.......TV and DVD player.... It seems like I'm in here a LOT at Christmas and I love being able to watch It's a Wonderful Life, White Christmas and Holiday Inn while I'm working.


My sewing machine table used to have a drawer on the left side... I took it off so I could fit the Ikea drawer unit underneath it. Oh how I LOVE Ikea.... that little drawer unit holds so much and keeps my tools close at hand.... just above the drawers is a keyboard pull-out. I sew lots and lots of home dec projects and needed a bigger area for the weight of the fabric to rest while I sew. This does the job nicely.

Tons of baskets to hold supplies and a little, vintage shoe bag to hold "stuff"...


Another little Ikea drawer unit to hold elastic, snaps, rick rack, zippers, etc. It works perfectly.


I've had that old oak armoire forever and ever. I hide gifties in it. :-)

I bought the little magazine holders at Ikea too. They're actually still empty. I have four hundred thousand tear-outs from magazines to organize ....eventually they'll be in those holders. I've been going to do that little project every summer for the past five years........or more..... yeah, probably more!

Just smidge of fabric. Oh my.... I have bins and bins and bins of it in the garage. I have to either get rid of some of it or come up with another system for storage. I wish I had some of those great shelves like so many of you chickies have. I think I'd have to hang it from the ceiling. No more space here.

More fabric hidden under my cutting table.... well, that and our luggage. I have nowhere else to put it.

I think the little holes in the shelf make it look like eyelet. :-)


Have I mentioned that I love vintage buttons? I have soooo many of them and still keep a look out for them.

My little grandson made that little cart out of styrofoam and Popsicle sticks for me a long time ago.... It's so sweet and I save everything..........EVERYTHING he makes for me.

That shelf thingy is actually a bookcase I found for five dollars at an antique store sidewalk sale... not old, of course, but it does the job here. It doesn't have a back on it, but I stapled fabric to that back of it anyway.



The dresser was in my husband's closet when I met him. It was HIDEOUS..... and I was going to throw it out. It was on the driveway when we were moving so we could dump it.... I drove in one night and saw the darn thing in a whole new light. A bit of paint and new knobs and now I just love it. FREE! Whooopeee!




And, jars of walnut shells, lavender and flax seeds for projects.

I am CRRRRaZZZy about ribbon.... I have lots more than this. Those bins on top of the armoire? Lots of them hold ribbon... and there's more in the garage too.

My Hubbs calls me Honey Girl.... found the sticker in Hawaii last time we were there.... can you see it there?

How Cath Kidston is this rug???


I found it at the Goodwill for $3.99 and it's quite long..... It matches everything perfectly. I danced out of the store that day..... I worried that it would bleed like crazy when I washed it, but it did just fine. It's probably originally from Ikea too. :-)

I had a horrible time taking pictures, the room is so small... this shot is into the mirrored closet doors. Not a huge fan of mirrored doors, but this room doesn't get much light and I thought the reflective factor would help....

I made the desk chair slipcover too.... After seeing it in these pictures, I figured out how to fix it so it will hang straight... Wish I'd have figured that out before... Darn it all. Ya'all just pretend it's hanging right, OK?






Isn't this fabric sooooo Cath Kidston-ish? From the thrift store..... naturally. :-) And, it's originally from Ikea. Can you see the little Cath Kidston label? No, nothing about it is genuine Cath, but I bought her book and it came with a label to make a little handbag....

The sewing table was nasty wood... with a FORMICA top.... YIKES. Isn't paint just the bestestest solution? I still don't love it, but it's so much better than it was and my sewing machine fits perfectly in it.... so I'll be sticking with it, probably forever.



So, that's about it..... nothing fancy... Well, there's really nothing fancy anywhere, here at the cottage. I don't even own a serger.... but make slipcovers and other things all the time without one..... And, where the heck would I put it, if I DID have one??



I can't wait to come to visit each of you. There were so many yummy spaces last year... Such clever chickies out there in Bloggyville.



Linking to: Where Bloggers Create Thank you again Karen.... xoxox



Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home



Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring Decorating



Sherry @ No Minimalist Here


and


Beverly at How Sweet The Sound for Pink Saturday








Thanks so much for coming to visit.


Have a wonderful weekend.



Huggies,


Spencer


xoxox

Crazy Pup And Random Thoughts....

Hi Sweeties!

My crazy Ruby.... She's is such a hoot... We call her Little Crooked Face...and the Hubbs says "she'll never win Best In Show"... :-)



She does appreciate being snuggly though... It looks like she's peeved, but really she's happy..... REALLY.



I'm working away on the sewing room... Hopefully I'll have it finished by the next "Where Bloggers Create" party?? I can't even remember who hosts this little shin-dig, but I'll sure find out if I ever complete this little space.....and I do mean LITTLE!

I'm trying to find jars and vintage tins to store some of those handy, dandy supplies in....so today I popped by the Goodwill. Well, two Goodwills.. Let me tell 'ya...it was RAINING here in the Northwest today... No REALLY raining..........the kind where you can't get your wipers to swipe quickly enough??? Yeah, well, I pulled into the Goodwill and there was not a single parking place to be had.... I did the loop around the lot and still no spot so I went on to do the rest of the errands.

Thankfully the second Goodwill... (on the way home) had plenty of parking.... I have a little Goodwill routine and by the time I got to the furniture.... There was a VERY MEAN lady who got there first and had in her hot little hands a really sweet little ottoman...........I silently tried to talk her out of it so I could snatch that baby up....but she tucked it under her arm and headed for the checkout. Now, seriously, this was probably a dear woman and is going to give that little lovely a great home.... I just realllly wanted it. And. needed. it.


I did find a couple of great things though... I shouldn't complain. But, next time I'm wearing my cleats... Just kidding. I think.


The Hubbs is taking me to dinner tomorrow night..... at Ikea... ;-)

I have a smidge of shopping to do.


They have a little drawer do-hickey that will fit perfectly under my sewing table. I NEED it.


Have a wonderful day sweet chickies...


Love you alllll Lots and LOTS...


Spencer

Oh Girlies! It's Pink Saturday!!!! And, I'm A Cath Kidston Wanna Be!

 

 Hi Dear Girlies!

I hope you've been having a glorious week, and that you're warm and cozy.  I can't imagine being without power when it's soooo cold, and I've heard some folks still are.  Brrrr.

It rained a TOTAL Pacific Northwest rain today.....pouring.......and the raindrops were each the size of a golf ball.  Ok, that's only a SLIGHT exaggeration.  It was horrible.  Puddles everywhere.

Could it be on a "stay home and be cozy day"??  Oh no........it was a "have to stop six places" kind of day.  Great.

I looked like a drowned rat by the time I got home.

YIKES!

Ok, that's enough whining, don'tcha think?    :-)

  

 A while back I told you about the black tapestry chair in my sewing room and the effort to decorate around it.......Well, I just couldn't.  YUK.....So, I've decided to slipcover the chair so I can have a cheery and bright room.  YIPPEEE!

I ADORE Cath Kidston.  She has wonderful things and awesome fabrics.

However, I am on a budget and can't spend forty nine gazillion dollars on fabric and then add sixty four hundred thousand dollars more for shipping.......so I'm a girl on a mission.

DO IT ON THE CHEAP!

So, I guess we'll call the new room Cath Kidston-ISH...   :-)

  

  I dug through my fabric stash and found LOTS of fabrics that will have the Cath sort of look.......and I've been to a couple of thrift stores too.....NATURALLY!

Don't they look happy?

  

 Nope, not a Cath Kidston bowl, but it sure looks like it doesn't it?  1.99 at the thrift store....as was the little spotted (The Brits call polka dots spots, so I'm just getting in the mood)...box.  I was so excited to have found it.

  

  The green storage box is from Joann's....I need LOTS of storage. 

I'm also re-working some baskets.  I'm anxious to show you those too.  I've been collecting them for a couple of months now.  That's a whole other story....I'll try to keep the chatter on the minimal side............Ok.........that was a fib.  I HAVE to talk a lot...it's in my nature.    :-)

 

Look at this old rick rack.........isn't it divine?  Eight cents?  Isn't that hilarious?

I have some that is marked 13 cents too.

I think the old stuff is so much better than the new stuff.

Gotta love vintage.

So, I'm pretty well stocked up on supplies for all of my sewing.

And, I did finish the slipcover for my desk chair.

I'll be showing that to you really soon.

It was a trial, but I prevailed.

Have a wonderful and blessed weekend Sweet Chickies!

Huggies and Lovies,

Spence

PS

Lots more delicious pinks at www.howsweetthesound.typepad.com

www.howsweetthesound.typepad.com 

Thanks again Beverly for hosting!

Miss Beverly's just had her gall bladder removed. 

OUCH!

Please send her get well wishes!

xoxoxoxo

Don'tcha Just LOVE Cath Kidston?

Oh YUMMMM!  I LOVE Cath Kidston!

Isn't it just sooo happy?

I searched for the "SEW" book for my daughter for Christmas....yep, she's a big fan too!

I actually ended up ordering it from England.  Whew, that shipping'll kill 'ya!  So, as long as I'm paying that dasterly shipping, I might as well order two, right?

So I ordered one for me too!    :-)

It actually came with a little smidge of fabric to make that little tote on the front cover.

Gotta love that!

My sweet daughter couldn't leave it at that, of course......so she ordered MAKE! too.....

Did she order one for me?  Nah.........none for her Mama!     :-(

That's perfectly OK with me.....I want her to SAVE her money....(hear me honey??)

So many cute ideas AND patterns in both of them.

I have an old upholstered chair.......black tapestry.  I couldn't bear to part with it because it was my Mum's.........it's in my sewing room.  It looks soooooo horrible in there...it doesn't match anything!

But, I've been moving things from the den to start the re-do there and that's the ONLY place it would fit.  Remember, the Cottage is eensie beensie!

I bought fabric in a black and ivory ticking to re-do the curtains and some other things in there, trying to tie the whole thing together........I haven't even cut anything out yet and already I HATE it all.  How can I be tired of something I haven't even made yet?  Crazy.  It's just not happy enough for my taste!

So, I've decided I'm going to slipcover that little chair.  (It's a wing chair and I've never tackled one before).  And then..............it's going to be cheery and Cath Kidston Style!

I can hardly wait.  I think I'd love to be in there if it's all bright and cutsie, right?

Just one more thing on my agenda of things I need to accomplish.  YIKES!

As always, more projects than time.

***********

Now, my sweet and wonderful girlies.......I'm gearing up for my one year anniversary of blogging.

January 23!

I actually signed up for my account months before I blogged.  I had to think about it for a bit, you know.   :-)

A whole year?

Yep, that deserves a little celebration.

So be watching Saturday......I'm thinking a giveaway is in order.

Big hugs to you dear ones!

Huggies and Lovies,

Spencer