Thursday, July 11, 2013

Where Bloggers Create 2013

Hello, and thanks for stopping by! My name is Sue and I love mixed media art, particularly any venue that uses vintage photos, lace, fabrics, buttons, ribbons, papers, and well, you name it! I enjoy using any kind of timeworn materials and giving them a new life in my art.

Welcome to my creative space! This is a first for me, so most of all, many thanks to Karen Valentine at My Desert Cottage for putting this together for all of us. You can click on the "Where Bloggers Create 2013" button near the top of my sidebar to reach all of the other bloggers who are participating in this event.

Come on in...

My space is in one of our attic bedrooms.
I am very fortunate to have a space that is about 700 square feet.
It is here that I get away with displaying my chippy paint belongings,
which would likely not fly with my husband in the rest of the house!
This room also doubles as a third guest room when we need it.


Though this room has two windows, there are a lot
of trees outside, so I don't get much light.
I try to use accent lighting wherever I can.
My husband also installed track lighting over
the work table, which you will see later.


This is an old dressing table and mirror,
repurposed as my sewing table...


The dormer window houses my computer, desk, and printer.
Sorry for the bad lighting...


In the dormer space I also keep my inspiration board
that displays recent finds in the way of vintage photos...


Meet Miss Grace.
She bears that name for two reasons.
She is named after my mother, 
and the name suits a lady wearing a collection
of vintage rosary beads. 
To her right are a couple of bins
that store scrapbook paper... 


I have a lot of shelving in this room. It is mostly composed of
those cheap little two-shelf units that you can get in WalMart
or any office supply store, and they have been added to over time.
In some areas I stacked them upon each other,
and in some areas I did not... 



This section of shelving below is backed with shelving
of the same size, and it divides the right side
of the room in half to maximize storage space,
and make the room a little cozier.
I have a lot of art stamps stored
in large plastic box frames.
They are grouped and labeled by category.
Books and magazines are stored on each shelf
next to the trays of stamps.
I also collect old books that have interesting
pages. You see some of them on the floor,
here used for pressing flowers!
The covered photo boxes on the floor to the left
house part of my collection of vintage photos,
grouped by subject, such as girls, women,
babies, families, etc.
The tin boxes on the top of the shelves
house unmounted stamps...


Below is the reverse side of the shelving you saw above.
I'm sorry to say that this is the junk that you see when you
enter the room. Here I store everything from fabric collage books
to gardening and computer books.
You can also see my little Janome sewing machine,
which I sometimes take when I am away from home...


Below are a couple more photos of the other side of
this shelving...


To the far right of this section are yet more boxes of vintage photos.
I guess we all have our weak points!


Below are some freestanding stock cabinets.
If you can believe that I have even more "stuff" than you have
already seen, here is where it is hidden in all of its messy glory!
Inside of the larger cabinets I store painting materials,
and larger gadget-type stuff.
I once attempted to get rid of all plastic storage,
but it never happened.
The little drawers on top house ink pads,
card stock, pens, markers, and glitters...


The drawers in the above cabinets hold fibers...


...various embellishments...


...and other things that I can never seem to find a
real home for...


To the side of the entrance to the room
is this old hutch, used to store ribbons, fabrics,
lace hankies, and other pretties.
One of these days I will add the rest of the glass
handles that I bought many moons ago!
On the left side are a couple of round hat boxes
 that hold my vintage glove and millinery collections.
Gertrude, or what's left of her,
reclines on top alongside a
vintage sewing machine.



Here is some more plastic drawer storage,
in which I keep glues, stencils,
and envelopes in various sizes...
                                                                   

Another view of my small sewing machine
and photo storage boxes.
Also some old dishes for "future" art
projects...


A close-up of the photo storage...


On the trunk at the foot of the bed, seen earlier, are two covered
boxes (the kind that you can pick up at Michael's for a song).
In the first are more vintage photos, but organized in zip lock bags
by subject so that I can pull them all together easily if I want to
do a themed project. The ones below are part of my collection
of patriotic photos...


...and the box below it stores my vintage lace...


And below, my friends, is the junkiest part of
this space. It stands between a pine hutch,
and the white cabinets you saw earlier.
It is stacks of plastic boxes that store
ribbons, beeswax materials, and a lot
of old jewelry pieces that I bought for
a song on eBay and have not yet had a
chance to use.
You will also see two rolling carts from
the laundry department of WalMart.
Sometimes I roll them over the the work
table for easy access to frequently used
items. This room has no closet, so one of
these days I am going to hang a rod from the
hutch to the sloped wall above the cabinets
and cover this mess with a curtain!


What would a studio be without some of our favorite collections?
Whether we use them in projects, or just stare at them and love them,
we all need them. Here are a few of mine.
Trinkets...
     

Baby shoes...


Chippy stuff and salvage,
stored in a large old wire basket
recently named "The Salvage Saloon",
just waiting to be used in assemblage projects...


Old books...


Old millinery...


Vintage gloves...


Victorian photo albums...


Inspiration for assemblage...


Beautiful papers...


Lovely old buttons...


Vintage wedding photos and
gorgeous old sheet music...


Who doesn't love ballerinas?...


I try to keep some inspiration on the work table...



And things gathered together to take on the next trip...


...along with stuff already packed in bags...


I like to keep frequently-used materials easily
reachable on the work table...


And if you've made it this far,
here is the big picture!...



I can't thank you enough for spending this time with me. I hope that I can visit your work space soon! Have a creative day!
                                                                                                                                         

37 comments:

  1. Hi Sue, You've got a great space with lots of storage for all your wonderful supplies. Your vintage photo collection is just amazing and I certainly love your button jars and the lace.
    Thank you for sharing your studio with us.
    Have a great weekend!
    Hugs,
    Julia

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  2. Hi Sue
    I'm so glad we have been invited to your wonderful space!
    It is HUGE! You lucky girl! And you have a most wonderful collection of vintage "stuff", including beautiful photos, cabinet cards, milinery, buttons, fabrics and books!
    You can never have enough shelving and storage as you well know.
    The view out into the garden must also be absolutely amazing if you have some very large trees outside your window!
    Don't forget to enter my Giveaway on my WBC post!
    Hugs and have a lovely weekend,
    Suzy

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  3. Wow...This is what i have been looking for and you have done a great job. I am glad to read your post Sue. Thanks for sharing.
    Scrapbooking Stores

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  4. Fabulous space Sue -- I'm envious - I think it would be wonderful to spend time there, surrounding by the things you love, creating things of beauty! xo

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  5. Sue, you're so lucky to have so much space! Now I know why you call it your "perch." I'll bet you spend hours in there... great collections! Thank you for letting me peek into your space. :-)

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  6. Nice to visit Miss Grace and your Attic Studio! You have some lovely old collections!

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  7. love your attic room... fabulous collections and organisation... just beautiful

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  8. What a beautiful space to get creative in!!! Love the baby shoes, your collection of buttons, "the old hutch" with the antique sewing machine that set atop of it!.. Thanks for the tour, and hope you're enjoying your weekend! ~tina

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  9. I enjoyed peeking into your studio – you have a lovely creative space filled with real treasures for creating. Cheers from Singapore.

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  10. What a wonderful space- so many lovely trinkets to look at! Love all of your collections!

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  11. what a lovely space to create in! I love those tiny frozen charlotte dolls, and you have some fabulous old photos as well!
    Cerri

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  12. such a wonderful creative space, sue! you must enjoy every minute in there:_ love your sweet grace dressform, too!

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  13. I really enjoyed visiting. You really captured the feel of the room. Made me want to step into the photos cup of tea in hand and nose around your fabulous chippy paint and vintage goodies!

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  14. What guest wouldn't want to claim this room as theirs to stay in when they visit?! I can just see myself working away into the wee hours of the morning trying not to wake the rest of the household! Or perhaps you would be creating next to me? LOL Such a great space filled with lots of eye candy. I was tickled when I spied the Janome sewing machine. I bought one of the tiny ones to use until I get a "big girl" one. Thanks for sharing!!

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  15. You've carved out a nice space for yourself, Sue! I'd love to be able to look through all those books you've got!

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  16. Thanks for stopping by my creative space and leaving me such a sweet comment. I love your space and am envious that you have an attic studio. I have always wanted an attic space. Love your vintage mannequin and your old books. Thanks for sharing.

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  17. I want to come and visit! Then I can stay up all night and look at all of your pretty collections and play with all of your fun toys! Beautiful.... I love how you used a vintage vanity for your sewing machine! Beautiful space.... Thank you so much for sharing and I cannot wait to come and sign your guest book in person ;) Take care.

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  18. I too have a "Salvage Saloon" like that. I love all the vintage goodies you have, such fun. Thanks for sharing your space!

    Becky @ Vintage 541

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  19. I cannot wait to come and visit! I will stay up all night and look at all of your pretties and then I will play with all of your crafty toys! I love your use of a vintage vanity for your sewing machine! Beautiful... thank you so much for sharing and am looking forward to singing your guest book in person ;) Take care!

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  20. Hi Sue. Thank you for sharing your lovely and roomy creative space. How fun it would be to be the guest staying in that room. I'm pretty sure there would be no sleeping that night.
    And thank you for stopping by my studio and sharing your design advice. I appreciate it.
    ~Elizabeth

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  21. Hello Sue, I love your studio space. You have so many wonderful collections. I especially love the vintage lace and buttons. I am sure you could create something beautiful with them. My mother's name is Phoebe, so I was struck by your blog title. Thank you so much for visiting my studio!

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  22. Such a nice large space and so much to see! I really like Miss Grace! Thanks so much for the tour!
    Thank you for your visit!
    Chrislyn

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  23. I love you space so much, you have lots of room to create what a beautiful place to be in. thank you for sharing

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  24. Wow, such a wonderful large space. I love all the vintage things you have. Thanks for sharing!

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  25. THanks for your visit and for sharing your space with us Grace. What a lovely large room you have. Such a lot of goodies to drool over. hugs Sharon

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  26. Stunning space that you have here Sue, so lucky that you could add the vintage feel to your room, love it, TFS
    smiles
    Paola

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  27. Wow, what a huge and wonderful space you have to create in! I love all the vintage, especially your "Salvage Saloon"! Of course I do love your dress form Miss Grace and the Victorian photo albums! Awesome, thank you so much for the tour of your lovely home Sue!

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  28. Wow! Huge space! I also have a Grace mannequin. Thanks for sharing.
    Breana

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  29. Your creative space is lovely. You have everything so nicely organized. I enjoyed seeing all of your bins. Thanks for visiting my space.

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  30. Hi Sue!! Your creative space is just lovely!! I am so glad you joined the party this year and I hope you will come back and do it again next year!!
    xo,
    Karen

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  31. NICE attic space! It my hope one day to have an attic work space to call my own! Hugs! http://connell-crafts.blogspot.ca/

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  32. Hi Sue - Thank you for stopping by my studio and for your nice comments. I enjoyed touring your lovely space. Lots of great storage and so organized.

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  33. Hi, Sue!

    Thank you for taking the time to visit my studio. I love your blog and your studio. Your space is wonderfully large!

    Happy blogging!
    Terry

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  34. Thanks for popping by, Love that row of buttons in the jars. Gorgeous tidy large space, your shabby chic pieces are wonderful. Keep smiling and creating, thanks for sharing.

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  35. Wow your room is bigger then I thought it was going to be. Nice arrangement. Love the bed!

    hugs
    cindy@stitches

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  36. Your art studio is fabulous. I love all of your collections-the baby shoes and vintage photos are especially wonderful!!! Thanks so much for sharing your creative space.

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  37. Looks like you have every bit of vintage loveliness one's heart could desire in that great studio of yours. thanks for the tour! I am a new follower here.

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Thank you for taking the time to comment on this post!