Mom's shop is coming together.

We have been busy working on a renovation of one of our shops.  It was originally at 6ft x 10ft shed with a gravel floor.  We added a floor last year and moved stuff in.  We have been busy on lots of other projects and buildings and just recently were able to get back into our tiny wood shop.  With some great buys at our local ReStore we were able to purchase some used cabinets and sets of heavy duty drawers.  We got those installed and along with a new window and now Mom is moving in with all her tools.  Here she is working her newest project.

She is busy making tiny little fairy houses to place all over the yard.  She is using cheap bird houses from the local dollar store and left over branches from yard trimming.  We also have been stripping Alders so she is using the bark from that project too.

This is just the beginning of what is to come with these houses.  The one on the left is a finished one and the one on the right is in progress.  

Upcycle Basket Projects at our House

A friend of mine had a yard sale and ended up with some basket leftovers that he thought maybe I could use.  Well he was right.  I knew the instant I saw this one I could make something free and fabulous.  Here is the basket before its makeover

I decided it needed some plants.  I collected moss, branches, bark, dirt and some left over sedum plants that hadn't found a home in the yard yet.

I lined the bottom of the heart with a piece of bark so the dirt would stay in.  I then stuffed branches across the hearts back and forth so the plants would stay in.  I put a layer of moss and the dirt in each heart.  I spent some figuring out which plants should go where and then stuffed them in with dirt.  I surrounded all empty spots with moss from the yard to make sure nothing would fall out.  After I had everything in place I put some more branches across so the front so when I hang it up everything will stay in place.

I love how this project turned out.  It didn't cost me a thing which makes it even better.  I ended up hanging it off the porch with some zip ties.  In the end I used 5 different kinds of plants.  I just went around the yard and thinned some locations out so I could get the plants I wanted.  Looking forward to figuring out what I can make next. 

I have joined a photography club and I am having so much fun with our assignments.  The newest assignment is old structures and I can't believe how many cool  old barns are around Whatcom County.  I have been slinging my camera with me and have had awesome copilots who will swing over and let me take pictures.  It also helps a lot when they spot them too.

My Wonderful Family

My family and I had a wonderful day visiting and stopped by the lake to get some pictures.  It is a beautiful fall season around here and the photographic opportunities are endless.

We are being permitted to go Ahead!

I would like to show the future site of Creatively Happy Studio.  We finally got the permit and we are going to build a shop with a big old studio for me, parking for our motorcycles and storage for all the stuff that just doesn't fit in the house.  I am so excited to be creating my studio from scratch.  Once they have the pole building built, the family and I will go in and build a studio for us.  It will be awesome to have all my supplies in one location and room to have crafting parties.  The idea of creating however I want is a bit overwhelming but exciting all at the same time.  Now that it is a go ahead I am going to start looking at storage solutions for all the different kind of items I have.  The last place we used had everything out for us to see but sometimes I found it a little too much to work with.  Right now I am thinking of large shallow drawers so I can open them and see all different kinds of things but close them when I don't want to see them.  So many ideas, so little time.

New Supplies = New Creations

Oh, how I love new supplies.  I took a dreamy trip to the craft store and just wandered the aisles and you wouldn't believe what hoped in my cart.  The trip was originally to get some new canvas and wood frames to start some projects but my husband told me to take my time and look around.  I found so many awesome things.  I found the pearlescent powders I had wanted to try and many more things.  Here is the first of items I tried out.  This is the beginning layer of a painting I am working on.  I used some new paper I picked up, new paint color and then some of the pearl pigments.  I also tried my hand at making a resin pendant.  I used one of my original painting images, shrunk it, put in casing, added some pearl pigments and used the resin.  I am quite thrilled with the result. 

Success all the way to my Fingertips!

Now that I opened the shop I feel its good to have some items in it. I started with digital collage sheets of vintage photos.  I purchased a big lot of photos from Ebay and just love them.  Each picture feels like it has a story to tell and I want to tell it and have other people tell it.  I kinda feel sad for the families of the people in the pictures because I am some stranger that ended up with these.  Did the bloodline end?  Did somebody hoard the pictures until nobody cared or did fate just play a hand and they ended up with me to share and create with.   Some of the women are just so beautiful and serene looking.  I have played with one and created a poster and then on a few of the not so attractive women I created a witch collage sheet to post on Etsy.  I know this is just the beginning because I have this low energetic hum that tells me there is so much more to come.  I can feel success all they way to my fingertips!