Fini Friday! Studio Reorg and a Space-y New Creation!

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to Fini Friday!

I hope your week has been filled with wonderful adventures so far!

I've some fun and interesting things to show you today!

Let's check out a bit of studio reorganization first!

I brought home two of these rolling cabinets a little more than a week ago and was excited to see how they could move the progress of my studio forward! As some of you know from listening to my July BlogTalk Radio Interview, I've been looking at options in replacing my flat files (which I blogged about here). They are absolutely marvelous still and an excellent storage/work area, but I'm finding that I'm losing materials and things in the back of the files. This has become a case of having a little too much room! (I know, what a problem, huh?!) I don't have a completely coalesced vision of what will replace all of it, especially the very sturdy workspace that the top provides, but I am looking at mechanic's tool chests! I've been pondering on these for some time and I love many things about them, including the more finite space (less opportunity for 'lost' things), more storage on wheels (YAY!) and just the whimsy of having my artistic things in tool chests! Hee! So! Here is one of the rolling cabinets clean and empty (but not for long... Mwwwwhhahahahaha!!!)

The second photo shows the two cabinets and another organizer that had been languished unused and is now pressed into service all full and sitting next to those lovely flat files!

I've the bottom three drawers as well as another mostly empty, so that's progress!

Ok!  Onward to more fun stuff!

I've a new earring creation to show you!

I was playing with these bead-caps and beads and these grew up quickly!  Their title was literally singing in my head as I finished them (courtesy of the Muppet Show, let's see if you get the reference!)

Title:  Faeries In Space!

Ingredients:  Glass, lead-free pewter, metal, surgical steel earwires (hypoallergenic)

Get the reference?  The short min-series on the Muppet Show - Pigs In Space?

Anyway!  

These will be available for adoption at my show tomorrow!  

The show is just outside an independent coffee shop on the North end of Saint Paul, MN (USA)!  There will be yummy beverages and nummy treats available, most excellent art and enticing music (especially by our friend Todd Madson)!

It would be grand to see you there!

August 11th!

Saturday only!  10am to 6pm

The Coffee Grounds!

1579 Hamline Avenue North
Saint Paul, MN 55108

Have an excellent weekend!
Ciao!

Fini Friday! Ringing in for a Challenge!

Hello Everyone!
Welcome to Fini Friday! As some of you may know, Fridays are all about the creation process, particularly when I finish a creation that has been languishing in some state of growth for much too long! A 30 Day Challenge came across my email inbox a few days ago from the folks Fusion Beads in celebration of March as the Craft Month and thought it would be fun to do this! I doubt I'll be able to complete every day, as I have other things lined up for the month of March, but I'm almost always up for a challenge! The Challenge schedule is here for those that are curious! As we Challengers complete each day, we post on Fusion Bead's Facebook page, so you're welcome to check out the challenge there are well!

Ok! I've combined Day 2, 3 and 4 both because I'll be out and about this weekend and they dove-tailed nicely with my Fini Friday post! So, you'll get to see a bit of everything in this post!
Day 2 Challenge was to use leftover beads and so I have!
Title: Fascinating Ruby and Her Jewels
Ingredients: Swarovski crystals, Glass (Czech&India), brass beadcaps(USA), metal, gold-plated surgical steel earwires.

Those luscious ruby-coloured glass beads were actually hand-selected for me by a friend, who used them to wrap a birthday present a few years back now! How thoughtful!! I simply had to create something with them, and today's challenge of using left-over beads was the perfect springboard for that!

Day 3 encourages us to learn a new technique. I've chosen to expand on my wire-wrapped ring skills with this technique. The creation that unfolded also fit perfectly into Day 2's challenge of using leftover beads and Fini Friday, since I'm always on the lookout for ways to use my existing bead stash in different ways.
Title: Smoldering
Ingredients: Cut glass, Artistic Wire (permanently-coated copper wire, USA).


And last, but not least, Day 4's Challenge was Organize Your Bead Area. This fabulously fit into my ongoing Studio Reorg, so I took the opportunity to clear out another drawer in one of my Creation Cabinets!


Everything that was in the drawer found appropriate homes or were recycled and now I have another empty drawer with which to play! YAY!
So there you have it, a Ringing start (get it? A pair of earrings, a ring = ringing?) to the Challenge and a fabulous Fini Friday! WHEEE!!!
Have an awesome weekend!
See you on Magical Monday!
Ciao!
P.S. These earring and ring creations will be in my Etsy shoppe by Monday!

Fini Friday! A Small Studio Step and Playing in the Woods!

Hello Everyone!
Welcome to Fini Friday!
I hope your week was good and your weekend looking even better!! I'm pleased to say that I've finally got this cold on the run! Woooo!!!

You might recall that at the end of 2011, I started a Studio Reorg... Well, I've made another small progress step in that endeavor! I've culled and cut through the clutter on top of one of the Creation Cabinets, which I also consider my "Shipping Station". This is where I lovingly wrap the Sprite Creations for traveling via the Post to meet their people! I've refined and streamlined my system a bit over time and wanted to reclaim space for those supplies I do use and move those that I don't along to more useful climes.
Here is the before photo:


And the after:

Look at all that scrumptious space! YAY!!!!

And I have a new-to-my-Etsy-shoppe shiny to show you today!
I really enjoyed creating the Faerie Barrettes and intend to continue steadily listing them and other creations in my Shoppe!
Title: Playing in the Woods
Ingredients: Fabric leaves (treated with FrayCheck), Czech glass, permanently-coated copper wire (USA), metal barrette.

Isn't that just beautiful??? I really had a lot of fun playing with the glass beads and wire and leaves!!!
This barrette can also double as a brooch on the lapel of a shirt, blouse or jacket!! Wheeee!!!!

So, there you have it, more things of beauty to adore!! Speaking of that, I've done a good bit of work in my shoppe... changing up photos and listing some new creations... so feel free to hop on over there for a bit of Faerie Shiny Inspiration!

OK!! I don't think there could be a better start to the weekend than that, so go have fun!!!
Ciao!

Fini Friday! Studio ReOrg!

Hello Everyone!!
I hope this blog post finds you well and preparing to celebrate the ending and beginning of a year! That's what I'm doing! This post is about sharing a bit of studio life. One of the things I'm doing during these winter months and also as a clearing out and creating a-new is re-organizing the studio in little waves and baby steps. I began with just noticing what is irritating or just not working enough so that it saps my creative juices. I think there is always more of those than anyone cares to admit *grin*, especially since I tend to make a bit of a mess while I create! Next was looking around at what I have and pondering how those things are working for me... how they might work better.... how they might need to be moved out and so forth. After mulling over good ideas and suggestions from a trusted partner, I've made some changes!

I wanted a space that works for me, but also includes a new accoutrement (dolphin plasma lamp!!!!!) I picked up (click here if you're uncertain what I'm talking about...) recently.


This is one side of the space behind my desk and the reorganization is done (for now). This is where most of my tools that I use less often reside. These include my doming set, my Dremel (and bits), tools for polymer clay, paints and so on. You can see reference materials underneath including trade catalogs and that fabulous dolphin lamp just off to the side! A scanner is just on the edge there, with my Nerf gun and ammo (of course!) within easy reach!


This is the table directly behind my desk and is in mid-reorg! This will be an additional work/creation space. Most of what you see here are various beads and materials waiting to be sorted into their homes or into their next creation.
I've hardly ever had a problem with ideas for creations, so my re-organizing and much of my studio processes are focused on smoothly sorting and storing creations and materials in various stages of completion. This is to encourage me to move these bits of art along the continuum to finished, whether finished is declared when the creation is complete, when it is farther along, yet awaiting a few final embellishments or (far more rarely), when it is time to let an idea go and recapture the materials into other creations.

Which provides a fabulous segue to the final photo!

These are what I've dubbed my Creation Cabinets! All of the creations in their various stages of done-ness either are or will be in these soon. I'll have them labelled and will literally move them up from the bottom in terms of priority, which will include how-close-are-they-to-done status.
So! There you have it, a quick romp around the studio with a little bit of what-I'm-up-to thrown in for good measure!

However you celebrate the coming of a new year, Have Fun! Be Safe!
See you in the New Year!