From the Bird's Nest

The week of Thanksgiving I took my Mom to see my little Bird's Nest and there was a package at my door from my landlord. I put it on my work table and didn't get a chance to look at it until today! I am telling you, I have the best landlord at my studio ever! This is the second pack of goodies she has left me and they are right up my alley. Honestly, you couldn't give me anything better. I love photos and ephemera of any sort. Julie, if you are reading this, you rock!

Here is a sneak peak...This was in there and is one of my favorites, he may get framed in a tiny little frame and put on the wall, the only marking he has is copyright 1881 - I super love him!

The one thing this box of tricks has inspired me to do is get my scanner working again. For some reason when I plug my printer/scanner/copier in, my computer can't find it. I need to reload the disc but first I need to locate the disk.

Anyway, just wanted to share my treasures. I feel like the luckiest girl on the planet and can't wait to get some studio time next weekend to really dig in.

One more thing, one of the best things about making books is you always have random book pages laying around. Why not use those pages for something fun like snowflakes? Wish I would have thought of this sooner, I would have made some to decorate my little tree.

Well, off to do some more work now. 2 more days until Christmas!

I Love Surprises!

I had not been to the Bird's Nest in a while (aka my studio) and had lots to drop off there so decided to pop in after work.

When I arrived at my tiny little barn doors there was a cool paper flour bag at my feet with a note on top.

The note was from my studio landlord Julie and the bag was filled with vintage photos! I am so excited to use them - I am thinking of using some of them as pockets in books and others I am not sure but am thinking of scanning them and turning them into greeting cards.

Check them out! Here are some of my favorites...

Thanks Julie - I love everything in the bag! What a great surprise!

Update

I know, I have been a bad blogger. To be honest, and I hate to be repetitive, this is my busiest time at work for sure - usually the first quarter of the calendar year is all event and meeting planning for the rest of the year or at least through the first quarter.

On top of work taking up a lot of my time, I have also been busy setting up my new studio space! I found a lovely little "nest" to create in and I am very excited about it. Recently my projects have been book related and have been taking over the kitchen table and beyond. So, when I found this spot, Tim and I went to look at it and both decided it would be best if I do my creating out of the house since we are already cramped enough without being surrounded by books, paper, and other art supplies. It is about a 10 minute walk from my front door too!

Here is a sneak peak - of course it will evolve over time, I don't have much on the walls, but would like a large bulletin board. I need to move my sewing machine and fabric over and also my typewriter (after it gets tuned up).

This is my little sewing and gluing table - I covered it Monday night, thanks to instructions on Yvestown. I have loved this idea forever and am so happy with the results! The best thing is, if I get tired of the top, I can change it very easily not to mention, when it gets gluey, I can scrub it right off without ruining the original table top.

So far, I love it. I have been there after work and on the weekends and there has not been anyone else there. The space is huge and broken up into 5 studios which are occupied by other artists (mostly painters). My space has a window that looks down into the landlords art space, which is pretty cool, she does AMAZING work with vintage photos! I have to admit, I feel under qualified a bit to be in the space as I think I have always thought of myself more a crafter than an artist - but have been thinking lately, what is the difference and where is the line drawn? I mean, when some of my handmade books are done (especially my personal journals that I have drawn and painted in), they are like an evolving work of art more than just a craft thing, I don't know. Any thoughts?

More photos to come as the studio gets used more. I don't believe it will always be this clean, this is just the beginning!