Wednesday, January 16, 2013

A Place for Everything........

Hello all,

It's been awhile, hasn't it? Time flies whether you're having fun or not, eh?

Most importantly, I'd like to thank all of you for the kind and comforting words you shared with me regarding the loss of my beloved father.  Please know that your comments touched my heart in ways you could not have anticipated.  I re-read then numerous times over these past few weeks.   I appreciate that you took the time to write, share and console.  Thank you all so very much.

We have not escaped the creeping crud that is ravaging the nation, and have been really sick, as no doubt, some of you have been also.  So progress has been slow in the unpacking and getting settled.  But there is progress.  Why of course I have pictures to show you!  It's me after all. 
 Don't I always make you suffer through a gazillion pictures? 
 Today is no different.   
You might want to make your escape now.....
  Many things have been unpacked and found a place to be.  Many things have been unpacked and are sitting in piles here and there waiting for a perfect spot to reside.  Many things are yet to be unpacked.  Especially my studio which I have saved for last.  Well and the garage.  and the... oh nevermind.... We have come to realize all too well, that when you move into a smaller place that is lacking the large basement you used to have, there will be many many piles of things looking for a home.  This just might be my new decorating style..."Pile Chic".  So let's have a look, shall we?





Having fun in the midst of unpacking.  Even the statues wear lampshades around this place.  A non-stop party, I tell you!





I feel like I'm being watched.....






my bangle stacks have a spot all their own.
oddly, my jewelry is unpacked...
shhhhhh







ok, two bangle spots!





ooooh awwwwww





So happy to have made that cast of my dad's hand a few years back.
The one on the bottom shelf.
Shows his skin texture, fingernails and even his scars!
It turned out really well.
I'm thrilled to have this very personal memento 
and the memory of how much fun we had while making it!
Do wish I had known how to make one of my mom's and brothers hands
 before they passed away some 27 and 29 years ago.
As you can see, it's something I do frequently now.



this one.......well.....



it's a cast of one of my brothers hands, made in a hurry
while he was here for our dad's funeral.
it needs some serious work before it gets displayed. 
I cherish each of these hand replicas.





Faces, faces everywhere!





yes, still lots of body parts too....





We love the fun work of ceramicist Shirley Kramer
of Double Dog Studios.

and the ceramic elephant Mr. Wonderful made...




when he was just a small version of
wonderful.






We realized while unwrapping these beautiful treasures, that the vast majority of them
are gifts we have received from dear friends and family over the years.
Which makes them even more precious to us.





this little smiling guy is our mortar and pestle.
He looks remarkably like one of our friends in Illinois, 
which is a bit disconcerting when I'm using his head to grind peppercorns.


Bet you're wondering about the studio....

Lest you think it's all done...
oh no!




Still a shambles for the most part.
Though this picture was taken a week ago, so a bit more is done now.
See, I had this idea that I wanted to have lots of displays
as well as a working studio.
Seemed only fair since I took over the family room for my studio.
You know, trying to make it an inviting interesting place,
rather than the usual total mess that my studio tends to be.

Bahahahahahaha

Not succeeding in that.
Yet.
 
Though there are a few vignettes I'm enjoying




trying to make my supplies look pretty

these lovely gifted headpins have since found a home
 in those little vacant houses shown above



and these



Thanks so much T!







little swan dishes to put bits in as I'm assembling pieces of jewelry




wire display manne












my bins have bins





some supplies look bad,
some supplies look good





My life size studio mascot
and the best movie monster ever!





ran across my instruction sample board from when I used to
teach ribbonwork classes.





and the clock I'm making for my studio
which is just begging to be finished....
still...
after so long I'm embarrassed to say
how long.




More class samples which I am now going to use
since I'm not teaching fabric manipulation currently.
Love this texture!.
Looks like foldformed fabric.,

and these following fabrics, which were altered by machine.


except for the handworked Brazilian roses.
I'm seeing some fabric cuffs....





there's even a tiny little spot to work.  a very messy very tiny little spot...





YAY!
Found my hammers!
and had to promptly hammer something.....




leaves from Pipn's pewter




found some mostly completed components 
so worked on them a bit more and assembled this





amazingly it's already listed!

I know!
It's as if pod people have replaced the real me. 
 Listing before I blog!  whaaat? 

No, still me.
You notice I didn't provide a link to it,
so you could read all about what's in it.
But there is my Etsymini
 over and up on the right sidebar that will get you there if you're so inclined.


I used to work in actual bright colors...
and I have proof





painting on silk.
so much fun!





 both drastically sun faded.
Can you tell by my color choices that I made this one while living in Florida?
Or was it while dreaming of living in florida?
Maybe I just dreamed that I lived in Florida...
naw!




found another landscape quilt.




and traditional quilting





love the innocent sweetness of this one
and the colors





 but obviously not enough to finish it!





 must have coffee




and cups to drink it from...


see?  actual color!


ok back to jewelry....




my already listed things are displayed where I can see them!








love it!


and things to be reworked are right there too




and things to be listed...











and things that I just listed or am about to list....




Stone Cottage by Day or Night
assemblage earrings.

These adorable little ceramic houses are made by BeesonPie. 
 I'll be showing more of her components in another post.





I took new photos of this bracelet and re-listed it.

It gets no love in my shop.  I thought maybe it was just the pictures.
Maybe, it's just that people don't really care for it.





raw ruby bits and filigree on hot pink snakeskin.
C'mon....what's not to like?
Is it the color?  Hmmm?
See, you secretly kind of like my subdued color scheme, don't you?


More of my Turkoman goes Modern series.
These earrings were all featured in the 
Winter 2013 issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry magazine.

Some are already listed
(stranger things have happened, you know.  see above)
and some yet to be...





Colorado Wilderness




Golden Door and Twilight Sky





Shadows of the Desert Cliffs





Morocco nights




In Monet's Garden





Campfire Embers



phew!

Well, now we know what happens when there's such a long span between posts, eh?

I'll hopefully be back on track within the next few weeks.


Hope you're enjoying whatever this winter is bringing you, and that 
it doesn't include the flu!





Duck Tracy
(like Dick Tracy, only not)
a wonderful housewarming gift


Ciao

39 comments:

  1. HOLY (not) CRAP !!!!! You're amazing.
    I love all your displays and glorious corners of goodies.
    Your hand molds are a wonderful idea and very touching.
    Thanks for sharing your workspace too. I should get brave and share mine. It's always nice to see where people work.
    Love the new necklace and TurkoMods and pewter leaves.
    WELCOME BACK

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Thank you pipn. and thanks too for sharing your workspace in your latest post. inspiring!

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  2. Welcome Back.....your fans all missed you very much!
    Tracy was first and used my patented 'Holy Crap', except I sometimes use Holy Crap Marie(stolen from Everybody loves Raymond). I had to go eat a bucket of Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey to cool off!
    I don't even know where to start. The new studio.....jjeeezzzz. It was like reading a House Beautiful interview featuring you and Mr. Wonderful. And, one can never have enough heads and body parts! Thank you for sharing with us and I will say I'm in supply and tool envy.
    The hold molds are such a lovely way to keep family close. Love it.
    The new jewels are to die for and I love the way you display all of your jewelry{I pinned two on my creative displays board ;) !!!
    Heading to your shoppe now!

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  3. I had to eat the chunky monkey to cool off after looking at all your gorgeous photos not because Tracy was first and used my line.

    ;) LoVe you all!

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    1. hahahaha you're hilarious Bond Girl! ice cream is a cure all for everything!

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  4. wow...I’m exhausted just trying to follow you around....yikes...how old are you? 17? lots o energy....I have to take a nap now.
    Fabulous collection of all kinds of things you amazing... your house looks cool...
    hope you are healing from the loss of papa...i cried everyday for a year when my dad dies and then one day it just stopped...
    i still miss him terribly but it does get better...trust that. xx c

    ReplyDelete
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    1. lots of energy? cracks me up that you think that!
      thank you for sharing. yes, trying to focus solely on the many many happy memories. That fills me with joy and helps nudge the sadness out of the way. we never quit missing them, do we?

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  5. Wow, I meesed you! Hmm, lemme see if I can comment without going back to look 5 times. First off it's great to see you are a collector and displayer of all manner of crazy fun things. Thinking I maybe should ought o get a cast of my folks hands when I go back next week. can you give me a rundown on a how-to?
    I love headpins and hatpins in salt and pepper shakers for display.
    Now we have three places to display ( and lose stuff) so things are kind of divvied up now...not that you'd notice.
    I like yer style ma'am.
    ...ok I scrolled back... so I can refresh my amazebuds.
    You've got more faces and hands in your living space than I do.
    Things look like they're starting to shape up over there for you.
    So far so good on the stewdio it looks like.
    Nice Turkomania going on!
    Where do you find pewter anyway?
    I hope I wrote you about your Dad, I certainly meant to. Please tell me I did!
    The animal picnic does something to me. Brings back my storytimes i think.
    Happy to get your update today for sure.
    xoxo

    ReplyDelete
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    1. aww, yer a sweety. thank you! i already responded privately about all the other stuff and the one thing i forgot was to tell you, that yes, you sure did write me about my dad. and I thought I had responded to that. sheesh. maybe we cancelled each other out? hahaha

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  6. Beaming with happiness to see a blog post from you again. I am so excited for you and your new studio space. It looks incredible! Thank you for giving us a glimpse into your private world. It is humbling to see your many artistic talents. My eyes keep getting sucked into the vortexes of your jewelry and supply displays, so many wonderful things. For the record that hot pink snakeskin bracelet with the raw rubies is beautiful. Sending you healing thoughts for your generous heart.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. thank you thank you for your always kindest of kind words. I appreciate you putting that on the record about the pink bracelet, because seriously, I thought I was the only one to see any beauty in it.

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  7. Oh gosh...I'm so sorry to hear you've been sick. Seems it's rampant right now.

    Where do I start on this post? Isn't it amazing what you can find that you forget about? Your work is just gorgeous...I love that shot of all the blue-green stuff just below the rings. Yum. And while you may not be finished with your studio, at least you have a place now to sit and work. Forget about all those other boxes...they'll still be there.

    It's so nice to see you posting. Thanks for the update. :)

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Oh Lela, that's what I'm afraid of...that the boxes will still be there! hahahaha.
      I'm so enjoying seeing all the beauties you've been listing in your fabulous new shop.

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  8. Hi, Janet! So much to see... I love everything, from the Roman busts, to the hand castings (great idea - so glad you have this piece from your dad!), to the new jewelry! You are truly an artist in every sense of the word and I envy your plethora of collections and supplies! Have lots of happiness and prosperity in your new space! :) Robyn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Robyn. Appreciate your kind wishes. I would love to see what you and your stellar photgraphy skills would do with some of my props and collection. Your blog is a masterpiece of eye candy.

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  9. Dude! That's some serious picture ride!!! I have to admit, I HATE moving house, erggggg. I do love unpacking though- once all the stress of moving OUT is past, I like the decorating, the going to bed knowing you got ALL day tomorrow to just hang out and decorate. Ahhh bliss. But when it comes to stuff, you got me there! I thought I had a lot of stuff, you got 20 times more- and that's just in studio supplies! To think, I have maybe a 1/3 of what's in that closet full of plastic tubs. And I get freaky about supply overload.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. boy, don't I know it?! see my problem is that I do all these different techniques which require different supplies which leads to bins on top of bins which leads to moving nightmares which leads to me responding with obnoxious replies like this! HAHAHAA. Yeah and I like moving when it's ALL done. Usually right before it's time to move again.....and so the cycle of life continues. :)

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  10. wow, Janet's post!!! To read a post from you, it's like savouring a big yummy piece of chocolate fondant with plenty of crisp and juicy surprises in it, miam! Your collections are awesome! And I love the display you made in this little cabinet, it is so "cabinet de curiosités"! The roman heads are so serious... Your studio is already amazing, my god I'm green with envy for all your supplies! and what have you not done?!! Silk painting!! Traditional quilting! You're truly amazing! I had spotted your new listings and I 'm fond of your new necklace but wait a minute, must go back I think I've seen fabric roses set in metal cones? A choker? Seems awesome!
    And take great care of you, so sorry to read you've been ill.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you Lucie! Love the comparison to chocolate fondant. ummmmmmm.
      those are actually metal mesh flowers in that choker. The directions to make them are in one of the Belle Armoire Jewelry articles. Please let me know if I can give you any other info about them. They are pretty easy.

      Delete
  11. It's great to see you back and it's hard when we lose a loved one, takes a while to get back into the flow of life. New home,new year and new start is always a great inspiration and you'll soon find a home for everything. Loving those rings and I like that pink , snakeskin leather- a girl's gotta have her glam.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for the kind and encouraging words. Surprisingly, I'm enjoying the forced sorting and organizing of my studio. And so anxious to get back to work.

      Delete
  12. Welcome back! Whew, I'll bet this post took a long time to set up!! You have so many wonderful treasures and it was fun to see them all. The ONLY fun part of moving is unboxing these treasures so you can reconnect with them again.

    We live on a corner of two dusty roads and hate dusting! So I really have to evaluate what things are special or necessary enough to hang on to.

    I hope you are over the crud and are feeling better!!!

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    Replies
    1. hahahaha, i should be evaluating my necessary and special things myself, as this Texas dust seems to find it's way in everywhere. thank you, and yes, feeling better.

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  13. Hey welcome back! Holy crap lady you got lots of "stuff." Did you ever see the routine that George Carlin did about "stuff?" OMG, it is funny. Anyway, your displays are simply fabulous. So much to see and discover. What a wonderful feast for the eyes. It's like playing I Spy! I was oohhing and ahhing all over the place.

    Glad you are back. Take care.


    ReplyDelete
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    1. Thanks coffee! Bet you saw lots of "I know where she got that" when you were playing I spy, eh? Going to have to find that George Carlin bit again. I'm sure it would have me on the floor laughing right about now.

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  14. SOOOO lovely to see you back in the world of blog!! I've missed these mega-posts of yours -yep, as always, as source of gasping, and ooohing and aaaaing!!! Heady stuff!!!
    Well, it's ALL coming together there now - what a beautiful treasure house! Your studio is as I envisaged it to be - just SOOO gorgeous - a person could lose weeks poking around in there, goggling at all the wonders. All those drawers, and boxes, and hangers and, and - all bursting with beautiful! Makes me dizzy.
    Your casts are such an amazing idea. Your father's hand must be such a comfort.
    SOO good to think of you finally getting settled after all the upheaval, and to see your little corner of heaven coming together so well.
    I hope your crud is slinking away now.
    xoxoxoxoxoxox <3 :O)

    ReplyDelete
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    1. you do have a way with words. slinking crud! hahahaha.
      thank you for the descriptive and colorful way of making my mess sound desirable. it makes me dizzy too but for an entirely different reason, I fear. :)

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  15. Hi I just found your blog to follow. There's so much fun treasure to look at in your studio! I could spend hours there :) Glad I found you and thanks for sharing.
    Breana.

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    1. Welcome Breana! I'm glad you found your way here too. Nice to have you! and btw, my youngest daughter's name is Brieann. Beautiful name you have there. and yes, I am biased.

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  16. HI YOU! you seem to live in a museum, you do. and you've been busy and productive, i see. as always. so many great things! i've also gotten a few peeks into your pinterest lately- eye candy goodness, yay!
    i love you girl, take care of yourself.

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    1. hahahaha, I always did want to be a museum curator. dreams do come true! so between my house and Pinterest, I think you'd agree, I've managed it! thank you for the kind words. Very much appreciated.

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  17. Glad to see you back posting again. You've certainly had lots going on but hope you are feeling better. Your things are amazing. I think someone further up said you could spend some serious time there just taking everything in.

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    1. thank you. it feels so good to be getting back to some of my normal activities. someone also pointed out the serious dusting time...hahahaha

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  18. I finally have a fast enough internet connection to be able to read this! Is there NOTHING you can't do? As I've said before Janet, you're my hero!

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    1. well that's a bit like the pot calling the kettle black, isn't it? What don't you do? Love your little houses. Hope you feel like I did them justice. Thanks again!

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  19. AA - must be a great feeling to be getting settled again; and to find your tools. Good to see that you are back into beating metal - go the hammers and anvil. Peace. B

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  20. Thanks so much, Barry. Yes, it feels fabulous. You know all too well how it feels to be away from the work for a bit, eh?

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  21. I 've seen your work on Pinterest and fell for it right away !!! Amazingly inspired pieces, just right for my taste ! I 'm very glad i met you ! Keep up the good job !

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    1. Welcome Fotini! Glad to meet you as well. Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment. I appreciate your kind words greatly!

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