And I wonder why I hurt!!!

You know, there are days when I just wonder what goes on in my head! I had a perfectly lovely studio. But it was set up in pods. I had tables for metal clay, tables for scrapbooking, and tables for classes. Whenever I had a large group over, we would be split up among the 3 groups of tables and someone asked if I could rearrange my studio so we could all sit in one large group!

Sure! Not problem! Piece of Cake!

And I should have had myself committed to the local looney bin about that time! LOLOL!!!

My studio is in our unfinished basement. You will see...it's great! When you first enter, our "old" mac desktop with the 22" monitor is set up for everyone to use. And in the event you don't like an apple....there's a pc laptop right beside it! You can print your 12x12 layouts, too!



And this is what I wanted....12 students/friends/family can sit around the huge square. There's space in the center for all to walk around and see what everyone else is working on. And look at those chairs...all padded...all on wheels. Over 800 square feet of play space here!



So, taking a tour, behind the computers, I tucked one kiln under the stairs. Note the huge fire extinguisher! No plans to use it, but we also have a first aid kit hanging on the wall which is fully stocked...just in case I try to burn myself or the house down!



The second kiln is next to that. I only run one kiln at a time for safety reasons, but I can run them back to back.



My bookcase wall separates my studio from the other half of the basement where Kerry has all of his N-Scale trains set up. He said he wanted a playhouse...I think we are well on our way!



This is my sewing nook, doll repair center, and vintage clothing restoration workstation. Loads of unfinished projects piling up over here!



My diecut/punch/cutting table. 2 Wizards, a Bind-it-All, Big Shot, Cuttlebug, Purple Cows cutters, heavy duty ancient government cutter which I love, and tons of paper punches.



Next to that is my sidekick, and bins filled with cutting mats, embossing pads, dies....just more fun stuff to play with!



I've completely redone the wall behind me. Unmounted all of my rubber stamps....over 2000 of them and put them on EZMount (love that stuff) and into CD cases that are labeled by type.



Here's another angle looking at the play place where I can host classes, workshops, playdates and more! Even have a huge space heater in the center for when it gets too cold down here. Trust me....that thing puts out so much heat we have to turn it off after 30 minutes!



I love having all the drawers behind me. I can spin around, pull out what I need...it's all at my fingertips! Great workstation!



You can see the big TV on the right that Kerry gifted to the studio (yeah!) My sis is here this week. Together, we moved those paper racks without taking the paper off! We took everything off the pegboard wall and repositioned it. We moved a very heavy 5 drawer steel flat file (those things have to weigh a ton!) and we wonder why we hurt! I sure couldn't have done all this without her! But I have to admit...we are way too old to do this much work! LOL!



This is my new metal clay/polymer clay/jewelry making workstation. And my photo center.



And I have room across from me for Colleen to play when she comes down...or if I only have a couple of students....that's going to be their workstation.



Next to that is my glass cutting workstation. Glass saw, grinder and drill...I think we pretty much have all the toys down here!



And now that you've made the circle around my studio...here's my "wall of cards"....some of the wonderful cards that my creative pals send me.



Now that I'm done with my studio, I'm off to finish the guest bedroom....painting Lucy McGoo on the wall. I'm hoping to have a fun place for my out-of-town friends to stay when they come to play! When are you going to come play???

I have no idea where this burst of energy is coming from, but I'm loving it! Yet I keep wondering....why do I hurt?

LOL!

Live and in person from OZARK MISSOURI!!!

OK, I always called it "the Ozarks" and never really knew there was an "Ozark MO"! And I also always thought it was called Missouri because of the misery you were in when you were here! LOLOL!!!!

This is one of the most gorgeous places on the face of the earth. Even this late in the year! We took a little drive today along a winding creek bed, natural springs coming out of rocks, trees bending to meet each other in the center of the road...absolutely beautiful! Did I have my camera with me? Of course not!!!

After a trip to Walmart, Goodwill, and Lowes we were set for the day! Don't you know that is the perfect way to start every crafter's day????

We started today with Friendly Plastic. I NEVER thought that stuff was a bit "friendly" but after today, I'm starting to think it has some real possibilities. Yes, I've worked with it. I made a full sized mask, pins, even filled bottlecaps with it. But today....with Lindy Lou...ahhhhhh!!! Sweet peace has come between me and this stuff....I can actually see the possibilities of working with it and having fun. I'm working on a journal cover that I will share as soon as it's done. With what other than scrapperdashery paper, friendly plastic, some metal mesh.....and whatever we decide to play with tomorrow.

So, nearly 12 hours later...I was truly going to do another tutorial on diecuts...but ummm....NOT tonight! I'm here to play....NOT work!!!

Ah....to spend a whole day playing with a friend!!! When is the last time you indulged yourself in such sheer luxury? Ok...for me, um, it was last Friday when I spent the whole day playing with Torrey & Dian. Hmmmm...maybe I am just a little bit spoiled!

Life is good! :o)

I do like to play!

Yes, even at my age, it's just too much fun! This is my little JLo doll and playhouse that we did in some recent workshops in Phoenix and San Diego.

She's Lucy. I've used a Lucy McGoo stamp for her face. A spellbinders diecut for her overalls. Her body is a 4.5" wood artist's manikin. I printed her shirt and apron. She's inked with Ranger's distress inks. She even has a few tatoos on her arms and legs. I used foam nibs to do the detail work on her face. She's just a doll!



I grew up loving paper dolls, dolls and doll houses. How fun to design a "doll house" as a card. It's 12" tall and 4" wide. The embossing is done with a Fiskar's texture plate in the Wizard. I've used several Spellbinders dies and layered them with Cuttlebug dies, Revolution dies, Sizzix dies, Sizzix texture plates, Spellbinders texture plates, Lucy McGoo stamps, Ranger inks and some rhinestone brads. It's a castle fit for any princess!



Inside, I've used mostly cuttlebug embossing folders, but there's som embossed K&Co paper as well as a Sizzix texture plate. I used lots of corner punches just for fun. I have this thing called the cornucopia that lets you take any punch and turn it into a corner punch....just so much fun!



And when you set it up as a trifold...it looks like a village house. I'd love to do about 5 more and have them sitting in a row. This was such a fun class to teach. We had a Halloween house, a Christmas house, a beach house...the possibilities are just endless. By the way, the entire thing is made with white cardstock except for the black cardstock used to back the quadrants inside. It's a great way to start to design your own background papers.....it's just a great way to play!