Serious studio envy

Ok, so I just saw this blog of Julie Molina's via the af list - she's another funny girl and VERY creative and productive and GENEROUS - she's giving fun stuff away every month, so check her out! Anyhow, she posted this challenge: show your studio, because we all vicariously love to looky-loo other people's work spaces and marvel at their ten thousand drawers and shelves and very cool tools d'art. (Right now the spaces I drool over most are Teesha Moore's studio and Pam RuBert's - ahhhhhhhhh.....)

Yes, once upon a time many years ago I had my own personal art room, with cupboards and shelves and a big work table, and I did not share with any bedroom stuff whatsoever. When we lived in our teeny tiny Oakridge house the whole family slept in one bedroom so that the other bedroom could be my art room! Well, the girls were little then. Now that they are teens I am a good mom and they each get their own bedroom. But Emily's going off to college in one more year, and I'm chomping at the bit... Do you think she'll mind if I take over her room IMMEDIATELY?

Meanwhile, I've got some serious studio envy, because this is what my "studio" looks like now: Yup, that's right - when the girls are with me I move all my stuff up from the dining room table shown in a previous post to the bedroom floor! Oh, the sacrifices one must make to become a born-again artist! (i'm gonna have to rededicate myself to yoga, too, to be able to endure the back-bending involved in working on the floor like this!)

By the way, that is one of the things on my "work table" right now - my new art bag, the one I bought for a super marked-down bargain price at JoAnn's to replace my good old canvas bag that the burglars stole from the house in January (to carry their loot!). Boo hoo, I'd had the old one since my art student days and it was big enough to carry those giant art sketch pads. Anyhow, I don't know what possessed me to paint this new one. The original red fabric soaked up about 5 coats of gesso and I thought to myself I must be insane, but there's no turning back now, and I'd better hurry up.

Also on the work table AND the hurry up list: trades! I may not end up with a lot, but being a shy person and all, I guess I'll be happy to make at least a few trades. Here's what I've got so far: I hope there will be some fellow Frida fans who might want to trade with me.

I've made the stitched photo kind of thing before, but this is the first time I've done this kind of beading, as in using the long pins rather than just beading thread - kind of fun! (Hey all you jewelry people,

don't laugh too hard at my naïveté!)

And last but not least, this being St. Patrick's Day: faith and begora, HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAULA!!! These were part of the birthday package I sent her (now that it's her b-day I can show it): (and check out WillowBean's fancy schmancy French manicure! Up until now, we have been a household of non-manicure girls - life will never be the same!) I got the pattern for the wrist warmers from Marieke Leewens' Treats and Treasures. Of course, since I am a lazy knitter and do not knit gauges before starting a project and use different size needles than the pattern calls for, etc., etc., mine came out a bit long, so I got the bright idea of cuffing them. Now I want to make some stripey ones for me, Lady of the Perpetually Chilly Fingers.

Ok, Blog-o-Sphere - it's almost 11:30 p.m. and I have to be up at 5:30 a.m. AND I am on my 3rd week of being a phlegm head with the cold that never ends, so I guess I'd better go to bed. Nitey nite!