Studios news..barn stars, lamp shades and mannequin heads

Hi guys! I wanted to share what I have been up to in my new studio lately. I am not going to fib..it is still a mess of boxes and stacks and piles. I have sorted through the stacks and arranged them by type,but still not organized..I think I need a whip and a chair! Oh well..for me it is not about how cute my studio is (luckily) and I am happily working away there!  I made some new smaller barn stars. This started with a custom order of the above star in a smaller than my usual size. These are 12" across. This is my fav..vintage wallpaper..so yummy. I made an extra to list in my Etsy shop.

 Then being me, I made these too. I cannot make just one of anything! I love the vintage maps on this one..pale dusty aqua, creamy yellow and borders of orange-y red. We are planning  (I am planning!) to repaint our house and this is an interesting color combo. Maybe for my bathroom. I love aqua, but am planning on shades of green for the living room/hall/entry at this point..until I change my mind again! My daughter's friend gave me crap about how long I have had paint chips taped to my walls..I have been trying to talk myself into trendy grey, but I am just. not. a grey girl. Pretty..but I need color! (Maybe in the kitchen..hmmm.)

 This one I made with vintage Bach sheet music. The apple was from an experiment I was doing ..my son Jack and I picked several varieties from the grocery to find our favorite..and the consensus was they were all good! I believe I did end up paying $1.55 for ONE apple though ..holy cripes! You have to watch those "per pound" prices when you are buying big apples!

 This is one of my "tutu" lamp shades. I make these with vintage lamp shades, tulle and millinery type velvet flowers. I make those into clips to be removable.

 I made some of these smaller chandelier/ sconce/ candlestick lamp type shades too. These are a heavy grainsack linen with ivory chiffon rose trim.

 This is a custom order I am working on for a gallery.boutique in Louisiana. These are ornaments I make from tart tins and antique and vintage brass lighting bits..not done yet here.

 This is a cigar box purse that landed in my studio this week..I made it a year or so ago and it never sold so I guess it is just mine now. It is a quote that is pretty much the story of my life! I guess it will keep me company and store things.

 This is what I was working on today. I had a request for a mannequin head that I sold awhile back. (This one is papered in Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice  pages...it slows me down because I read as I glue!)

 I had noticed that the original had gotten a lot of repins on Pinterest..who knows if that is "Ooh..I want to make that/ Isn't this cool/ or Isn't this odd!" This one is 1924 French dictionary pages.

 The lady requested pattern paper which I have done previously..and as mentioned, I never make one of anything!

 Here they are with some face paint and no hair.

 This one's eyes are really blue. I don't go for total realism, I think that would be creepy..I just paint them how I want. The eyes tend to be unusually large, the lips pouty and lipsticked and the eyebrows skinny and always slightly uneven (dang it). Maybe they just smell what The Rock is cookin'? Or maybe they just have a sarcastic outlook on life. Really? Seriously??

 Brown eyed girl..

 The lines on the pattern ones are interesting..a bit like the plastic surgery lines I have seen on people on reality shows' faces.

 A nip here..a dart there...this gal is a green eyed red head.

I think this one may be my fav. I still need to do some more work on the lips and maybe more "blush" and seal them and name them, but enough done for today! Stop back again and see what else I've been up to. Until then..good night! Julia

Wedding in Maui

Hi guys! I have been MIA a couple weeks. I have been busy with our son's wedding. Evan and his bride Krystal got married in Maui. They live in the Midwest, but Krystal is from Molokai originally and a lot of her family still lives in Hawaii..so off to Maui we went (darn!)They got married at the Kihei golf course Country Club and it was gorgeous! The background looked photoshopped! The staff was excellent and the venue was so pretty. The maid of honor is Liz, then Krystal, Evan and the best man our youngest son Jaxon. Jack was so excited to be the best man.

 Jack, my husband Ed, Evan and me. The officiant was Krystal's uncle. He also made the leis for us all. The men's are made from tea leaves. Krystal's family was warm and welcoming as expected as Krystal is such a sweet person..so glad she and Evan found each other!

 The sunsets in Maui are spectacular. People make a point of going to the beach to watch it set. The sun drops really fast!

 A couple days later, we drove at 4am to the top of a volcano, Haleakala to see the sunrise. Equally spectacular! It was a Monday morning in October and there were hundreds of other people up there in the dark at 4am in 44 degree weather waiting for the sun! It was crazy.

 It was really breathtaking..

 There was also an observatory up there.

 And some rare plants called "silver sword".

 Very Dr. Seuss-like!

 close up..

 another close up..

 They get huge when they bloom.

 View of the crater..

 Hibiscus..

 Yellow Hibiscus..

 Krystal took us to her favorite local bakery..I wish this was smell-o-vision, because the smells coming out of this place were heavenly!

 They even had sushi which Krystal loves and says it is much better here than in the MidWest (undoubtedly!)

 She bought cream puffs to take to her aunt. I got a sugared doughnut filled with guava curd that I will be dreaming about for years! Sooooo good!

We took a trip to Lahaina to see the famous front street shops. There is a ginormous banyan tree in front of the city hall building..very cool! There was a museum in the city hall too..more my speed than touristy shopping. I have more pics to share, didn't want to load them all at once! 'Til next time! Julia

New studio and new projects

 Hi guys! Since my daughter moved out, I have decided to turn her room into my new studio. I had space down in the workshop that I had planned to redo, but I hate being down there for longer than it takes to run something through the scroll saw! It is too removed. I thought I was going to repaint her room white, but then I remembered..oh yeah..I really don't LIKE white walls! I like them when I see them in a magazine, but they are so not me. I remember when she picked this color for her room I was a bit dubious, but it really is cheery and energizing..and I need all the help I can get!

 So I have begun dragging all my boxes of stuff from rooms and closets and my poor dining room where I had been doing most of my work up to the new space. I plan to leave the bed for when kids come for a visit. My box pile is actually deeper than this now..lol. I have sorted through them and made piles of categories of boxes of "stuff"..vintage papers, metal, fabric, altered art bits..wow..I have a LOT of stuff!

 The closet is my new sewing area. I have 2 tables..one enamel top kitchen table and a mission oak era desk of Ed's gramma's as work space...an art deco bar holding some of my fabrics, vintage suitcases for vintage papers. I have 2 huge cabinets to drag up there yet too. My "infra structure" is all vintage and antique pieces that are either family pieces, left overs from my booth that wouldn't "move" or pieces like the art deco bar that used to hold my clothes and undies in my bedroom for years! The sewing desk is one I painted years ago and my daughter used as a desk..now mine again.  think I paid $20 for that and the chair once upon a time! It is pretty messy up there right now and I have told my husband it is going to get worse before it gets better! He bought me a small TV for my BDay to put in here. It really helps get me up there in the morning knowing I can have my favorite programs keeping me company in the background.

 I have had some requests for sold items in my Etsy shop so that is what I have been working on lately. I had a request for my clockface ornaments, so I filled the order and made more to list.

\

 I can never make a couple of anything..I have to make a dozen..or 3..or 4..lol.

 I make these with layered images of antique clock faces from my own collection. I need to display the actual faces in my new studio!

 Sorting through my fabrics, I ran across some old feedsacks and lots of vintage fabric so I have been making a few pillows. This one sold 2 hours after I listed it!

 This is a tall one. I like this one because Aberdeen is 40 miles from my hometown of Redfield, SD. Some of these have such fun graphics!

 This I made from a vintage wheeled cart frame I had and a vintage cement sack from Chattanooga/ Signal Mountain TN..just down the road a bit from where we live now. The sides are Waverly checked fabric. Cool for a laundry room or to wrangle toys.

 I had a gallery shop in Louisiana approach me about making some of my religious themed tart tin ornaments for her store...so I did..plus some more of the ones I sold out of last year.

 I make these with vintage tart tins and vintage and antique lighting pieces.

I add images of antique prayer cards from my collection, German glass glitter, and vintage and antique crystal chandelier prisms from my stash. I always look for those when I am out at an estate sale! So..that is a bit of what I've been up to lately...more to come! Stop back and see me again! Julia

Empty Nest

 For the last 6 years, I have taken care of my Grandbaby Hunter while his mom was in school, in college, at work. They lived at home with us. When he was born I closed my antique mall of 10 years to stay home with him. I had taken my son Jack to work with me every day from 3 days old to when he started school, Jack had just started kindergarten when Hunter was born. I was burned out of 7 days a week for 10 years and decided it was time for a change. I closed and went online and helped raise Hunter. He was my daily "helper"

 When he saw me taking pictures for my Etsy shops and EBay, he'd come over and say, "Me Nina! Me!" So I have tons of pics of him.

 Sporting cookie face..because Nina's let you have cookies for breakfast..

Helping me with my outdoor shots..

 He loved to help me paint my makeovers..so much I'd try to sneak and do it when he was napping..shame on me!

 He loved to help me edit photos and we would have to edit his pics in Picasa too.

 My blog photo assistant..

 The last 2 years he went to pre school 2 days a week which helped both him and me as we both knew that eventually, he'd be moving and it helped us ease into it a bit. His momma graduated from college and started grad school in August. They moved out and now are 40 miles away instead of underfoot and bossing me around.."Nina! I. need. coffee!" (chocolate milk) He is now in kindergarten and happy and doing great.

His momma is engaged to a great guy who adores both of them and Hunter loooves Shane. While I am not totally home alone, as we still have our 12 yr old son Jack, things have definitely changed around here! I suddenly went from having Alexa to talk to about "girl topics" to living with 2 guys and being the only "girl". SyFy and ESPN channels have taken over! I miss my little man like crazy, but I am glad that he has flourished  and is so happy and healthy and loved. I do sneak up to see him if it gets much over a 10 day-2 week span without some Hunter snuggles!

 So on I go..my days have changed but I seem to have a new assistant...

Daisy has now moved up the ladder to fill the position. She edges in while I am taking photos.."Me! Me!"I am in the process of taking over my daughter's bedroom as a studio (my downstairs space was too removed and I hated it down there!) and I will be sharing pics soon. 'Til next time! Julia