Craft Studio Staycation

I am lucky enough that I am able to take a week or two of vacation each year that no one else in my family has off.  I LOVE these weeks.   I can go away with girlfriends, or have something I call "Laura Days" which are days that I can do whatever I would like to do (spa days, craft supply shopping, creating days) and I don't have to do anything I don't want to do (housework, cooking, laundry).  I am currently on one of these lovely vacations as we speak.

I was planning on taking my camera out and about and capturing all the wonderful colours that are popping up in the trees, but my son's hockey schedule and the weather had other ideas.   I actually spent the first three days of this vacation in a hockey arena watching my son play hockey in a hockey tournament.  Don't get me wrong I love watching my boy out there on the ice, but the weather was absolutely perfect outside.  It was warm, but not too warm and the sun was shining with beautiful white puffy clouds in the sky...perfect fall days....alas I have my priorities and in the arena I sat. Once the hockey tournament was over the weather started to turn.  My first day off was supposed to be rainy and miserable.  I decided to do all my running around that day and even though I took my camera with me for the errand running it just wasn't the kind of day to stand outside and take pictures. Today was even worse.  We have high winds going through the area right now....also not great weather for standing in or near the woods.   The trees were really moving today.  So I stayed in for most of the day and caught up on all the stuff I don't really like to do.  Today is a cleaning up day in my little studio and part of that was to make 3 or 4 haul videos before everything was sorted and put away.   I'm not so great at making or editing the videos and I think that's why its not one of my favorite things.  Why do I do it then?  I'm not sure why, its something that I feel I should do.  I'm not sure if it helps me justify all that I buy during the weeks but at this point I just want to share what I'm doing with people who get me.

So here are 2 new video haul videos.   There are a few more to come in the next day or so.  I want to finish tidying up here so I can start making all the cards that are swirling around in my head.  I try to post those too.

Thanks for looking.

Laura

So as I mentioned in the previous post I went on a bit of shopping bender.  I spent some time wandering the many pages of product at Simon Says Stamp www.simonsaysstamp.com, Lawn Fawn www.lawnfawn.com, Scrapbook.com www.scrapbook.com and Hero Arts www.heroarts.com .  It certainly did not help that Simon Says Stamps was having their Stamptember event and that Lawn Fawn had a whack of new releases.   I am certainly a sucker for Lawn Fawn.   I just love all their stuff.

I would place an order with one company and then I would go back and have another look the next day and place another order and it went on and on like that for a few weeks.  I ended up one week getting 3 packages from Simon Says Stamp and 2 from Lawn Fawn.   Now I'm waiting for 2 more packages.   Clearly I have a problem.   I should never be left unsupervised late at night with an Internet connection and a credit card.

So here are a few more haul videos from Simon Says Stamp and Lawn Fawn.  Enjoy and I hope I make you feel a little bit better about your own spending.  Cheers!

The Summer that Was

The Summer that Was

Hey all,

It's been a while but I tend to spend a lot of June, July and August out at our trailer and there is no internet connection in the woods, which is why I keep a trailer in the woods.  Sometimes you just need to slow down a bit and unplug from everything.  I find it helps to keep me balanced.  I am an introvert in the truest sense of the word.  I can be in groups and high energy situations and at times I seem to have a very active social calendar but I have to .... no I MUST have my alone time.  I need my time to re-charge myself.   The best place for me to do that is at my little trailer in the woods.  Just me, my hubby, the dog and my son...although my son is getting harder and harder to get out there the older he gets, but such is life.  

Our trailer sits on a little plot of land at the top of a small hill on the edge of a Carolinian Forest in an area of Ontario, Canada referred to as "Short Hills".  So named because of the abundance of small and some not so small hills in the area.  Our little section of heaven has some large old maples on the property with a small waterfall and creek that runs through the area at the rear of the trailer.  We are surrounded by all kinds of trees and animals and I can easily pass the day sitting on my raised deck watching the hummingbirds come and go. You can literally feel the tension drain away when you arrive.  

Of course my little piece of heaven wouldn't be complete without some art supplies. I alway bring my camera with me and of course some paints, brushes, papers, stamps and whatever I can fit into the one craft bag that I allow myself to bring. The supplies change every time we go to the trailer but I always bring something. If it were up to me I would bring all my supplies but space is an issue and my always understanding, and caring husband insists that I leave some room for him....he can be so unreasonable lol.

I also have a weekend or two that is dedicated to me and a friend or two to be there alone and we create any kind of art that we want, have blender drinks, junk food, and a lot of laughing.  We had perfect weather this year for our "Trailer Trashed Crafting Weekend" and had a wonderful time.  

But now it is back to reality for me.  We closed the trailer over the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend and now I'm back in my in home Studio.  One of the first things I did was hit the internet and shopped way more than I meant too.   I have a couple of haul videos to show you here and there are more to come.   I really have no self control and pretty much bought everything I saw.  Nothing came out of my carts.  I will admit that I had some buyers remorse but not enough to return anything.  

Enjoy the videos and come and visit my on my youtube channel at Laura Stewart Studio.  

Thanks for watching!

The Furniture is In!!!!!

My new furniture is in and I couldn't be happier.   This post is a little late because I actually built everything and had in place about 3 weeks ago.   But let me go back a bit and talk about what lead up to my new furniture arriving in my new crafting studio.   I spent many days and evenings huddled over my computer planning the layout of my room using the Ikea floor planner.  I measured the room, doors, windows (multiple times to be sure I had the correct sizes), and plotted it all into the Ikea room planner.   I switched up the lay out so may times, I lost count.  I ended up with 3 versions of the room.  I knew I wanted one of the Skarsta sit/stand desks.  They have 2 sizes and I really wanted the larger one, but no matter how I laid out the room, I couldn't get a layout I liked.  I wanted to line 3 walls of the room with usable workspace and every time I tried to use the bigger sit/stand desk, I ended up with too much wasted or unusable space.  Once I accepted it was not to be, I opted for the smaller version, which is not small at all and fits perfectly where I wanted it.  My next choice was the Linnmon table top.  I chose the largest one they offered which is just over 78 inches and at one end I have a set of Alex draws and at the other are the ordinary Adils table legs.  This gave me a tonne of work space, room for my printer and storage underneath.  The last addition to the room was the Hemnes desk with the added on hutch.  I hemmed and hawed over this decision for a while for one main reason.....the cost.  Purchasing this desk would put me $300 over my budget for furniture for the room.  I was torn between staying on budget and purchasing a desk that I new I would be able to use for the rest of my crafting life.   Originally I was going to use a Linnmon table table and legs and place shelves above it for additional storage.  Once I looked at the Hemnes desk I loved the idea of having a desk that would perfectly house my computer and could be used to store more of the office and shipping supplies that I use.   So after much contemplation I purchased the desk and decided I would make cuts to other areas of my Studio budget.  I originally was going to purchase a new TV for my new space and that has been cut from the budget.  I will make due without one for a while and eventually will put one an older TV in the room, but for now it has been moved to the wish list.  I also decided that I could save money but using the Michaels cubes that I had in my old studio for storage of supplies.  My old studio is made up off approximately 20 14 x14 cube that I arranged for storage and had made a desk out of using 4 cubes and a piece of board that was also from Michaels.  

I live about 40 minutes away from the nearest Ikea in my area but we have a new shipping point nearby.  I ordered everything online and then had it shipped to the shipping point.  They emailed me when it was in and we drove 10 minutes to pick it up.  It all fit in the bed of the pickup and made for a stress free trip home.   Once there my husband asked who was going to build it.   I think he was worried that my answer was going to be him....he hates building Ikea furniture.  His problem is that he doesn't quite follow the directions and ends up frustrated.  I told him this was going to be all me.  It took me 3 days to build everything.  I built one table a day.  I put 2 together over 2 afternoons, before heading into work on the night shift.  The Skarsta sit/stand desk was fairly easy and straight forward to build.  I did need my son to help me at one point because you basically build it upside down and then flip it over.  It's too heavy for 1 persons to pick up and flip but with my 15 year olds help it was a piece of cake.   The next thing I built was the Alex drawers and Linnmon table and legs. This was super easy and didn't take too long.   The final piece to build was the Hemnes desk and hutch.   This took me the entire afternoon and into the evening.   The only part I really had a problem with was putting the drawers into the desk.  I had to get my hubby to do it because I just could not get it to fit properly.   All in all, building all the furniture was fairly easy but I will stress this.... I followed the instructions closely.  I looked at all the pictures to make sure I had the right pieces at the right time and built everything exactly as it was laid out in the instructions.  

I think everything looks wonderful. I love the white furniture in my purple room.   I still have my old wooden table in one corner for painting and messier stuff but it also fits perfectly in the room.   I'm going to enjoy how clean it is right now because I know it won't stay clean for long.   I added a video of the room so have a look and let me know what you think.  

Here's a link to the video, if the one below won't play  https://youtu.be/0WuAF8KBCbc

Paint on the Walls

I have the best husband ever.  He has painted my new studio in record time. He painted the ceiling, walls, trim and doors.  My walls are this amazing colour of purple.  It's called Amethyst Cream and it's from Benjamin Moore.  I just love it, but then I am a fan of pretty much any shade of purple.  

All I need now is my furniture from Ikea which we are picking up today from the pick-up point in my area.  I do have to work for the next few nights, so hopefully between working nights and trying to get some sleep I will be able to build 2 desks and a table.   I have at last completed the 2 Raskog Carts that I purchased from Ikea.  I think I should Ikea to sponsor my new studio ;)

I was thinking of spray painting the carts but I'm not sure yet.  I'm going to leave them this colour for now and then decided after I've lived with it for a while.  

https://youtu.be/Aio-Es9hcgM

Let me know what you think.   Thanks for stopping by. 

Laura

I know it has been well over a year since I posted anything here, but as you well know, sometimes life gets in the way.   I am happy to say that I am now refocusing and will be putting in more time in my studio.   Speaking of my studio I am moving down the hall into new digs.  My almost 16 year old son has decided that he would like to move his bedroom into the basement.  He had his own little "man cave" down there that was once his oldest brothers bedroom. He moved into there with all his gaming systems a couple of years ago and bought himself a 50 inch TV by saving his allowance, Christmas and Birthday gift money.  We purchased a futon for him so he would have somewhere to sit and then when he had his friends over one or two of them slept on the futon and we pulled out an air mattress if more sleeping area we need.  Now he has decided to move his bedroom down there.  I knew one day he would want to be down there, but it breaks my heart a little that there are now officially no little people in my house any longer, he is a teenager who wants some privacy.   Where does the time go (heavy sigh...)  Now onto the upside.

I am moving my studio from the small 3rd bedroom in my house to the bigger bedroom beside it.  Since my son has moved out I'm moving in !!!!!!  I'm very excited about this....more space....more windows....better light....YES!

I thought I would take you through the transformation from start to finish. We just started so this is as far as we have gotten so far. 

This is what the room looked like just after we moved our son out and downstairs.  Our dog Oscar wasn't too sure or too happy about the changes that were taking place lol. 

We started peeling the border off to see how easy it would be to remove.  I'm going to miss this little boy border with it's fire trucks and antique toys.  I should have saved a piece.  Hindsight...its' 20/20

I'm also sharing a video I made.  It's my first ever video so I apologize in advance for the shaky camera.  Also don't judge me, you will see my current studio is an embarrassing mess but this also just shows you what a difference my new space will be and what organization and purging can do for a space. I can also do my spring cleaning.  I'm planning on giving away or donating the things that I will be removing from my studio.  I have a lot of friends that are teachers and they are always more than willing to take paints and paper off my hands.

https://youtu.be/85y1QmbVwLY

Thanks for coming by.  Leave me a comment and tell me what you think.  

Cheers 

Laura

CHA Winter 2015 Tim Holtz new Distress Colors

I think this is a great idea of releasing one colour a month but in all the different mediums that are in his line.   If I could only find a club somewhere, where I pay monthly and all the products in the new colour are delivered to my home.  If anyone knows of a company or store that is doing this please let me know.