My design studio is featured in the Cloth Paper Scissors 2012 Craft Studio Magazine this month! For years I've dreamed of having a place where I can organize my craft supplies and have a huge space where I can sew, make PattieWack Pompoms and Tassel projects, dress and decoupage manequins, and design outrageous mixed media fashion. And with that dream I always wondered how it would feel to see my own studio in a magazine editorial. Well, pinch me! It came true.... thanks to Interweave Press.
You can only imagine my surprise when our friend Alexa Westerfield, aka Swell Designer hooked me up with Linda Blinn, Editor for Cloth Paper Studios magazine. Thanks, Alexa! Here are some of the pics that you'll see in the article, and some that were taken but didn't get in the magazine.
As you can see, Scott and I took the sunroom of our new digs in Fresno, California, and turned it into a sunny place to design and hang out with friends. He installed the IKEA cabinets in both corners, and I filled them up completely with my favorite things. For some cushy seating, I covered a wicker love seat with fabric that reminds me of Zentangle. The pillows are covered with fabric that is simply tied in knots. Oh, and the hanging light fixture is a hula hoop with fabulous fabric I picked up in the fashion district on a trip to LA.
I guess I'm one of those odd people that is creative AND organized. I couldn't hardly wait for Scott to finish the cabinets so that I could hang my favorite fabrics up and put my bolts of trim in storage bins turned on their side. That's some of my altered art shoes that were featured in a recent Altered Couture Magazine. I took several glass cylinders and filled them with ribbons that I took off the bolts, tied them with raffia, and organized them according to colors.
Mixed media projects take up a lot of space and can get out of control, but I have managed to sort everything into those plastic bead organizers I pick up when there's a sale. Hundreds of rubber stamps are stashed in glass jars next to a cork ball I made by gluing them to a dollar store ball. You can tell that I work for one of the largest craft adhesives companies, that makes the Aleene's Tacky Glue, and I used spice racks to organize all of my glues. As Lead Designer at iLoveToCreate, I have lots of paint, glue, crystals, and glitter in my stash of craft supplies.
The sewing room is also our guest room, and Scott took old cherry bookshelves, painted them white, and installed them for my threads, sewing machines, and everything else. I love those wooden spool holders to organize thread, and jars filled with buttons. I can't walk by vintage luggage at garage sales and thrift stores without buying them. They are perfect for storing tons of zippers, tools, and yarn.
The coffee bar in the studio is shared by Scott for keeping brushes clean and for an extra shot of espresso during a long design binge. My friend Kelly Georgette Phelps from The Spotted Fox made the cute teacup pincushion. She and I used to work at Simplicity in Nashville. The canister filled with vintage coffee cups is the one I made when taping the Magazine Rollups Video on my Youtube channel.
Plastic shoe boxes from the dollar store are great for organizing tons of small bits for mixed media art.
I guess my favorite place in the whole world, besides being with my family, is right here in my bubble chair. I love to read, sketch, and blog there. And I love it the most when I share it with friends and family. I have to give a shout out again to Linda Blinn for featuring me.... Thanks Linda and Alexa!
