Liquid Paper

afternoon light

There was a lot of cleaning and straightening up to do in the studio yesterday. I'd made quite the mess trying to get things done before Christmas and our long trip south. Now, it's all tidy except for the floor, which needs to be swept. Well, that and a few new stacks of fabric that need to be sorted out. I was daydreaming about what to do next while I cleaned. What is a good first project for 2008? I think it should be something simple and gratifying. Fresh and colorful, but, not too Spring-like yet. Maybe I'll make some new slipcovers for our sofa throw pillows. I've had the same ones for a year and a half now and they're looking pretty tired. I hear there's a good tutorial for adding zippers to your pillow covers here. Tomorrow I can start going through the fabric stacks for some good candidates. Maybe, when I do, I'll get another glimpse of the lovely afternoon light like the one that was coming in through the studio windows yesterday. So pretty I had to take a few pictures.

wrap-o-rama

Wrapping. Wrapping. Wrapping. That's all I've been doing for the past few days -- Wrapping! At least I have my arsenal of holiday films to keep me company while I cut and fold and wrap and tape and tie... Phew! I'm off again now to the next pile that needs my attention and the next festive film.

can't get you out of my head

I have an idea. It is not something that I want to do right now, but I keep thinking about it. Obsessing almost. I'm not sure how long I can put it off. There are so many other things I need to be working on right now, but, every day it sits there in my brain. Waiting for, no, demanding my attention. I usually love it when an idea is so clear and insistent. Not this time though. Maybe I'll make a sketch of it. That might appease it. I sure hope so. I don't like the way that it's staring at me. It's weirding me out.

On my last post, I think someone asked about my giant spools of twine. Here's the scoop on them.

Today I have a picture of my new space for you. This is where I keep my fabric (there's fabric behind the fabric too) and other odds and ends. As you can see, I've hung some of the many prints I've collected over the past few years. From left to right:

Gaggle of Girls by ashleyg
Isobel No. 4 Collage by The Black Apple
Squirrel Print by Happymeat
Within Reach by elista.

crazy amounts of assembly required

My fingers are raw and shoulders sore. Mark has a huge bruise on his forearm and I administer Ibuprofen to him semi-regularly. Yes, my friends we are happy. Mark is way ahead of me and has organized all of his things, but, I'm up to my eyeballs in stuff. I did manage to take a couple of pictures during the put-together phase:

Assembling umpteen drawers, watching a DVD and looking over at my side of the studio.

My new (just put-together by Mark) work table.

Back to work I go!

some of the things i saw

Zero time for chatter today. Mark and I went to IKEA yesterday and filled a car and a truck full-o-things for the apartment and new studio. Oh! The fun we'll having putting puzzle pieces together today. Our goal is to be finished with everything tomorrow at 6:00PM CST. Photos will be forthcoming!

let's talk about the new studio

Okay, the new studio is really starting to take shape. In the picture below, you can see the work area. My space is to the left, along the wall, and Mark's is to the right. That way we each get a window. The room + ceiling are all going to be painted white. Mark didn't want a white room but I played the: "It's better for my photography" card. So he gave in. There will be a dark bamboo floor in both of our work areas and a chocolate/dark brown utilitarian carpet in the sitting/library area (there's better photo of that area here).

We have several Billy bookcases from IKEA in black-brown that will go in the sitting area side. We also have a 6' x 3' dark wood table that we'll put in the center of the work area. Then there are our desks, both from IKEA. (Can't find them on the website right now.) Mine has a white top and Mark's is a dark black-brown that matches the bookshelves. They're more like tables than desks. Very plain and not fussy. I also have one of these and these, in white, for storage. The only new items we've ordered so far are these pendant lights. We got three of them: one for the sitting area side and two for the work side.

There are more photos of the space over here at flickr. If you have any ideas or suggestions for the space (and I hope you do), please let us know!

it's the small things that matter most

His book, dedicated to me.

A very small project...

... with an even smaller accessory.

it's my party

Today I'm celebrating the new look I gave to the old blog this weekend. My blog will be three years old this January and I've never remembered it's birthday/anniversary or any other milestone like my first 100 posts, 200 posts... nothing. Therefore, because I'm pretty sure this is as close as I'm going to get to an official blog celebration, I officially declare today:

Happy New Blog Design Day-iversary to me + Liquid Paper!

(the party hat is borrowed from this little bird + the yarn was a gift from a very talented friend)

the mind goes first, then the sense of smell

I deleted my post. It was dumb. I'll try again tomorrow.

not a deep thoughts kind of day

Does this mug make my hips look big? Nothing much to show you today. I started a new project, two new projects to be completely truthful (started being the operative word), and I still haven't finished the one I started last week. Maybe I'll show you some wip photos tomorrow -- so I can procrastinate some more. Whee! See you then.