The bane of my existance

Has been this little door... taking up hours and days just to get hung, but at least now I can say my husband's desk is built. (minus 1 drawer because I have extras of every other piece besides the one I need to finish).

I never realized how slow a process this would be to get these two rooms set up.

The Gardenia...

Getting out of the car and walking up my sidewalk, a wonderful aroma drifted up...

Looking down, I couldn't believe it, my gardenia bush is blooming like crazy. I was so excited I had to run in and grab the camera. I bought this gardenia bush from a little landscape place down the road from me in 2007 and was disappointed with no blooms at all in 2007 or 2008. Last year, the bush had a total of 9 flowers. I had seen all of the little green buds earlier in the week and assumed it was sprouting leaves... no idea that this plant was getting hundreds of flowers all over it.

I hope everyone else is getting to see beautiful spring and summer flowers, too!

The Garden

I had to take a break from working on the studio space and get my garden in order - can't have all of my seedlings keeling over on me! Especially after I cheated and spent so much money on them. Normally I grow my own seedlings in the kitchen, but this year I just ran out of time. So, my little, bitty garden plot has tomatoes, bell peppers, watermelon, zucchini, okra, basil and sweet potatoes. The only thing I still have left to plant is the butternut squash. I'm going to have to try the seeds because I couldn't find a single store carrying those seedlings.

I can't wait until about 40 days from now when I'll start getting the first of the produce!

Paint!

Ah, now the painting is done (finally...). Not sure I will be painting anything again in the near future. The color I chose was Benjamin Moore's Gargoyle. I did the entire walls in my husband's office and a stripe in my new studio area. I'm hoping that with the new white furniture I ordered, the stripe will help it stand out.

Creating the New Workspace - Day 1

So Day 1 is done...

For those of you who don't know, my husband and I have a bonus area over the garage. There is a long skinny room that will be my studio and a small office off to the side that is my husband's office. (His office makeover is actually a surprise for him... and good thing my family finds my blog too boring to read.) So here's his office, sans furniture, everything pulled off the walls and all edges taped.
And here's my big long room with my wide stripe taped up.

Before taping, I also put together my first piece of Ikea furniture. It is this small set of drawers here. I really like the set and am so surprised at how well it rolls around on the carpet. I can't wait until it is all done!

Sandi Who?

Why the T-shirt lady of course! And this month's featured EtsyBlogger.

She's got a shop full of just about everything... Handmade by Sandi has crochet, sewn items, jewelry, felted, painted, etc, etc - a very multi-talented lady. And I just love this little doggie placemat of hers:

And with her stash of fabric, she must be a woman after my own heart!

I just drool over colorful collections like this one:

The path to organization...

begins in a car ride to Charlotte, North Carolina.

Or at least that is how I am finally attacking this year's goal of getting my jewelry-making stuff organized.Last Sunday, a friend and I drove to Charlotte to visit Ikea and have my new office all decked out. Not everything fit in the car, so the rest is being delivered on the 18th, but here's what made it home with me. See all of those glass jars? They are spice containers... I bought 28 packages of spice containers along with the stuff to hang them on the wall. I figure that will keep the beads within sight, but oranized, too.

I ruined a masterpiece!

I was working on a pendant for me... wanted to call it my new masterpiece and I have managed to break a piece of sea glass. I love purple, so the rarity of finding a lavender shade of sea glass was just amazing, and while wrapping it in sterling wire, I managed to break off a corner (there was a "fault line" running where it broke when I started wrapping it). I guess I will use supper glue and some more wrapping to hide the fix when I wear it around.

Mail

Monday night, I stayed up late putting in a huge order of supplies... getting ready for a marathon of making during the summer to get ready for fall shows. I've been so excited wondering exaclty how big the box I've ordered will be when it comes in the mail, I feel like I can barely sleep (now this order is approx 5.5 times larger than any other bulk order I've done, so I guess it is alright to pretend I am 5 waiting for my on special present).

Anyway, today the box wasn't here (it isn't supposed to be delivered until Saturday, so not sure why I was getting worked up on the "just in case").

But something else good came in the mail - the first issue of my new subsription to Real Simple. I believe I have a magazine addiction - way too many subscriptions. I'm starting to wonder if that's partly why I have no time to read books anymore?

More Shells!

I love visiting beaches... especially when I walk alway with lots of shells. I made my husband take me to Topsail Island recently and walked away with all kids of loot. I even got a few good pieces of sea glass that day - I so rarely find sea glass in North Carolina it is always a treat

Apex Peakfest

Another weekend festival has passed for me and boy has it gotten me beat. I had one of those days where it was so hot, I was uncomfortable the entire day and every kid that had popsicle or lollipop mess dripping off their hands picked up jewelry. I'm so glad my last show of the spring is indoors!