My view to create

I don't get down to my studio space as often as I would like these days.

At times, the rest of the room is a complete disaster, but this corner, I keep my treasures on display and that makes me happy.  The best part about having a designated space to work,  I can get up and leave everything as is until I return. 

The chair. The lamp. The dress form. The top hat.

Creativity nurtures Creativity.

I would love to some day have a shared studio space with others.

I love to visit while I work, and collaborate, and get instant feedback....

and sharing rent in a fabulous, industrial space wouldn't be bad either !!!

These are my latest little creations.

I started by drawing three patterns.

 I had some vintage, canvas style material that I cut, stamped and painted. I found polka dot and striped material for the backing.  I went to buy the stuffing material, and once I finished stuffing them, I realized I had bought enough stuffing material for about 1000 little guys.

Good Grief.

In the beginning, before I started putting them together, I wasn't sure I liked them … and almost half went into the garbage. I stuck with the project though, and once they were sewn, and I had my loose thread hanging, my vision was complete.  

The ones I didn't like were now my favorites!!!

Funny how that works sometimes.

Cording material was added to hang them and I used wire and pearls to make the garlands.

Now onto more adventures...

just a touch

Yesterday, I finally had a chance to start thinking about some Holiday décor at home.  Part of me wanted to sit on the computer and dig into some online black Friday deals, but I convinced myself to get a few areas in the house refreshed.

I was deep cleaning the kitchen and no one was home …. the kitchen then became the perfect place to start.

This old wire basket usually corrals my salt and pepper mills and some other often used spices.

Needless to say, this space really needed to be refreshed.

 

I am obsessed with the wood cutting boards and knew I wanted one in the basket

… but I needed something bigger with some more dimension 

… I continued my search through my stash of goods.

Doesn't everyone have a stash of goods just waiting to be brought out?

When I spied my tarnished silver tray, I knew I was onto something.

… a touch of black and white, a word, an M 

some more tarnished silver, some more wood

 a touch of green and the smallest touch of red.

Light the candle.

BIG SMILE

Where I come from, you just can't get enough M's

I have a collection of them throughout the house. It's funny how certain things catch your eye when you are out shopping. You don't really know what you are searching for, but when you spot it you know you have to have it.  

That is how I am when I find a random M.

I am really happy how this little area turned out.

What is it about the holidays that makes the tarnished silver extra special. It brings a touch of tradition and a touch of old world charm...

Every vignette, this time of year, needs to have a sprinkling of tarnished silver.

….and a touch of green

… and maybe the smallest touch of red.

this area makes me happy.

Don't forget to support small businesses today.

~ LM 

Vintage Holly Jolly Market

It has been a while since I spread my wings and set up any kind of  vignette to sell my wares.

The first weekend in November, in Minnesota, kicks off the Deer Hunting season. When the men leave for the Deer Hunting weekend - The women stay home and shop.  The 101 market in town hosts a large vintage vendor show in their back green house and I was one of the lucky vendors chosen to sell my goods.

And boy do I have some goods.

I probably could have filled the whole green house!!



This a picture of what it looked like when I got there.

Wide open spaces.

Trucks lined up and we all started unloading and building our individual spaces.

It helps that I have done many other shows in the past. You need to have a vision and a plan on how your space is going to come together. You only have so many hours to unload, build, price and do the finishing touches.



My problem with this show is that I didn't have any big tables or furniture that I could build my space with.  I had that awesome rolling cart (shown above) and a smaller table, but I was worried that if they sold early, all my smalls would be on the floor!!! ugh.

My mom came thru with a fold up table that in the end I used when my stuff sold.



As you can see a larger table would of been nice.

Because my space was by the entrance, I needed to have a large walkway to get through. What happens when you have a small space and a few people come in to shop, others will see there is no room to look - so they walk on by.

It's all in the floor plan.

The more people you get in to look, the more sales!!

The more sales, the less stuff you drag home.

I grabbed some jewels from my overflowing stash of necklaces. 

I priced them right and almost all sold.

Everything on this 

little table sold!!

Including the vintage Canada mail carriers bag.

This wall drape was a life saver!!

Behind it was the glass wall of the greenhouse and a table of bright pink flamingos.

Not that I don't like pink flamingos, they just weren't part of the plan.

Not all of my little hand made ornaments / shelf sitters sold, but at the end of the show, the count was over 65!!  Remember when Mr M said "not one would sell!"

Love to prove him wrong.

I have one small bucket full. They will be going with me to the hospital next week to see if I can unload the remainder. 

The bags were a big hit. They didn't sell out, so if you are still interested, I have them for sale at Tafoya Salon in Coon Rapids. They are also available by email or check the online shop.

Each one is slightly different.

Photos available by request.

They make a great gift!!

Black and White and Cream ALL Over!!

The pearl trees are always a big hit.

I sold a ton of them when I had the shop.

For the show I had 10 trees and they all sold!!

I have already reserved the same spot for next year.

My brain is churning with new ideas.

The Christmas shows are always so fun.

Now onto more fun with decorating the house for Christmas.   

the newest creations

The newest creations hit the streets last weekend at a vendor market I did.

The vintage market was the first I have done since I closed the shop.

It was so exciting to build a vignette and sell my wares.

( I will blog about it next)

These little creations I started working on late summer.

1. design the image (photo shop)

2. find the wood and cut to size (Mr M helped)

3. paint and distress

4. decoupage image

5. drill hole (Mr M helped)

6. distress and add glitter

7. tear fabric and string

A long process for sure.

Since Mr M had a hand in making them, he was sure to tell me that "none of these are going to sell" and "I don't know why we are wasting our time"

You know what happens when I hear something like that!!!

Oh YEAH - it was on.

The Holly Jolly Market was a two and a half day event.

It was so much fun seeing the crowds and so many of my old customers and friends that stopped by to say hi and support my business. It really warmed my heart AND I want to extend another big Thank You to you all!

… you know who I'm talking about.

and back to Mr M ...I sold 65 of these cute little ornaments

$7 each

I didn't sell out like I had hoped, but I sold more then half.

We made quite a few... probably a hundred.

the Joy to the world and Merry Christmas are made from my farmhouse sheep photo.

They were both very popular but the red ornament and the mouse were by far the most popular.

choose kindness is also a favorite of mine

They can all be hung on the tree, hung on a gift or placed as a shelf sitter.

These are easy to ship...

I'm not sure what is left in stock or if we can make more due to the weather, but if you are interested e mail me

loriatthebarn@ymail.com 

It has been a while since I have bogged, but I finally feel like my life is slowing down again and I can get back at it.

IG is quick and easy and I have tried to keep things steady on that front but it's just not the same. 

I'm glad to be back and we will leave it at that!!