Urban Barn

Another amazing weekend at Urban Barn in Escondido, California!! Perfect weather for the Christmas tree lighting and parade. The barn was filled with amazing vintage treasures and as always the vendors had there best wares on display! I managed to do a little shopping myself. A sterling silver manicure set for my Mom (shhh it is a surprise) and some lovely salt cellar pin cushions for some of my crafty friends. And of course I found an embellished vintage slip I had to have. My daughter found a vintage sequin dress she had to have for prom!

Included are a few shots of some of the goodies I had with me. The cotton scarves are made up of vintage doilies and are sooo soft and cozy.

Joy Banner Workshop!

What an amazing Sunday! This morning Andrea Villarreal was our chef and hostess for a workshop taught by Denise Hahn. If you do not know Denise and her amazing art go directly to her blog or website- Inmyblueroom.com. (She always has something amazing on Etsy too!) Andrea prepared a brunch that was to die for. French toast piping hot from the oven, fresh muffins, frittata, chicken salad, fruit and more. We gabbed and ate and then got our craft on!

I know you are wondering where the pictures are about now. Well, somewhere in my messy studio is the cable to import the photos onto my Mac. So I have no pictures to share. I promise to post as soon as possible.

The room was packed with beautiful and talented women each eager to put their spin on a hanging banner proclaiming "art" or "joy". Andrea's home was festive and beautifully decorated and ready for us to work. After two days of selling at Urban Barn I chose to make the "joy" banner to kick off my holiday decorating! I am late this year as I have been in the studio making jewelry and having fun.

It was a great morning filled with art and great women! I so enjoyed meeting everyone and seeing my Glitterfest friend Denise again! So go spend some time enjoying "In My Blue Room".

Happy Holidays!

Tara

Treasure Hunting, Classes and Shows

My week started with another amazing class with Robin Dudley Howes! This paper shrine was so much fun to create. I learned all about the Sizzix system for die cutting paper. I had to hop on line and order one of the machines and some dies to play with.

We also learned some very basic methods for drawing on metal to emboss an image. Having never really been a scrap-booker or paper crafter, I found this class opening so many doors for creating with paper. Did I mention the dies cut fabric too?

Next it was off to Treasures and Junk in Ontario for a walk through. I always find a trinket or two there. This week I spotted a cool vintage 1963 Vespa scooter. True, it is too large to use as a pendant or a charm but soooooo cool none the less! I always leave Treasures and Junk ready to hit my studio and create.

I spent a few hours cutting things out of paper with my new Sizzix Big Shot die cut machine. Now I have some cool shapes and flourishes to incorporate into some mixed media art I have been working on for Glitterfest Spring. March 19th will be here before you know it- save the date.

Happy Creating! Next week I will give you a peek at some Christmas crafts I am working on for home decor and gifts.

Creative Space

My journey to revamp my studio continues. I have all of my jewelry bits organized and you can even see my desk top. I am enjoying having everything organized.

I never thought much about having a pretty place to work. I always thought about a functional space- which usually meant the kitchen table! Why shouldn't we have a pretty place to work? We are creative people and we deserve a beautiful place to create. Go ahead and decorate that small workspace, corner, garage or wherever you create. It could be a simple bulletin board filled with scraps of fabric, colors, photographs or anything that pleases you.

I shopped in my own home and pulled the bits and pieces I love for my studio. The painting in the photo was in the powder room. I love it and never saw it in the powder room. Now it brightens my studio. I have a pretty tray on the dresser top with bits and pieces I might design with. The first photo is my personal collection of rhinestone jewelry. Why not have it out where you can see the items? I do not get to wear them very often but I can play with them in my studio!

Go ahead and spice up your workspace. Use the things you already have and love- it's free!

Stay inspired,

Tara

Lulu Max: Inspiration!!

Lulu Max: Inspiration!!

Inspiration!!

Such an exciting morning! I was in San Diego and on the way home I stopped at Urban Barn. One of my favorite stores for that whimsical touch for any room or a vintage gotta have it! They have an amazing selection of furniture, garden items (think the most amazing wire plant holders ever), nick nacks, vintage clothing, lighting, hand made jewelry using loads of vintage components. So. . . you can see why I would love the place. All of the jewelry I create has a vintage component or feel so a walk through Urban Barn is pure delight and inspiration. In fact I spotted a few pieces of jewelry designed with components I sold. As they say, great minds think alike.

Above are a few of the treasures I brought home. Check out the one of a kind tiered silver display stand made from vintage silver trays!!! I love it and it has been placed in a spot of honor in my studio. Don't worry she made a few more. There is one with a cherub that is to die for! The trays I purchased will become wall art to replace the picture in the background. I will embelish the trays before I hang them and then I will show you the final look when I finish my studio!

Be inspired and get your creative on!

Creating an inspirational workspace

The project is under way. My goal is to create a beautiful and inspiring yet functional workspace. I am organizing my little heart out. I have a new monster flat file cabinet with 12 drawers to lay things out inside. So far I just have a huge mess. Next week I will reveal my new art space! Enjoy the before pictures and be glad you don't have to clean up the mess!