Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Sketchbook Challenge Blog Hop

I've been away from home so much this year, that I'm really really missing my studio time.  Over on the Sketchbook Challenge Blog, I talked about some of the things about my studio that make me feel cozy and comfortable and allow me to create more freely.  If you want a closer peek, pop on over.

I've been making art in hotel rooms most of this year.  It's been fine, and I've really enjoyed my busy schedule teaching.  But I really really miss my inspiration boards and all my color coordinated stash from home!


I separate everything by color.  Paper, Threads, Markers, Pencils, Paints.  It helps me work faster.  I can just hold a piece up to my ribbon caddy and see what looks good with it, rather than pulling piece after piece and trying it.  Paper too.  I just pull the entire drawer out and put it on the table if I know I need blue.  I can sort thru the blues easily to find just the right shade.


But my inspiration boards are a tumbling rumbling active force in the studio.  No matter what direction I look, I am rewarded by glimpses of friends work, articles or postcards I love.  Mike and I've made my boards ourselves.  Most of them I found antique frames, and painted them to match the color of the walls.  Mike attached chicken wire, or metal to the back to make clip boards and magnetic boards.  I dug out my most treasured antique buttons and hot glued them to magnets, and now I can look at them daily!  I painted clothespins to match the frame color, and they work great with the chicken wire.  Mike also made me floor to ceiling bookshelves, and we wrapped rigid house insulation in muslin.  Attached to either side of the bookcase, I now have 2 floor to ceiling pin boards.






Finally, we found vintage spice racks, and painted them the color of the walls, and filled them with my beads!


So IF you've hung on this long, here's the scoop-
Leave a comment in the comment section of this blog post with your favorite home organization tip for a chance to win a DVD copy of my "Backgrounds to Bindings" Cloth Paper Scissors Video Workshop.

On the 26th, I'll randomly draw the name of the winner and announce it.  Make sure I have your email contact information!

Here's a quick link so you can visit some of my fabulous friends!
Sept 9 - Gina Lee Kim http://ginaleekim.blogspot.com/
Sept 10- Jacqueline Newbold http://djnewbold.blogspot.com/ 
Sept 11 Sue Bleiweiss http://www.suebleiweiss.com/blog  
Sept 12 – Jackie Bowcutt http://stitchworks-jackie.blogspot.com/
Sept 13th Kristin La Flamme http://kristinlaflamme.com/musings  
Sept 15Lyric Kinard http://lyrickinard.com/blog/
Sept 16 Terry Grant http://www.andsewitgoes.blogspot.com/
Sept 17Carol Sloan http://www.carolbsloan.blogspot.com/ 
Sept 18- Leslie Tucker Jenison http://leslietuckerjenison.blogspot.com/  
Sept 19 Lesley Riley  http://www.lesleyriley.com/weblog/  
Sept 20 Traci Bunkers  https://www.tracibunkers.com/blog/  
Sept 21 Lynn Krawczyk http://smudgedtextilesstudio.com/blog/
Sept 22 Desiree Habicht  http://myclothesline.blogspot.com
Sept 23 – Jamie Fingal http://jamiefingaldesigns.blogspot.com/  
Sept 24 Mary Beth Shaw http://mbshaw.blogspot.com/ 
Sept 25 Kari McKnight-Holbrook http://backporchartessa.blogspot.com/  
Sept 26 – Deborah Boschert http://deborahsjournal.blogspot.com/  
Sept 27Susan Brubaker Knapp http://wwwbluemoonriver.blogspot.com/  
Sept 28Laura Cater Woods http://www.cater-woods.com/weblog/  
Sept 29Jane LaFazio http://janeville.blogspot.com/  

27 comments:

sue williams said...

Thanks for sharing! Your art making space is an inspiration to all your viewers of your Blogspot! Greetings from me in South Africa. Sue

JJO said...

Thanks for your tips and inspiration and a look into your creative space.

NanW said...

I love to repurpose jars and tins for storage. Thanks for sharing your studio space.

Doreen K. said...

My husband helped me pull out all my batik fabric. We made stacks by color. I then put the stacks on the shelves ....it is so beautiful and inspiring to look. I can pick a piece of fabric and take it to the different stacks to make my choices. It is like looking at a color wheel everytime I enter the room.
Enjoy your blog. Hope I win.
Doreen

Valerie said...

Your studio space looks great. i always feel torn between desiring a fresh new craft/art room and just using what I have that works. My favorite organizing technique is having my fabric organized by color and also by theme, so if I need a particular type of fabric I know just what shelf to look on. Thanks for the giveaway.

Jo Murray said...

Those 'spice' beads are such a good idea....and your hideaway is to die for. Oh for all that storage!

Loretta said...

A wonderful studio..thanks for sharing.

Kate said...

Thanks for sharing- I love the spice racks with your beads! So fun. I have a dresser that I stole from my bedroom where I store projects in process- otherwise they pile up on my cutting table and I can't work!

Gill said...

Thank you for sharing - I have a corner of a spare bedroom!! I like to store as much stuff as I can on shelves so I can see everything!!

Unknown said...

I like to recover cans and use them to hold all kinds of stuff.

Caroline said...

Your studio is unique in that there is quite a bit of "stuff" but it is neatly contained and displayed. Just what I am aiming for. I have two brightly-colored, wheeled tool chests originally designed for mechanics. I love them! My flat files are old and used but destined to be painted to go along with the chests.

mjkasz said...

I love your bead storage idea. You have a great studio, hideaway.

Charlene McD said...

I love your studio, so very organized. I am so disorganized, my husband bought me a pen caddy with a built in easel for the pens I use in my drawings. Thanks you for sharing your beautiful room with us.

Dee Spillane said...

Hi, love your studio, want it! And that you do polymer clay too. Wow. I am pretty disorganized myself but I have a tip a friend recommended. For clay storage I got shoe box sized containers and sorted my clay by color into these. I did change it after a while to store by brand too since they all bake at different temps. I also use the containers for cutters and tools.

Jeannie said...

Your hideaway is fabulous! I love "nests" that are made of things one loves. It feels more comfortable to me than a room of new. Your bead storage idea is fantastic! I love being able to see my beads, but never could figure out an efficient way to do it. Thanks!

Gurli said...

I am really happy about this blog hop which takes me to sites I normally don't visit. So it brought me to your interesting blog where I hope to be the lucky one.
I stack my fabric in colors but with commercial fabric and hand dyed fabric each in its own stack.

Jane Prater said...

The way you have created you inspiration boards is ...well, uh...inspiring. I am digging through my frames tomorrow.

Ila said...

I like to cut down plastic powdered juice containers and using clear packing tape..I tape them together to the center one forming a circle...I then place this on a circle plastic plate the spins (sorry...senior moment here for the name) and put my prismcolor pencils in them sorting the colors.
Your craft space is AMazing!!!

Anita said...

Wauw, what a beautiful studio, I love your work.

Laurie (MizGeek) said...

I love your studio. To protect my fabric from the kitties, I have them in plastic tubs and divided by color. These tubs go in floor to ceiling IVAR shelving from IKEA with the IKEA spice jars of that color of beads next to the corresponding tub. Sometimes the beads next to the fabric inspire me. Since the shelving is modular, I was able build out in stages and now have three full walls of shelving. I'm out of walls and am building more in the living room now. :)

Katydid said...

Seeing the studios has been as fun as the artwork created for the blog hop.
Thanks for sharing
kaybeach@sbcglobal.net

scj said...

I loved looking at your studio layout and the way you store things. Thanks so much for sharing. I work out of my bedroom (shared with my husband) so there is limited space but I use plastic boxes a lot for paper/ephemera and fabric and tend to sort by colour (fabric) or type (paper e.g. text, handprinted, napkins etc). Thanks for the opportunity to win.

Lisa V said...

I have a catalog in a huge notebook of every rubber stamp I own so I can quickly look up a category and see what stamps I have that fit that category. I put where that stamp is stored so I don't have to hunt for it.

Joanne Huffman said...

I have warm and toasty memories of being in your studio.

Jeanne said...

My storage tip? Don't have one, but I keep a notebook telling me where everything is. Works for me.

lyle baxter said...

kari, loved seeing your workshop. hope you can take the time soon to enjoy it! enjoying the dvd hope whoever wins will too! lyle

Jane Prater said...

kari,
the email contact button on your blog doesn't seem to be working. It sends me to a generic Yahoo site. So, I'm trying to contact you here.

FYI, the DVD I won has not arrived. I am hoping that you have just been too busy to get it in the mail or have lost my address. You can contact me at jane@jpknits.com. Thanks.