Where this blogger creates

Welcome. My name is Bleubeard and I've been asked by Elizabeth to be your host and show you around her upstairs craft spaces. Elizabeth always says her entire home is a craft studio, but she has chosen to show just a few places today.

I'm so excited because this is my first time to host anything. I hope I get things right because I know Elizabeth has worked hard so you will have an enjoyable visit. Before we enter, I've been asked to tell you there are a lot of photos and they were all saved at the lowest resolution possible. Elizabeth says you can click to enlarge, but they will probably be blurry.

I'm also supposed to let everyone know that the blog party begins at Karen Valentine's My Dessert Cottage. Elizabeth wants to remind visitors that word verification has been disabled.

Whew. I'm glad that's over. I had to memorize all those things and I'm much better at relaxing in a warm sunny afternoon spot than memorizing. So, lets enter the upstairs craft space, a place I'm normally not allowed to visit.

Baskets store fabric and napkins. Cups hold brushes. Pens are stored on their sides in a clear container.

Storage below holds stamping items.

The desk, made from an old door, hold Elizabeth's favorite cutter and sewing machine.

Here is where fibers are held. Below that is where stickers and swap packages are kept.

This is what I see when I am allowed to visit. I can barely see the thread, Sizzix, and Xyron on top of the cabinet. I bet you won't have any trouble, though.

This is where Elizabeth creates all her paper and paint creations, as well as where she lays out fabric. In fact, this is the "paper crafting and fabric" craft room.

The dresser behind the table is where she weighs and packages her swaps. She calls it "mail central."

She loves her tools.

They are stored on both sides of the door. Other supplies are in the closet.

This picture might give you a better idea about the size of this room. It is 8' by 10' (2.44m X 3.04m) and not much bigger than my sandbox. That mirror sitting on the cabinet sure helps add light to the small dark room.

Elizabeth makes a lot of her own handmade paper, where we'll go soon. She sorts and stores it by color. Paint and inks sit on top. No space is wasted in this small room.

The hanger that will eventually hold spools of ribbon is now holding part of a year long dress project. The door to the left in the photo goes to the main floor sandbox restroom.

Every Tuesday, Elizabeth has tea with some blog friends and she usually sits at her dining room table. Today she asked me to invite you to join us, even though it isn't Tuesday. Also, feel free to grab a cinnamon cheese roll, and some tea, or coffee which is staying warm in a carafe in the kitchen.

I love being with Elizabeth on the back patio, because this is where metal turns pretty colors in the chiminea,

and old paper gets turned into pulp.


But now it's time to return to the cool of the house. I'll show you to the basement where Elizabeth will meet and greet you.

Oh my! You're a bit early, but welcome to my basement studio. I am just now putting the finishing touches on a new addition to my studio. Let me put my step stool away and I'll join you. Did Bleubeard offer you something to drink, and maybe a pastry?

I guess we should start at the door. This is my assemblage, wood, metal, solder, beeswax, polymer clay, and mixed media studio. It is also where I dye my fabric.

I hope this makes you feel at home. After all, this is a basement and there are no windows, so the lighting is limited down here. I'll move the sign when we get to the work bench so you can see behind it.

Behind the door is my easel. I'm not a painter, but I have set it up on occasion to work on my mixed media pieces. You can also see where I keep my polymer clay (PC) and PC tools.

Note the foot stool, one of three I keep in the room, since everything is stacked top to bottom.

On the top shelf is my crayon maker, a gag gift I received one year. I also keep my glue gun and glue sticks there, along with Gallery Glass paint. To the right is a warming tray, perfect for melting crayons or keeping encaustics warm.

On the middle shelf is where I keep my soldering tools and supplies.

The next shelf houses my UTEE (a thick embossing powder which is melted in the two special pots). It's also where I keep my beeswax and small crock pot.

The bottom shelf, barely visible in the above photo, holds folders with projects and supplies.

The first shelf in the middle set of bookcases holds my mouse sander, and there is lots of room for more supplies.

On the second shelf, I keep all my wallpaper samples, as well as my tiny paint sprayer, and a few books.

The third shelf has my laminator, some extra paint and glue, and a few books. I haven't decided if these will stay or find a new home.

The bottom shelf containers, compliments of Bleubeard, hold assemblage fodder.

I keep candy molds on the top shelf, but use them mostly for paper making or polymer clay. The first shelf holds dressmaker patterns in those boxes.

A few years ago, I bought a bunch of letter holders, which are on the next two shelves. I hate to admit this, but they are more junk collectors than useful storage.

To the right is my step stool and behind that are some pretty comfy padded folding chairs I bought for when I have friends over and we set up a long card table which is kept in the cubby.

Again, as with everywhere I create, the fixtures are basic, usually given to me, repurposed from furniture I purchased in the 80s, or purchased at a big box discount store. You won't find any lovely antiques or gorgeous storage pieces. Function is the name of the game here.

Lots of storage containers hold broken jewelry, metal washers, and other 3-D items to be used in assemblages.

Of course, there's the various jars and cans of glue and "goo" needed to complete most projects.

I was hanging the clothesline when you caught me. This will become an ever changing display of swap items and gifts from friends. I love every one of these beauties, all made by special friends. The banner has distracted me from showing you the north west corner of the room. Maybe Bleubeard should take my place. From this angle, you should be able to see my fold up foot stool, too.

That big container on the end of the top long shelf is a tackle box that is perfect for holding small items, like dice and dominoes.

A paper cutter sits on the rolling cart and cutting tools live inside.

The corner holds some more art from friends, along with my glass tumbling materials and tools.

I could write a book on what's on these shelves, but suffice it to say I am truly into mixed media. There are soap making supplies, fabric dyes, wood, essential oils, computer parts, objects to make wind chimes, and pieces from nature on these shelves. Everything is grouped by project type and if it's not a tool or supply, it was probably found in a dumpster.

To the right of the shelves is another rolling cart that holds fabric I've washed and is ready for dyeing.

Jars hold beads from old jewelry, separated and sorted by color. The top and bottom shelves are devoted to flower arranging or preserving.

Gotta love those over-the-door shoe racks. They are handy to hold all kinds of tools and such.

Another one on the inside of the closet door holds more tools, pens, and pencils. A back up blender, plastic container, and paper making supplies, sit on an old roll around typewriter stand in the closet. Hangers hold large sheets of handmade paper and hand dyed fabric.

A cubby built into the recess, holds books to be used as backgrounds in mixed media projects. Tins destined for the chiminea or the tin snips share the space.

Next to the cubby is a 5 drawer container that holds miscellaneous supplies. A cabinet that will eventually be decorated to hold the dresses you saw upstairs, sits on top.

Another roll around cart holds stencil paint and Shiva paint sticks, among other things.

Any time I can put something on wheels, it makes my life easier and makes things portable.

We're nearly at the end of our journey. This dresser, whose drawers no longer close properly, was damaged in the flood I had last year when a water pipe broke in my basement. Now it stores paper in the bottom, paint in the middle drawer, and crayons and inks in the top two drawers.

This letter organizer is the perfect solution for holding my stencils, since it's so close to the stencil paint.

I call my glue tower "adhesive central." The cork board holds some of my favorite handmade gifts from friends.

I hope you enjoyed this tour of a few of the places I create and leave a comment letting me (or Bleubeard) know you were here. Of course, I didn't take you through the garage, which houses power tools, but there were enough places to see, I think you get the idea that I'm a very busy crafter. It may not be filled with beautiful furniture or vintage goodies, but it's where I create, is organized, and it works for me.

UPDATE: I have just made it through the Js. I will update as I work my way through the letters. It has taken me a lot longer than I ever imagined, but I read every word and look at every photo, so I spend a lot of time at each blog.

Speaking of beauty, if you want to see a beautiful studio, be sure to check out my blog pick of the day, My Desert Cottage, owned by Karen Valentine, who started this ultimate blog hop project last year. I know she has put a lot into this event, so please tell her how appreciative you are she organized this event. And please remember, Karen said to show a lot of photos, so you can blame her for there being so many! It certainly couldn't have been Bleubeard or I who took all these.