Wednesday 4 August 2010

My Attic Studio

When creating I like to work in my conservatory as the light is really good and I have a lovely view of my garden, which is great for inspiration. Unfortunately I don't have the space to display my work and that of my arty friends in the downstairs of my home so I have a lovely little attic space in the upstairs office (it's a kind of mezzanine floor level that looks over the upstairs office) and it is here that I can indulge my arty side.
I'm always reworking the layout on the desk area to accommodate new pieces of work or friends pieces I've acquired. I also have a growing pile of Stampington Publications, which I love; Somerset Studio, Where Women Create, Artful Blogging and Digital Studio, I'm always adding to this collection so I don't know what I'm going to do when the pile gets too big lol!. This space is also where I keep my "arty" book collection including books and magazines my work has been published in.
Of course since purchasing the gorgeous old typewriter I showed you in an earlier post, I had to re-jig the whole space to accommodate it and that took some doing, not to mention lots of dusting!!! But I finally found an area for it right next to my old vintage telephone.

The gold "ART" sign was a charity shop find and I am planning to cover it in vintage papers... another of the many jobs I keep meaning to get round to!

So I am satisfied now that my "Arty Attic" is re-jigged sufficiently till the next purchase... then I might need to move home :-) .... a girl should always have space for her creative side!

Monday 2 August 2010

Friends and Fondant Fancies!

Ohhh my wonderful readers, I have a sneek peek for you of my friend Mary's home! Do you remember I mentioned Mary in a previous post? She has THE MOST AMAZING vintage home and I will be visiting her again hopefully in a few weeks to photograph her home to share with you all, but in the meantime here are some scanned photos of when Mary's home was in a past issue of Period Living Magazine, her home featured on the front cover, above and several pages inside.
I had a visit from Mary to my home today, she came along with my other good friends Lilius and Sarah... and ohhh what a fun filled morning we had, drinking tea, eating Fondant Fancies, tinkering with sewing machines, talking vintage quilts, touring round my home and going through my creations, with lots of laughter and excitement.

It's funny how our friendships came about, us four like minded people, all who enjoy a Vintage Artful Life; Lilus I met through our children at the local school, she introduced me to Mary who is her neighbour and very good friend. Sarah I met through volunteering at Oxfam two years ago and we've been friends ever since. Today I invited Lilus to bring Mary round to my home and to meet my friend Sarah, it turns out when Sarah got here that she recognised Mary from several years ago when Mary used to run a Market Stall, (still with me??), Sarah makes button jewellery, among her many talents, and she used to buy buttons from Mary... spooky!!

I just knew we would all get on like a house on fire... and we sure did!! We are all hoping to meet up again at the end of August for another artful adventures at Lilius's and Mary's homes, so I'll have my camera at the ready as both homes are gorgeous, not to mention their gardens!!!
Ohh and by the way, if you want to follow Mary's blog here's the link: The Vintage Cottage