Putting the giant papasan chair in the craft room proved other difficulties. I reworked the layout quite a bit but only once I got my new craft table did the pieces fall together. Looking back at what the craft room use to look like and comparing it to now is amazing. It was so cramped and cluttered!

I still need to whip out some curtains for the closet and window, but tada!

The table placement is awesome because I can work from either side, and need I remind you its counter height? Love that!

The papasan chair still works out for my “reading nook” and ive moved some scrapping supplies to the shelving next to it from the closet.

That has allowed the closet to be a larger sewing space, since now the ironing board can go on the shelving in there.

The set up of the last shelving is interesting to me, and my cats love the stair-stepped aspect of it. I have an office section set up where I can do all my scheduling and office-type things; my “library”; and some odds and ends storage.

And while taking these photos, I came across some items that deserve to be blogged about. First, there is this ceramic piece i made in highschool. It even has a working drawer on it ;)

Then there is this primitive doll that my friend Leslie made for me a few years ago. She used an old quilt for the dress, patched a star on it for moi, named her Estell (the meaning is “star”), and what you definitely cant tell from the photo is that she has a faint cinnamon smell. Super clever!

This little jar is one of my favorite pieces. In addition to the faces reminding me of Brian Froud‘s artwork (one of my favorite artists – youll know him as the designer of the Labyrinth film with David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly), they were handmade by my late great gramma. I dont know if there is a proper name for these dolls, but they are made from hosiery and each one is definitely unique.

I also was gifted this doll, Horse Medicine Woman, for my graduation present. Mik blogged about her here and here, where the light was with her for better photos. It was her first venture for a fully beaded dress and it is stunning (yes ladies and gents, the colors of her dress are tiny little beads)!

And now i must work to deserve the itouch Boy so graciously got me for doing taxes. Bleh.

And the finale from the last postings…

Project G: Bottled Stars

When Snapple first came out, i loved the shape of the bottle. I was also into making oragami stars at one of my other sit-around-and-do-nothing-but-get-paid jobs. I simply painted the bottle and filled it to the brim. Don’t ask me why.

Project H: Link, our favorite hero!

A gift to my boyfriend. I used an image from the manual of a Zelda game. I think with this one, I had done the grid enlargement technique (draw a grid on the original, and a grid on your canvas, and focus on each square individually to enlarge the image). I painted it with whatever paints i had. Not too shabby.

Project I: A sweet baby dragon

I used clay and finished it off with glaze. I copied the shape from somewhere but I have not a clue where.

Project J: Sweet gifts

So i have a romantic side, and what? I made the box from scratch – cut the wood, nailed it together, stained it, added the hinged and metal details. I found a cool jar somewhere with a wooden lid. Each of those oragami stars I think said “i love you” and every note in the box was burnt around the edges, tied with a little string, and said something about him that I loved.

Project K: Sheepcake and Sushi rolls

For my boyfriends birthday, his sister and I made a sheep cake out of marshmallows, and sushi rolls out of rice crispy treats and fruit rollups. Quite the combination.

Thats it for now! Yay!

Here are some projects I did around the beginning of the 21st century. Doesnt that sound weird?  So in no particular order, may I present to you:

Project A: Refinished Dresser

This is a dresser from when my great grandmother was a baby (late 19th-early 20th century). It was white and dinged up when I got it, and I decided to refinish it. It was tons and tons of work, but the results are beautiful. There were i believe 8 layers of paint (white, pink, greens), probably all lead. I replaced the drawer handles, but the locks and knob are original. I even use to collect skeleton keys, so I happened to have one that fits! I took parts of it to a wood repair shop, and they did a great job. They believe it is made from white oak.

Project B: Wall Art

I had a children’s book and this was on the cover. It was probably about 2 or 3 inches tall, and i drew it to be about 7 or so. Colored pencil and ink.

Project C: Star Moon Sculpture

I took a non-major ceramics class my freshman year in college, and one of the assignments was to use shapes of clay to build something. I have always loved stars so choosing the shape was easy enough. I recall that I didn’t have a clue of what I was going to build, but the moon just sort of happened. I set it all on a structure of clouds, glazed it my favorite color, rubbed off the edges and the clouds, and voila!

I will continue with more later! :D