Friday, February 26, 2010

Paper Prayers Art Room

Not too long ago I made it my mission to get reorganized. I really needed to get rid of a bunch of stuff and figure out some ways to make better use of my art space. Here's the result:

My handy husband put together new stackable shelving to put on top of my work table. (There are actually 2 units stacked on top of each other, plus one corner unit.) I had just enough room left over for my beloved paint carousel. Too bad they don't make a "double decker." I could use one twice as tall - I could easily fill it up.

It's a good feeling to have a place for everything.This formica table was our kitchen table in our apartment days! Before that it was my in-law's. They bought it used. It's been around. It has YEARS of layers of mod-podge and paint on it. There's no need to clean it up. My boys like to come downstairs and pick at it. It IS kind of addicting - like a peeling sunburn that you can't resist.
My oldest was painting his pinewood derby car the other day and he pointed out the paint from LAST year's car - still there! What a story this table has to tell!

Underneath the table there's just enough room for all of my paper. Can I just tell you that my heart may have skipped a beat when I found these 3 drawer organizers at Wal-Mart in the plastic storage aisle, marked down. They're EXACTLY the right size for 12x12 scrapbook paper. Now THIS gets me excited: it's all organized by color. (I have 2 sets of drawers stacked on top of each other on each side.)
Another favorite thing I cannot do without: my 12x12 cutting mat - makes measuring a breeze!
I even organized my scraps - for now anyway - we'll see how long it lasts - into bigger and smaller pieces. Huh. I should really take those stickers off those containers.
Brushes, pencils and small tools have a handy spot in this IKEA organizer:
I am so blessed to be surrounded by inspiration! Special artwork by my boys:
The angel was made by my mom. She used an antique doll figure and the same fabrics she'd made my prom dresses from!
The framed shoes were drawn by my dad (who was also an artist and photographer) and then manipulated digitally. He always used to sit like that. The first Christmas after he passed away, my mom gave us girls these prints and added these words, "You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. I walk before the Lord in the land of the living." Psalm 116:8-9

The "Ward Photography" sign was made by my parents and hung outside of our family home. (My dad worked out of our home, photographing weddings, families and portraits.)
Old-timey photographer made by my mom as a present for my dad:
Bulletin board (gift from my mom) with various newspaper articles:Another new shelf - we put the top 3 racks very close together to make some 'drying racks'. My goal: to keep the dog hair in the drying mod-podge to a bare minimum. This still left me with room below for more drawers.
Doesn't this drawer just make you happy?! So much fringy, yarny goodness....


Various thrifted wood and new chipboard projects waiting to be completed:
Thrifted frames waiting for a facelift. Don't worry - I'm not going to be going "nautical" on you anytime in the near or distant future.
Getting reorganized, I discovered a few things: I should not need to buy paint or paper for a very. long. time. Yeah, you heard me say it - now just remind me of this the next time Hobby Lobby's having a sale on paper. Also: I'm naturally messy. (Wait, I already knew that.) But I'm enjoying being this organized. We'll see how long it lasts.... It SHOULD be easier to maintain...
right? Some of you may be thinking, "THIS is organized?! There is still an awful lot of clutter!" Trust me. YOU didn't see the before pictures. It was out. of. control.

"Feel Good Shop of the Day!"





The Paper Prayers etsy shop is Kind over Matter's "Feel Good Shop of the day!" Go check out this blog - full of inspiration and words that just make you feel good!


Sunday, February 21, 2010

FINALLY We got a WINNER!

The winner of my handmade scarf give-away is SPOOKYSTEVENS!!!!!!!
Congratulations, Sheila, and I will be contacting you very soon. It's still winter here in Iowa!

Monday, February 15, 2010

She Made Me Do It...

Since I do have rights to post on this blog (even though it's very rare)...I'm gonna go ahead and post clarifying that Jill made me post that video. I probably would have kept it hidden away in the privacy of my own collection of ridiculous videos I've made (hello scrappy head!), but I guess it's the gift that keeps on giving. I think she probably screamed and giggled all over again.
Also wanted to shout out and say that y'all are awesome for supporting and encouraging my mom and my sisters in their artwork. They are pretty amazing!
It has been drawn to my attention that there have been some requests to hear some of my music. I'm definitely going to work on that! I promise.
If y'all want to check out my blog and see what I do...I just posted about a conference that I helped lead worship for. Truly an amazing experience.

THE Best Christmas Present, Possibly, Ever.

I'm going to depart from the usual things we post about on this blog because I just HAD to share this with all of you. For Christmas, the youngest thing with winger (who lives in Austin) surprised us other "things" with quite possibly THE best Christmas gift ever. She went to a book signing of the Pioneer Woman's new cookbook, stood in line with her friend Wendy for HOURS, got autographs, and get this: VIDEO TAPED THE WHOLE GOSH DARN THING. All this despite the fact that they'd worked all day, and had no idea who PW was (can you believe they actually admitted this to PW's face! oh the horror!) Believe me - they know now!!!

Emily gave us our presents by having us sit down and watch the video all together. We had no idea what it was about, but when we realized, I'm not ashamed to admit there was screaming.... aaaaand squealing.....aaaand maybe just a little bit of heavy breathing....of the purely platonic variety of course. It was the grown woman's equivalent of seeing the New Kids on the Block as a junior high girl. So without further ado I bring you, "Emily and Wendy on a Mission:"

Pioneer Woman from Emily Ward on Vimeo.


Marlboro Man's signature:

Ree/PW wants me to "enjoy (heart)" her book :-)

So how many of you out there are Pioneer Woman Fans? Who's got her cookbook? What recipe is your favorite? ....Do you think I'm a crazy fan and have no idea who PW is? It's ok to think I'm a little crazy but go check PW out and come back and thank me when you get hooked!

OWOH Giveaway Winner!

We have a winner! The random number generator picked number 73!!!! Comment #73 was left by Nicole from Glendale, Arizona! Congratulations, Nicole! This heart flower will be headed your way soon!!! We've really enjoyed participating in the One World One Heart event. We got to visit blogs from all over the world and were thrilled by all of the new visitors who stopped by to visit us. Lots of fun!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Everything Etsy

Visit Everything Etsy!


The heart flower below from the Paper Prayer's Etsy shop is being featured in the "Sweet Gallery" at Everything Etsy! Go check it out! Thanks Kim!

Art Night and Wine Tasting

Here's the cute little coffee place where our event was held last night:Here's our little set up:













Our friend Keri of Creative Genius Art had some great old windows that she'd painted on, plus all of these great little things:
We had a fun time hanging out with Keri, even though sales were slow. We ended the night with a jump start while Green Girl snickered about my general lack of car knowledge and took our picture. Thanks to Keri and some random guy, or I'd be there still!

**A winner will be chosen tonight for the OWOH giveway (finally! were you like me and thought it was NEVER going to end?! :-) But you can still enter here, through 10pm CST tonight. A winner will be chosen tonight and I'll post the winner tomorrow morning!