Staying cozy

It's been getting chilly around here! This has me on my annual hunt for the perfect gloves. I found my stash of gloves in the closet early this fall, and I told myself that I wouldn't need to buy any new ones this year. Ha! Of course the fact that I don't NEED them just makes me want new ones even more!

I' be been searching for just the right pair, and I can't seem to find them anywhere. I have a few criteria, I want them to be fingerless so that I can use my phone, and the problem that I keep running into is that the fingerless gloves all have covered thumbs - I don't know about you, but I do 90% of my texting and swiping with my thumbs. Plus, they have to be cute, I'm not willing to spend money on something that's not cute!

Since I haven't been able to fund exactly what I want in the store, I decided to make them myself. There's my type A personality for you, I can do everything best if I do it myself...

We got our first snow of the season, which has motivated me to finish these, this is an in-the-middle-of-the-project photo.  I can't wait to show you the finished product, I have visions if lace and buttons and complete girliness!

Easy gifts for kids

I know a lot of people who have kids on their shopping lists this year, and all those toys and ridiculously adorable clothes can add up fast, so here are a couple of quick, inexpensive gifts that I made for the kiddos on my list.

Fleece headbands - these are supremely easy; one quick stitch. The only thing that you have to remember is to cut the fleece with the scratch so that they can get it on. After stitching one edge glue on a cute flower and you have the perfect gift for a girl.

Fun fleece scarves - these are so simple that we made them with the 4 year olds in my class. Just cut strips of fleece that are 1 yard by 7 inches, stack three strips on top of each other and see straight down the middle. On each edge make cuts 3 inches apart, from the outside edge to the center stitching, just be careful not to snip your stitches. Shake it out a little and you have a cute scarf.

Now's the time to buy fleece, so while you may have to wait in line at the cutting table, at least you'll get a great deal!

A dream come true...I hope

You may remember, early last summer, I posted some great photos of the shed that I was dying to convert into a studio (if not, you can view that post, and the photos, here). Anyway, by some miracle I was able to convince my boyfriend, ok I had a little help from his mother, that it really would be better as my studio than converted back to the working chicken coop that it had once been.

This doesn't happen very often, the whole me being able to convince him to do something my way, so needless to say, I am ecstatic! Not only am I finally getting a studio, a complete dream come true, I also get to share the who process with all of you!

Today I want to show you a few more photos of the space as it was when Aaron bought the property, just so you can appreciate how much work we have to do.

ok, I lied, I only have one picture of the shed, because at the time, I couldn't imagine why I would want more than one picture of the inside of this thing. The picture is a little dark, so I'll do my best to describe it for you. Originally this building served as a chicken coop, it was then converted into a garden shed, which explains all of the miscellaneous pots. It is dark, and currently missing two of the six windows. There is a racked cement floor, which is not level, and btw, it floods when it rains.

The plan is to raise and refinish the floor, insulate and finish the walls, finish the ceiling, paint and finish the exterior, install new windows and doors, and wire the whole place for electrical, and that's just what has to be done to the structure. After all of that is completed I have free range to work my decorating/organizational magic, and I could not be more excited!

I will certainly post pictures of the whole process, please let me know if you have any tips or tricks, or products that you could not do without. I am looking to make my studio the most organized, efficient workspace that I possibly can and I would love to know what works for you!