Good intentions

I had every intention of finishing my overwhelming project that has become tagging and cataloging all of my beautiful glass, but when I walked into my studio tonight I was so not feeling it. So instead I went back in the house and filled in my planner for this week, it didn't take long to fill up a whole week, but that's the story of my life. Now I'm off to finish some laundry (so very exciting) and start getting ready for our camping trip this weekend. We're making our second trip of the summer to Amish country, I love Amish country, it's the perfect place to get in the mood for fall!

Two Words: Wireless Internet!

I swear my life is a million times easier (not to mention a whole lot quicker) now that we finally have wireless at Aaron's (and therefore in my studio)! Needless to say my ipod has been glued to my hand ever since, and I am back to reading blogs religiously (o how I have missed you)!

Some of my favorite bloggers have inspired me to get back to my own, and I really want to turn this little blog of mine around. It is so much easier to write everyday when I share stories and info from all aspects of my life, as opposed to the segment that is my craft - mania. But the title still fits perfectly, because I am, of course, obsessively organized in every possible way.

For example, wedding planning has consumed my free time, so I wanted to share with you what I did this weekend (thank God for three day weekends), so that you can get a picture of how ridiculously organized my brain is.

This all started when I decided that my wedding centerpieces were going to be a collection of randomly assorted vintage glass vases (thank you design_sponge). I had already begun collecting pieces that grabbed me, so I was excited to indulge myself, and I went a little crazy at goodwill, savers, and garage sales. I now have over a hundred and fifty glass pieces in my possession. I was lucky enough to find a florist who is very excited about my vision, and I can't wait to see what she does with it (and now I'm going to plug the very talented Mary Ann at the Flower Basket in Bowling Green Ohio). But she can't give me a quote until she has a clear picture of the number and sizes of the pieces I want to use (entirely understandable). Therefore, the floor of my studio now looks like this:

But it's worth it because I finally feel like I have an understanding of what I have, whew. Plus each piece has a label on the bottom that gives the piece's item number, and the number of the table grouping that particular piece belongs to, and I have corresponding spreadsheets. Is it sad that I'm excited about my spreadsheets?

Plus, after I created a grouping, I took a picture of it, so that I can print the pictures and take them with me when we set up the hall. Here is one, it doesn't look like much now, but imagine it with flowers and candles (in 8 months I can show you pictures of the really thing!!!!!)

It was a little sad how tired this made me, but i definitely felt like I accomplished something!

Excuses Excuses

Yes, again, I have been away for a long time, but this time I have a number of very legitimate excuses (as opposed to before, when I was just being lazy).

Excuse #1: I got engaged!!! Yes after 6 years Aaron finally asked, and it was so cute too. We were finishing up some little things in my studio before I moved all of my junk in, and he was helping me stick a beautiful decal pattern on one of the walls. This should've been clue number one because he never would've offered to help me do that otherwise. anyway, here's a picture of the wall we were working on:

When we were done we stepped back to admire our work and he pulled the ring out of a drawer!

So, needless to say I have been frantically trying to secure wedding vendors, and get myself organized, luckily I had already picked out one of my wedding plan books (available on my etsy shop)and I can wait to share a few posts on specific pages in my personal book!

Excuse #2: I have been moving all of my fun crafty stuff from my parent's house, to my new studio at my fiance's. But, my gorgeous studio is now completely done and I have been spending all of my extra time in there. Of course I never imagined that it would turn into wedding planning central quite so quickly, but I am so enjoying it! Here are some pictures of the finished product:

Excuse#3: I was on vacation. Aaron and I made another trip to Ohio's Amish Country, luckily we found a much better campground this year. So after a long weekend of s'mores, fabric shopping, antiquing, and a little sprint car racing action, I didn't have a ton of time for blogging, but I do have pictures to share:

Excuse #4: Some of our very close friends just got married, and though I started a quilt for them in January, somehow I was still finishing it up just this week. But I was able to finish it in time for the wedding, and as much as I love it, I was so glad to give it to them because I have spent so much time looking at it that I would be happy if I never saw it again! And in keeping with tradition starting with the last wedding quilt that I made, I of course forgot to take a picture of the finished product.

So yes, I realize that I have a lot of excuses, but I also have a lot more to share, so I will keep you updated on wedding details (I am already planning for a post on the special invitations that I have created for the members of our bridal party!), and I will definitely continue to focus on wonderful etsy vendors, whose beautiful work makes me fight the urge to whip out my credit card!

I have new pictures!

That's right I have new pictures of my studio, which will soon be fully functional. The construction is done, now it's my turn to take over. Luckily I have a day off on Monday (I love compressed summer work weeks!!!!) so I will be moving in this weekend. Of course, when that is finished I will have some more pictures for you.

Up to this point one of my favorite activities has been collecting wonderful finds to fill up this space. The most important factor in my purchases has been the purpose of the item, and I have really focused on collecting items that are going to help me keep the space organized. Here are some of the storage solutions that I am currently drooling over (all are available on etsy!).

A gorgeous trinket box from KypresjackDesigns. Completely my style, a little pricy, but absolutely beautiful.

This is actually a drawer from a vintage sewing machine, which would be completely perfect for a crafting studio. Available from RiverBendRanchStudio

I think these little felt bins are my favorite, and I am so going to make a set of these myself, although, if I can't find the time I just may buy them from sewingmomma

New Remodel Pictures

Yes, I fully realize that I am a blog slacker, but I do have new pictures of the studio, it is actually coming along very quickly, now that the average temperature is over 60 degrees it is much easier to work on!

Today's pictures are of the new siding, and I do admit that some of the character of the building was lost when the new siding was put on, but on the bright side, it doesn't look like it's going to fall over anymore!

And yes, I even managed to get the man at work! It is so close to done that I can feel it. As I type the interior paint is going up, and the best part is that I haven't even had to pick up a brush, I guess that's my reward for painting his entire house, he paints my tiny little shed for me, but I'm not complaining!

I have a trip to IKEA planned, and I am super excited to go pick out a counter top and some cabinets, then all that will be left is the decorating!

Scrapbooking fever

The scrapbooker in me has been somewhat stagnant lately. I really didn't have anything that I was excited about scrapbooking, it seems that I just do the same themes and events over and over again. But we all got together for scrap night last night after work and I really challenged myself to do something different that would spark my interest.

Then it hit me, I am so stupid, of course I have something that I want to record and remember - my studio! Not only can I create a scrapbook of the experience, but it can also serve as a place to keep all of those photos and fabric swatches that inspire the interior design of the studio.

The scrapbook pages that I did last night turned out so beautifully that I wanted to share them. Hopefully you will be able to see my vision for the finished space!

These are the photographs that have given me inspiration. Many of them are from one of my all time favorite blogs - design sponge while others are from products for sale on Etsy, other blogs, and DIY websites. I especially love the photo of the kitchen with all of the white cabinets, the cabinets have been painted lime green on the inside, what a great idea, and a great way to use such a bright color so that it doesn't overwhelm.

Here are some of the fabrics and papers that I have collected to use for different decorative elements, curtains, cushions, picture frames, and other fun stuff that I haven't even thought of yet.

I chose to do all of the actual photographs in black and white because I didn't want any of the colors in the photos to distract from the color scheme that I had chosen for the design, and for the scrapbook. My intention for the studio is to have a place where everything belongs, where everything fits harmoniously. I really wanted to convey this in the scrapbook too.

I had the hardest time finding an album for this scrapbook, I looked everywhere, and in the end I never did find one. So I am planning on spiral binding these pages the same way that I bind all of my planners, but I can't do that until I am completely done, so for now I will just pray that nothing happens to my pages.

Studio remodel - New pictures!

The weather here has been unseasonable warm, and we have been taking full advantage of all of this time to work outside, which has been perfect considering that the my soon to be studio is nowhere near ready to be heated. So I have some new pictures to share with you.

Aaron finished hanging the drywall today (yay!), and though it is basically still a shell of a building, I am really beginning to see it all come together. Here, check it out for your self!

I have also become somewhat obsessed with decorating my little unfinished space. My latest great idea has turned into an unexpected new hobby, as if I need another one of those. I really want to be able to display all of my supplies, especially the smaller notions and embellishments, in clear containers so that it is easy to see what I have, and I cannot resist unique glass vessels, especially vases and canning jars, so I have begun a collection that is growing rapidly.

I've never been much of a collector, even as a child I didn't really have any collections, but now I can see how they can consume you! But at least my collection of glass containers will be functional. I hope to be able to share some of my favorite finds with you. currently my favorites are the decanters with really unique stoppers, but I also enjoy the simpler milk bottles. I love to check out all of the photos on etsy, search vintage glass bottles and you'll be amazed, but I'm really cheap, so I've been scouring the local Goodwill store. I can't wait to fill them up, but I'm beginning to think that I'll have more jars than supplies to fill them up with!