Happy Birthday Maddie!

It seems like just yesterday when you were this tiny little chewing machine, not even big enough to jump up onto the ottoman yet...and here you are now, a 2 year old (a teenager already in dog years), just as cute and cuddly and wonderful as ever!

Thanks for the sweet, simple joys you bring us every day...and not just us, but our whole family and everyone that meets you. You are special Maddie...and we thank God for the gift of you!! Happy 2nd Birthday!!

Shop Space Expands and Goes Christmas!

Hi Y'all!!  Sweet Hubby and I are preparing to head to Beaumont to celebrate my Nephew's wedding, but before we leave, I just had to share photos of our completely transformed, expanded, decked out for Christmas space at Whispering Willow Gifts & Antiques (Tomball, TX). We were going to expand half again as much, but Mom and Dad have decided to pitch in and sell some items here as well, so now our space has actually doubled! The entire shop has expanded into 1800 more square feet and has been completely reconfigured...it is SO much easier to walk through and enjoy now...we are loving it! And we are thrilled that our space is right by the front door...the photo above is the first thing you see as you walk in to the shop. This is wonderful, but it also challenges us to keep it looking great and well stocked as it is a first impression.

 I want to write about each photo, but I am really short on time, so it'll be more like a little photo gallery with the occasional comment...enjoy! (Click any photo to enlarge)

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The yummy 12 place setting pink rose china you see in these photos ("Celebrate 2345 - Japan" is the notation on the china)...got it all for $10 at a garage sale!!!  I still can't believe they sold all this for that....amazing...  Also, the dining table, three chairs, big china hutch and two corner units were a Craigslist find we picked up last week for cheap. In these photos, the hutch is still empty....but later in the day yesterday we finally got three glass shelves from a glass store that it was missing and loaded it up with another set of china...I'll have to take and share photos of it all when we return...

To the right of the table is the shabby yellow antique pie safe we bought through Craigslist...I dressed it garden-style for Christmas...

We moved the sideboard (seen previously decorated for Fall) to the left side of our space and decorated it with a more traditional Christmas mix...  The chair you see is part of the dining set in the earlier photos...Mom, Dad and I worked together to clean them up and recover the seats with the nice black and cream check...

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I hope you enjoyed that little tour...  I'll be back with more photos early next week. We still have a fair amount of floor space to fill with more goodies...for example, I can't wait to show you the cute little shabby white drop leaf table and 4 chairs that we're going to add to the space and decorate retro red and white Christmas...plus the finished china hutch!  It's really all coming together! It has been A LOT of work (thanks Mom, Dad, and Hubby!!!!!), but I can't remember when I've had this much fun (oh yeah, decorating the studio was the same kind of fun!) Now we just need the right customers to come through and fall in love with what we have here so we can go shopping all over again for more stuff!!

"Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed." 

Proverbs 16:3 (Amplified Bible)

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Have a very blessed, safe weekend friends! See y'all after the wedding!!

Hello November!

As impossible as it seems, the next-to-the-last month of the year is here, Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner, and yet another year is coming to a close!! Wow...where has the time gone??

That's also how I feel about posting for Just Bee 'n Me - where has the time gone??  I'm sorry for being out of touch both here and at your lovely blogs...I miss all of you so much when I get busy like I have been of late. Everything is just fine - going great in fact, we are just going non-stop. To get everyone caught up, I thought I would take just a minute, cuz that's about all I have today, and outline what's happening here and what's in the works...

• The shop is doing very well (for us as well as for all the other vendors) and our owner just got the go ahead this week to expand 1800 square feet into the space directly behind us - this more than doubles the shop's square footage! The shop will also be adding a small bakery in the newly expanded space, which will be a real treat for our customers (and for us too!).

   
• Our space in the shop is remaining in the front room, right by the check-out, but because of other vendors shifting to the new space, we will be taking on half again as much space for ourselves! This is why I went on a Craigslist-buying frenzy on Wednesday...to help fill our newly aquired area. We bought 2 hutches, 2 corner shelf units, and 2 table and chair sets! I can't wait to share photos...they are awesome and SUCH a great deal!! Goodness gracious though, what an ordeal - we went clear to the other end of Houston to aquire these pieces (I'm talking almost a two hour drive), and it started raining on us on the way home, and we had to stop and re-tie down once, but we made it here with the stuff in tact. Now we just have to get it all into the shop...that happens tomorrow. The shop is closing down Monday for moving day and all the vendors are both shifting to their new spaces as well as changing over from Autumn decor to Christmas! Yikes...it's going to be an exhausting day, but it'll be fun too!! And yep, I'll be snapping photos!!

•  I have a new clipart kit in the works for my Digital Boutique...it is almost finished. This little snowguy is one of the cast of characters. It should be finished and uploaded in the next couple of days (I hope!!) I've had a lot of fun with this kit. It isn't the only kit I'll be doing for the Christmas season, it's just the first one intended to kick off the festivities and give folks an early selection that they can use for gift tags, kid's projects, scrapping, school bulletin boards, or whatever their crafty needs may be! I'll post the link just as soon as it's in the shop!

• I am in the middle of answering a series of interview questions for an article for a special blog coming up very soon. The interview focuses on my illustration career and art licensing experiences...I'm VERY excited about it and I will be able to tell you all about it very soon!!! Please stay tuned!!
  
   
• Speaking of illustration, I just received yet another new contract from Universal Designs, this time for an entire Mother's Day 2010 collection as well as a collection for their Monarch Creations division...wow, I am so humbled and thrilled by the increased volume of licensing for this fine company!! I'll post a link to the new products as soon as it is available for viewing on their website...
  
   
• Later this week I will be re-posting my 2009 calendars for 2010 and they will available for purchase as soon as they are updated. The designs are the same, they just have 2010 dates. Here are links to the 2009 calendars so you can see the designs in each (but be sure and not order from these links unless you want to live 2009 over again!): "My Cup Runneth Over" and "Wisdom & Whimsy". I'm happy that I will have them ready well in advance of Christmas this time to allow y'all enough time to purchase them as gifts if you desire. Unfortunately, I will not be doing a new calendar this year :o(  There is just not enough time...BUT, I am working on one for next year already...
  
  
• We will be heading to Beaumont this coming weekend for my nephew's wedding (you may remember the lingerie shower we threw for his bride-to-be Kathryn earlier this past Summer) I can't believe it's already wedding time! This will be a lot of fun as weddings typically are...it's like a mini family reunion! I'm looking forward to seeing everyone and wishing the new Bride and Groom all the best!! My camera is going to get a real workout this week!!

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I think that's quite enough to report for now...I'm tired just typing it all :o) Thanks so much to all the new "followers" of Just Bee 'n Me - I am so happy you found me!!  I will stop by very soon to say hello...it may take me a while, but I'll make it there...  That goes for all my old blog friends too...I'll see you very soon! Thank you so much for coming by and saying hi...it means the world to me!!

Have a lovely Sunday and an outstanding week one and all! May God bless you in every way!!

 

Shop & Family Photos at Last!

Hello friends! Although there is still much to do, I wanted to share a few photos of our space at Whispering Willow Antiques. We do have a GREAT location in the shop - this Fall vignette on my antique sideboard is one of the first things you see when you enter the shop. The entire shop is decked out for Fall, but on November 1st, we will be changing eveything over to Christmas. (Remember when Christmas stuff didn't come out in stores until after Thanksgiving...?? Oh well...)  I do LOVE Christmas decorating though, so I am looking forward to the transition...

I made this chalkboard with an old cabinet door and chalkboard paint. I will probably keep it as a display piece, but if someone is really interested in it, I'll likely sell it...

The covered cake pedestal is actually made from three separate glass pieces I had - a cover, a glass plate, and an inverted glass candleholder...

I'm a sucker for vintage needlepoint/stitchery...these tiny framed pieces stitched with bits of wisdom are some of my favorites...

I like to glue teacups and saucers onto these vintage plastic sconces as candleholders...

This is the view of our space from the back room. If you happen to remember our shop from last Summer, we still have the same dresser and china cabinet....although we are now on the hunt for a new china cabinet as this one just went into layaway!

Here are a couple of the things I've recently made in the studio. I made them from scrap wood that my Daddy routed and I painted and sanded. It's hard to see in the first picture, but there is a vintage rhinestone earring in the center of the bow. The oval piece on the black wall hanging is an inexpensive plastic frame that I painted to match the board. I backed the oval with black and white toile fabric and bits of vintage lace. I finished off the wooden plaque with a vintage drawer knob to be used to hang any number of things depending on where one uses it...

The off-white wall plaque is made in much the same way except I used a vintage crewel embroidery piece with an old metal frame... I really like the scrolly metal drawer pull and back piece at the bottom...you could hang a cute little fingertip towel from this in a bathroom...

I am continuting to prepare items for the shop and will share more photos as soon as I can. Getting all set up in the shop has been a frustrating process this time for some reason, but it is finally starting to come together and even become fun. I imagine it will get even more fun (though busy, busy) as things get rolling through the holidays...I'm looking forward to it!

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We had a GREAT time visiting with my sweet hubby's kids (4) and grandkids (8) in Louisiana this past weekend...and as I mentioned in my last post, we now have a great-granddaughter too! Sweet little Addison is 5 weeks old and is the daughter of hubby's oldest grandson...(yep, they all started young!!) On top of that, I am 10 years younger than my hubby and never had children of my own, so now I am a childless 48 year old step great-grandmother - go figure!!  :o)  I am LOVING my sweet *instant* family - they have been so accepting and loving toward me from the beginning 2+ years ago and it has been a pure joy to become a part of their lives! Here are a few photos of sweet little Addy and her dad...

...and yep, she's a red head, just like her daddy! What a cutie!!!

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On Sunday morning, before we headed home, we went with daughter #2 and her family to the Acadian Festival Parade in Plaquemine, LA - it was a hoot! I love these little slices of small town Americana! The decendants of the Acadians (French settlers from Canada) became today's Cajun population in Louisiana, so the week-long festival is a celebration of all things Acadian-Cajun...(and fyi, that's about the closest thing to an ethnic heritage that I can claim - 1/4 Cajun...from my Mom's side). We had fun catching beads and candy and other goodies thrown by the folks on the floats...the weather was perfect...it was a blast, and capped a wonderful weekend of family fun!

Well, we're looking forward to another beautiful cool (finally) Fall weekend - I'm sure there are garage sales and studio time in our future!   Yay!! :o)  May your weekend be filled with who and what you love!!

Headed to Louisiana!

Hi friends! Sweet Hubby and I are headed to Louisiana to see the kids and grandkids (and brand new great-granddaughter...more on that next week!!). Last week was a crazy week with health stuff and horrible weather, and we are looking forward to this quiet down time with family.

I promise that I will have photos of our space at the antique shop soon...it is just not up to par yet and we are still trying to get new things in place. We brought quite a few new things over there last night (I actually was able to work in the studio and complete several new cute crafted pieces), but as we were setting things up, one of our shelves fell as we were placing items on it and several pieces of china broke. After that happened, I was in no mood to take photos. :o(  Getting everything just right has been a somewhat frustrating process this time, but we are persevering and determined to make it awesome.  Don't get me wrong...it looks pretty good and we've sold fairly well, but it's just not quite what we envisioned yet...but soon...very soon. We will be scouting for new shop goodies at garage sales in Loisiana this weekend...that should be fun!

And *finally*, Fall is about to arrive in Houston!!!!!!  We have been sweltering in the 90s with either drizzle, rain, storms or 98% humidity for days and days and days...but Hallelujah, a powerful front is coming and sweeping all that away, for good I hope!! It is supposed to be a glorious cool weekend and I for one am beyond ready for it!!!

See you guys Sunday evening when we return. I hope your weekend is a glorious one too!!!

To Do List: 1) Love, 2) Everything else

Hello friends! Before I share a few comments today, I wanted to share this great Daily Prayer for You from Sunday, October 11th... This REALLY resonated with me...

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"God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." 1 John 4:16-18 NIV

Loving and merciful God, I lift up to you today all who feel overwhelmed, anxious, and afraid of failure. I pray Lord, you would open their eyes and their hearts to reveal to them the priorities of your kingdom. As they see all that is before them to do today, may they hear your words and remember that the greatest assignment they have on earth is not to learn to do tasks well, but to learn to love well.

Thank you Lord that we may have confidence today for our future day of judgment, that you who tests our hearts, (not our job performance) will teach us to live in love. May we work to please you today-surrender our task list and our fears of failure--lay our weakness before you and receive the strength of your love. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

"May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones." 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 (NIV)

(1 Thessalonians 2:4; 1 John 4:12)

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These Scriptures and this prayer have presented a real attitude-challenge for me since I read them Sunday. I can't say that I have completely surrendered my task list and fears of failure, but I have certainly been soul-searching about my fears, self doubt, and priorities. Being "self-employed" since mid February of this year has presented an awesome opportunity for creative freedom and exploration, but it has also presented an unexpected challenge: fear of failure. My shiny new studio provides a perfect place to create and is brimming with possibiities, I have stacks and stacks of notebooks from years of planning and dreaming as well as piles of magazines that are chock full of would-be wonderful ideas, I have TONS of awesome supplies, and I have the blessed gift of TIME, which I have never had in this much abundance before...so what's the problem?  How come I haven't filled my new space at the shop with lots of awesome hand-crafted goodies? How come I haven't done one tenth of what I had planned to do by this point? What's wrong with me??

I can list reasons, challenges, and circumstances of everyday life that have played a part in the overall lack of productivity of late...all true and valid (continual rainy weather that ruins plans for spray-painting pieces outdoors, health scare involving my husband last week...all is well now, illustration work that needed to be done first), but really, when I am honest with myself, I see that I am actually crippled with doubts about my ability to create anything anyone would be interested in purchasing for their home or as a gift. I'm sure some of you are screaming at the screen saying "get over it...get on with it!!"...well, join the club :o) I feel completely self-indulgent and spoiled when I read these words that I am writing, but this is part of learning to be honest with myself and own up to my feelings. To get through this, I must take these fears and weaknesses to my Lord and lay them at His feet, and allow Him to fill me with His love and remind me of His priorities for me... So, I'm meditating on the Scriptures about love and fear and praying for divine inspiration and direction, and the ability to simply DO what I know He wants me to do...

I found the following entry in a journal that I wrote almost 10 years ago, and it is as true and applicable today as it was back then...

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"But WHAT should I create?  The eternal question....the answer lies not in "what" but in "why". The purpose must precede the product. Attempt to create much as you would with a friend or family member in mind. Strive to meet a need, offer encouragement, or share wisdom. The design and the medium will fall into place when you put purpose first!!"

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So, I am off to the studio with a renewed vision and adjusted priorities. God's heart is always about people and His love for them, and He has lovingly reminded me of that today. So, my efforts will be along the line of "what would I make for Mom that would make her smile", or "how could I encourage my sweet friend today"...and then create accordingly. Forget about what I think will or won't sell...leave that up to the Lord. Get out of my head and lead with the heart and see what happens...

I'll let you know what we come up with...

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Thanks for the freedom to share my heart with you...God is crazy about you and He has put that love for you in my heart too...and I am so very grateful that He has!! I hope you have a wonderfully productive week, with love as the first priority!!

Illustration Back on the Front Burner

Hello sweet friends! I wanted to give you a quick update on the illustration side of my creative endeavors. I took advantage of the soggy, muggy, sticky, warm, dreary weather this weekend and cozied up to my computer to *finally*  finish a new clipart kit for my neglected Just Bee 'n Me Digital Boutique at Aimee Asher - it's called "No Tricks, Just Treats" Clipart Kit, and it provides 30 sweet, cute (non-scary) fall "sticker-doodle" images, plus 5 colorful, textured papers for crafting or scrapbooking projects....all for just $4.99!

I also included a bonus image with the cutie scarecrow and a Scripture ("There is no fear in love." 1 John 4:18) that would be great for an invitation, poster, garden flag, fall festival flyer, whatever...

I have more kits on the way, and I'll post updates just as soon I get them into the boutique...

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Meanwhile, on the art licensing front, I am THRILLED that Universal Designs not only contracted with me to extend virtually all of our existing licensing agreements into 2011, they have also created this AWESOME collection of "Pass-It-On" cards and bookmarks for their line for Easter 2010!!  I love how they came out...can't wait to see them in person! I'm tickled and humbled that they did 2 complete Easter displays with just my art...  This is just too much fun!!!

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Folks, I'm sorry to say that I was so busy last Friday on my work day at Whispering Willow that I neglected to take photos of our space  :o(   ...plus, the space is still somewhat unfinished. If I can get a little dry weather here today,  I just might be able to finish spray-painting/tweaking some pieces that are destined to fill in the empty spots...and then we'll see about getting the photos taken. Thanks for your patience as usual!

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I can never say thank you enough for your support and friendship - I am so grateful that the Lord has brought us all together in Blogland, on Facebook, etc...what a blessing!!

Have a blessed day friends!!

Checking In - Setting Up - Falling Asleep

Hello friends! I just wanted to take a moment before I fall into bed to update you on our new space at Whispering Willow Gifts & Antiques. But before that, I wanted to say a quick hello to all of the new folks that stopped by and left comments on my post about the studio...I have been able to visit a few of you, but I have several more to visit over the next couple of days...you guys are awesome and so sweet and I am very much so looking forward to hanging out at your blogs, looking around, and leaving comments!! Thank you for your patience!

On what HAS to have been one of the most HUMID days ever (yuk), Sweet Hubby and I got all the big pieces moved into our space at the shop this morning, then I returned later with all the "smalls" and my Mom came up and helped with the set up. There is still quite a bit to do, but we did make fairly good headway. I am on the schedule to work the shop tomorrow (I have to work 3 days a month as part of my space rent), and I plan to do more arranging and pricing, etc, between customers. My biggest problem, believe it or not, is not having enough stuff, especially wall stuff. I HAVE to spend the next few days crafting  and repurposing, etc in order to get more pieces to add to the mix...but hey, that's why I have a studio! :o)

I'm very excited about the shop, but I am really exhausted physically and mentally. I'm looking forward to a few days of somewhat less stress. We went full force on the studio all summer, then went right into preparing for the shop, and there just hasn't been a break in ages...

I will take photos tomorrow of what we have finished at the shop so far, and will update again when we do more fill-in early next week too. Thanks for your continued understanding as my posting and blog visiting remain sparse...whatever "normal" is, I hope to return to it very soon!!

Thanks y'all!!

The Studio Reveal!

What began as a storage building....

...was lovingly (thank you Sweet Hubby) transformed into a bright studio space...

...which was then filled to rafters with LOTS of whimsical, colorful, creative possibilities...it has become my dream studio, and I couldn't be happier!!

(Please keep scrolling - there are LOTS more photos - you can click any photo to enlarge it and see more details)

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I'm bringing the story of the studio transformation full circle today as I participate in Susan's Metamorphosis Monday. In addition, I am participating for the first time in Rhoda's Today's Thrifty Treasures because 95% of everything you will see on this tour was a thrifted treasure. I'll point out the highlights as I go along...(you may want to grab a hot beverage of your choice and get comfy - there are a LOT of photos!!)

I'll start off to the left as you enter the studio door...I've set up a work table against the wall in this space for projects that will need to be spread out...

I framed three of my illustrations with thrifted frames painted black with white polka dots added for whimsy...

Notice the peg rack in the previous photo? Here's how it looked before the transformation...

I paid $1 for the peg rack at an outdoor flea market and $.50 each for the pastel tin buckets at an estate sale. I knew I wanted some storage near the work table, but I wanted something colorful and fun...so I was delighted to find both of these goodies just in the last week.  I cut the peg rack down a bit (it was almost 6 feet long), spray painted it pink, then added white polka dots for fun, and attached two sawtooth hangers to the back. All I did with the buckets was punch two holes in each with a tin punch and thread wired gingham ribbon that I already had through the holes and tie it in a bow onto the peg - pretty easy stuff.  I LOVE how it turned out!!

Further in the studio on the left is the desk area. I flanked my desk (which I've had for years) with two oak bookcases which I already had as well...

I decorated the desk area with all of my favorite kitschy 70's framed embroidery pieces and of course my voluminous collection of stuffed animals  :o)

The paint rack (above) was another awesome thrifted find - just $15.00...and that INCLUDES all the paint you see there - between the front and back of the rack there are 104 bottles of paint, 90% of which are brand new, never opened!! Needless to say I was thrilled with this purchase...

I cut up and used a vintage cutter quilt with cute butterflies as valances on all the windows (easy, no sew project)...I also draped a few vintage embroidered linens over the curtain rod too...

The back third of the studio is mostly storage for all the many china, glass, lamps, and wood pieces awaiting transformation...as well as boxes and boxes of laces, trims, jewelry bits, beads and numerous other crafty goodies...

Moving around now to the right side of the studio you'll see one of my favorite thrifted treasures of all time - my $30 couch! I WISH I had taken a before photo...but trust me, the fabric was not the prettiest...but the couch's bones were good and it was solid...

So with a $19.99 king size discount store quilt, and pieces of leftover bargain quilt that I already had (you may recall I used it to make no-sew valances for my livingroom), my Mom and I tucked and tacked and managed to fashion a no-sew slipcover of sorts for it. I used a couple of flower pins that I had on hand to "gather" the slipcover around the arms of the couch...

Finishing out the right side of the studio is a creamy yellow $25.00 garage sale dresser and mirror which provides even more storage...the drawers are filled with fabric...

And finally, the last corner of the studio...this is an oak corner shelf I already had...

I filled it with more fabric, vintage tablecloths, vintage quilts, and ribbon...

Whew!!  That's the whole thing!! I hope you enjoyed your tour as much as I enjoyed sharing it with you! This project has been a real labor of love, and I am DELIGHTED with how it all came together!!

I simply MUST say thank you to the Lord for His provision, His guidance, and His inspiration for this project - to HIM be all the Glory!!

"He has made everything beautiful in its time..."

Ecclesiastes 3:11

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Now, it's a race to Thursday, October 1st when we open our space at Whispering Willow Gifts and Antiques...lots of gathering, pricing, and re-purposing left to do before then, but it'll be a lot of fun!  I'll be sure to share photos of our space set up next week!  We're so excited!!

Now please head over to Between Naps on the Porch for more Met Monday transformations and Southern Hospitality for more Thrifty Treasures - thanks again to Susan and Rhoda for being such gracious hostesses week to week!!

And thank YOU so much for stopping by...I'd love to hear what you think!!

Have a blessed week friends!!

Studio Sneak Peek

Thanks Maddie for being a guest columnist this week - I assure you, life is just about to be back to "normal" around here. The studio is complete and your Daddy and I have begun the preparations for the opening of our boutique space at Whispering Willow this Thursday!!  It has been an incredibly busy few weeks and you have been a very patient little pup! (and YOU have been a very patient little reader!!) Thank you!!

I am going to do a full studio reveal tomorrow night/Monday morning for Susan's Metamorphosis Monday with TONS of photos, but I just couldn't wait one minute longer to show you just a hint of how the studio turned out...it is SUCH a fun room...I couldn't be happier!!!!

(I'll keep commentary to a minimum so I can get this up quickly...)

We now have a place for all the fun supplies and projects-in-waiting...

...and lots of personal touches that make me smile and keep me inspired...

Much, much more to come in the full reveal - I hope you will stop by again late tomorrow/early Monday morning to see it all!!!  Thank you so much for coming along this fun journey with me...it's been a long road, but the experience has been SO worth it!!

Hugs & Blessings to all of you!!!

Mom and Her Dumb Studio (a guest post by Maddie)

Hi, this is Maddie, and since my Mommy is busy AGAIN in her studio, I thought I'd better step in and let you know what she's up to...

She's busy every single day morning until night doing something called "organizing" and something called "decorating" in her dumb studio. All I know is she is no fun when she is doing those things...sure she plays with me sometimes, but not nearly enough for me....  She seems to prefer playing in that room of hers. :o(

I'm just waiting for this whole studio thing to be over so we can get back to normal....

I hope you're not getting too sick of waiting, although I sure couldn't blame you...I know just how you feel...

Mom told me that the wait wouldn't be much longer...maybe just one more day...she said she "promises"...I've heard that before!! There is one glimmer of hope today though...she brought the camera over to the studio, and she usually has the camera out when something good is about to happen...

We'll see...

Meanwhile, please don't give up...maybe our long wait is about to be over. I sure hope so...

Thanks for stopping by!

Love and doggie kisses,

Maddie

Remembering Ike

This is the backyard of our former home in Houston one year ago today when Hurricane Ike hit Galveston and Houston...and we had it good comparatively. The first two photos show the destruction by a fallen tree of a playhouse that came with the house when I bought it...I always intended to turn the playhouse into a cute potting shed, but, oh well, so much for that idea. You know what though, the Lord was not only meciful to us and my whole family through this ordeal, but a year later He even gave me something better than a playhouse-turned-potting-shed - He gave me a storage-building-turned-studio, and let me tell you, it's a real dream come true! I can assure you, in the midst of chaos, wreckage, loss, and brokenness, there is something better, sweeter, and more beautiful around the corner when you put your trust in Jesus. You cannot see it just yet, but you can have faith that it is there and that He has you in His loving arms, carrying you over the wreckage and into your promised land. He's all about beauty from brokenness...

Here's a link to a series of posts about my remembrance of the approach of Ike, our evacuation, and the aftermath of the storm. It was quite an adventure. Please keep the region in your prayers - there are still many folks who are impacted by the losses they sustained even a year later....thank you.

By the way, after we returned from evacuating, my Hubby faced the arduous task of tearing down the playhouse - it was a lot more work than I ever dreamed it would be...

...but we were able to salvage a lot of the wood and we have it here at our new place. I plan to make some handpainted signs and other projects for the boutique from the salvaged wood. I'll keep you posted on my progress...  Hopefully it will be more beauty from brokenness...

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One quick note about progress on furnishing and setting up the studio - it is going GREAT but it still has a ways to go before I can share photos. I have spent ALL of my time this past week and today working on it and I'll be at it again all this week I'm sure...but I am loving it! However, since I don't seem to be able to blog and chew gum at the same time, I'm afraid my posting will be sparce again this week...sorry about that. I always miss you guys so much when I'm away from Blogland for any significant length of time. I'll be back just as soon as I can with an update and photos galore, I promise!  Meanwhile, take care and God bless you friends!

From Storage Building to Art Studio

It's FINISHED!!!  I am SO happy to report that the storage-building-to-art-studio transformation project is finally complete! I have to give my sweet Hubby a HUGE round of applause and BIG HUGS for his tireless efforts through the late Spring and all the HOT Summer long to convert our storage building into a fully contained art studio for me. Wow - what a guy!! I LOVE you Baby!!! Thank you!!! (Thanks also to my Dad and a neighbor friend for their occassional assistance too!)

I thought it would be perfect to share this metamorphosis for Metamorphosis Monday over at Susan's place, Between Naps on the Porch...please be sure and check out all the other great transformations - it's always very inspiring!!!

Here's where the project began - a 12' x 24' storage building that we had buiult on our property back in February when we downsized from a 1500 square ft. house with a full garage to a 1000 square ft. mobile home with no garage...

It was a great storage building and held all of the STUFF we previously had in our garage as well as overflow from our previous home...

When it became clear that I would need more space for my art, illustration and crafting pursuits, especially now that I was focusing full time on those efforts, we decided to have an identical 12' x 24' storage building built on our property to continue to provide much needed storage, and then to convert this original building into a studio...so that's how the project began...

I have shared fairly detailed photos of the finish out work over the last few months on the blog, so for this summary post, I will only share a few highlights from previous posts as well as the newest photos of the paint and flooring...

The original building only had one window - Hubby added four more so the studio would have plenty of light...

After adding additional plywood decking to the floor, wiring for electrical and phone/data, and adding an air conditioner, the building was ready for insulation and radiant barrier - a real necessity for our hot Texas summers...

We started getting more excited at this point because the rafters, wall board and ceiling were next, which meant paint and flooring would not be far behind...

Finally, it was time to paint, and it was my turn to do most of the work for a change...and give Hubby a bit of a break...I love how the soft yellow turned out...

At this point, things were progressing really quickly and there was finally light at the end of the tunnel (6 of them to be exact  :o)

Then this past week we were ready for the flooring (easy-peasy laminate "tile"...no floor prep needed)...other than it being painful to his knees (even with knee pads), Hubby said this was one of the easiest of all the tasks and it brought a lot of satisfaction when it was done (about 3 hours for 288 square ft., and that was because of measuring and trimming). This is what we have in our kitchen in the mobile home...it is very comfortable to walk on and extremely durable...and it looks good too...

Once the flooring was down, we were ready for adding the baseboards (which we bought already white) and the corner moulding (also white). After nailing all that up and doing caulking and touch up this past Saturday morning, we were finally done...at least to the point that it is now ready to be moved in to (we still have a bit of trim work and painting to do on the windows, but that won't take long and won't stop us from moving in)...

Now, the REAL fun begins - DECORATING!!! We are going to start moving in boxes and furnitire this week and hopefully get the window coverings up, some pictures hung, and some of the fun accessories put out by this time next week.  Here's a little sneak peek at some of the furniture/accessories I will be using to dress up the studio...

This thrifted ($25) creamy-yellow dresser and mirror will provide a good amount of storage...

Big worktable from my former studio space in our previous home...

Fun yellow lamp and my kitschy 70s embroidery collection....

Hopefully we will be able to make substantial progress this week - if so, I will definitely be back next week to share the photos with all of you at Metamorphosis Monday!!  Thanks Susan for the opportunity to share with all of your readers and fellow participants - you are an awesome hostess!!

If you're still here reading this, you made it through a LOT of photos - thanks so much for your visit!! You are always welcome here at Just Bee 'n Me - I hope to see you again real soon!! God Bless!!

As if on cue...

Just as the make-ready on the Studio is winding down (photos coming very soon), a great opportunity has presented itself...! I was just wondering (OK, fretting) out loud on this post about not having a clue as to what to do with all of this...

...and this...

...and this...

...and this...

...well, now I know what we are going to do!

This past Saturday, Hubby and I paid a visit to the new home of Whispering Willow Gifts and Antiques (you may recall, that was the shop in which we had vendor space last Summer...but it closed early in October after sustaining damage from Hurricane Ike). The owner and many of the vendors regrouped and opened a new shop in nearby Tomball, Texas with MUCH better exposure and MUCH greater traffic. But, during that time, I was just finding out about my corporate job being outsourced, and our whole focus necessarily shifted to downsizing - rehabbing the mobile home, leasing our home, etc, and there was just no way to be able to carry on effectively in the new shop...there was just no time.

Sometime last Spring I stopped in at the new shop to say hi and I heard that business was brisk and that they had a waiting list now for vendors. I was happy for them, but it just was not time yet to pursue shopkeeping again...I was fully focused on illustration and we were still knee deep in remodeling.

Well, now, as if on cue (illustration work going well, Studio rehab winding down, mobile home restoration virtually complete), a SWEET spot in the FRONT room of the new shop is coming available October 1st and we are IN!! Goodness, we are just so excited!! I met with the owner today and we discussed the space and all the particulars (price is very reasonable...just a bit more than what we have been paying at our storage unit...plus there are just 2 workdays per month required, which I can now easily do since I don't have a "day job")...I left a deposit, so we are a GO!! She was so very sweet and told me how excited they were that we were ready to shopkeep again and how much they liked our merchandise, etc. I was so humbled and happy to hear that...

SO, we have the direction from the Lord that we had prayed for...thank YOU Lord!! I truly did not know what to do with all the stuff we had...there were a number of possibilities, but none of which seemed the right path. But now, for reasons only the Lord know fully, we are stepping on to THIS path by faith and with great peace and joy! We can't wait!!

Needless to say, September is going to be a BUSY time around here as we finalize the Studio, unpack all the goodies that have been packed away since last year, sort, fix, shabby and fouf it all, price and inventory it all, and pack it back up for moving to the shop..whew!! But it's going to be so much fun!! I will be sharing photos and updates of all of this as we go! I hope you'll follow along the path with us!!

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"We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." Proverbs 16:9

Living Water: Siesta Fiesta Cookbook Update

Hello Friends!

It's been over a year since I participated in the Siesta Fiesta Cookbook Cover Contest, and I thought I would share a little update on what has happened with the cookbook sales since then. What you may not know or recall is that all the proceeds from the sale of the cookbooks (above the printing cost) went to building of water wells through the Water for Life Outreach. I was blessed to meet sweet Holly at Crown Laid Down through the contest - she was the visionary who put the cookbook together...she did an awesome job; it is a beautiful, creative cookbook brimming with 328 pages of awesome recipes from women all over the country. According to Holly's SF Cookbook page, she has sold 650 books so far and sent a total of $2,709.64 to build clean water wells!! Yeah God!!

I wanted you to know that you can still order these cookbooks for just $18 plus shipping - just click here or on the SF Cookbook image on the top of my sidebar for more information. They would make an awesome Christmas gift!! Best of all, you will be supporting the building of clean water wells where they are so desperately needed!!

I got the idea to do this post a couple of weeks ago whe I received the following Daily Prayer for You in my inbox. I trust it will challenge and bless you...

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"If anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." Matthew 10:42 (NIV)

"A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed." Proverbs 11:25 (NIV)

Thank you Lord, for everything you have entrusted to our care on this earth. Help us to give generously to those in need, and to be sensitive today to those who need a gesture of love and care. Especially to those who are tired and thirsty and in need of a drink of your living water! May the weary be refreshed and the faint satisfied as we extend our hearts in love to others, giving to those in need as you direct (Jeremiah 31: 25). I pray Lord, you would refresh those who refresh others today. Prosper them God, and meet all their needs according to your glorious riches in Christ Jesus! In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

The Week in Review

Hello friends!

It has been a busy week around here...sorry for being away for the better part of it. I really needed to get a new digital kit finished for my Digital Boutique, which I just did yesterday - hurray!! It's a little Fall mini clipart kit called "Happy Fall Y'all" featuring a couple of frolicking mice (see one of them above) and several cute Fall sticker-doodles and rich background papers in coordinating Fall colors. This is a great jump start for Fall crafting, card making and scrabooking!

In addition to working on the kit, sweet hubby was hard at work on the Studio...as usual. One of the steps I forgot about when I was figuring how long it would take to finish was adding rafters for the ceiling. This was quite a job, but he got it all done as well as 75% of the paneling - so, we are really getting closer now to the finish line!



I did manage to pick out a creamy-buttery yellow paint color for the Studio...it's called "Song of Summer" and it's the foremost right one in the photo below (BTW, this photo does NOT do this color justice - it is not nearly so dull looking as the this photo makes it out to be)...


Even so, I would love to do a brighter yellow, but all that reflective light and energy from a bright color is not good for doing artwork. Hopefully this tamer soft yellow will provide that touch of color that I crave, but be easy on my artist eyes. We'll see...you know how it goes when you roll on paint...you're never quite sure how it will look on your walls and how it will react to the room's light...

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Oh yeah, this is a little tease for an upcoming craft/creative storage project I plan to do for the Studio - these 7 cans were a freebie from Craigslist...I saw the ad while perusing the free section of Houston's Craigslist and I instantly had an idea for what to do with them...


And when I saw that they were close by and not clear across Houston, I knew I had to have them. Turns out, they were less than a mile from where we live and the sweet gal who had them met me at a gas station between our homes...1 minute from my house. It was just too easy-peasy - meant to be! Stay tuned for the transformation!

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As I mentioned on my last post, with all the busy-ness around here, we needed a little away time, so Johnny and I headed to Sugarland to attend a concert featuring Phillips, Craig, and Dean and Christy Nockels too (fabulous concert BTW!!!). Because of the long drive, we got a hotel and spent the night down there - WOW, what a great little getaway it was!! It was a wonderful, relaxing 24 hours, and it recharged our batteries for a good while. I highly recommend squeezing these kinds of little low-cost, high-impact excursions into your busy life...it was time and money well spent!


I thought I would leave you with one of my most favorite songs by Phillips, Craig & Dean - "Revelation Song"...it's one of the top hits on Christian radio right now and let me tell you, it brought the house down when they sang it in concert...so powerfully beautiful!! This is a video someone put together with film clips from several movies about Jesus...I like it because it includes the lyrics with the video. Please note - there are a couple of scenes from "The Passion" that are fairly intense of Jesus being nailed to the cross near the end...just want you to be aware they're in there...

I pray you have a blessed rest-of-the-week! Thank you as always for stopping by. Hey, if you haven't already, I'd love for you to follow along the Just Bee 'n Me journey by clicking my new "Follower" link in the right column...it makes it easy to see if I have a new post... Thanks friends!!

HUGS!!

The Princess Principles

Hello Friends!

Well, I persevered through the technical difficulties I mentioned yesterday and I am so happy to *finally* share something with you that I have been wanting to do for FOREVER - this is what I'm calling an "e-Devotional" for women based on an article/devotional that I wrote several years ago when I led a women's ministry in Colorado. It's called "The Princess Principles". The premise of the devotional (based completely on Scripture) is that believers (our Sisters in Christ specifically) are indeed Daughters of the King, and thereby Princesses. It touches on my own personal struggle with that concept, then goes on to present four timeless principles that support, define and direct us in our role as Daughters of the King. It is NOT heavy-duty reading...I am NOT a theologian by any means...I'm just sharing from my heart what I feel the Lord has taught me in this area.

I had a great time putting it together - but I am definitely still learning about all the technical aspects of making a PowerPoint into a video, putting the video on YouTube, etc. I timed the slides to hopefully not go too fast or too slow, but either way, you can use the pause button to stop it and the progress bar to speed it up. There is no music to go along with it...I found music to be fairly distracting while reading it, so I opted to leave music out of it this time. If you'd like to see it in full screen mode, you can click the next to the last icon on the bottom of the video screen.

I hope you'll take a moment to read it if you have the chance, and I would love to get some feedback through comments if you have anything to share about it. Mostly I pray it is a blessing to someone who, like me, has perhaps struggled with the concept of being a beloved daughter of the King...




Have a great weekend y'all - see you when we return from our little 24 hour getaway!!

HUGS!!

Technical Difficulties (CAUTION: Rant Alert)

Ever get the feeling that you are supposed to just unplug and get away from technology for a while...? I'm starting to get that feeling I think. The last few days have been...um....frustrating...

First of all, I cannot get certain image files to behave on what was to be my latest clip art kit for my Digital Boutique...and it is going to be so cute y'all, but I can't proceed until I get the problem resolved.

SO, I stepped away from that project, and thought to myself, "OK, I guess I can share the latest photos of the studio progress, plus a picture of an upcoming craft project." WRONG! - I can't for the life of me find the cord that I use to hook up between my camera and the computer to download the photos. RATS!

Once I stepped away from the clip art and the photos, I was convinced that I needed to concentrate on something that has been on my heart for quite some time...and I have...for the last several days, I have worked on and completed my first "e-Devotional" called "The Princess Principles." It's basically an article/devotional that I wrote several years ago put into PowerPoint format. I had a lot of fun designing/creating the backgrounds and the cover art and putting it all together with the text. Once I was done, I converted the PowerPoint to a video using an cool free online service I found - that way I would easily be able to share it here and on YouTube. Alas, the video conversion had, you guessed it, technical difficulties! ARGH! The fonts that I used all came out wrong on the video version so that the text is too large on most of the slides and makes it very hard to read. HELP!

SO, like I said, I think I just need to unplug for a day or two. But in the meantime, I will share with you the cover art for the e-Devotional...


I believe I know a fairly simple way to fix the fonts that won't take too much re-working, and I sincerely hope to have it re-uploaded and ready to show you sometime tomorrow or early Friday....

After that we really are unplugging and Friday afternoon we will take the long, long journey to the far Southwest side of Houston for A Phillips, Craig, & Dean concert - Christy Nockels of Watermark will be there too!! I'm excited!! Because it's a really long drive (I'm not exaggerating), we decided to get a hotel room near the concert venue and spend the night Friday night. I'm really looking forward to a bit of a break, and sweet hubby really needs a break from the Studio work too... Ahhhh, sounds like bliss to me...

Now if we can just manage to not have car trouble... ;o)

The Power of Music

Hello friends,

Sometimes, there is nothing more powerful than music to reach our hearts...when that music is steeped in the Word and delivered with anointing, it is an incredible tool for ushering us into His Presence, where we can freely pour out our hearts in pain and in joy, in doubt and in resolve... I pray these two songs, both by Natalie Grant, will pull back the veil and encourage you to fall at His feet with whatever is on your heart, and to pour it out to Him freely as a sacrifice...

HELD

Two months is too little
They let him go
They had no sudden healing
To think that providence
Would take a child from his mother
While she prays, is appalling
Who told us we'd be rescued
What has changed and
Why should we be saved from nightmares
We're asking why this happens to us
Who have died to live, it's unfair

[Chorus]
This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was when everything fell
We'd be held

This hand is bitterness
We want to taste it and
Let the hatred numb our sorrows
The wise hand opens slowly
To lilies of the valley and tomorrow

[Chorus]
This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was when everything fell
We'd be held

[Bridge]
If hope is born of suffering
If this is only the beginning
Can we not wait, for one hour
Watching for our savior

[Chorus]
This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was when everything fell
We'd be held
We'd be held

This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was when everything fell
We'd be held

This is what it means to be held.....

I WILL NOT BE MOVED

I have been the wayward child
I have acted out
I have questioned Sovereignty
And had my share of doubt
And though sometimes my prayers feel like
They're bouncing off the sky
The hand I hold won't let me go
And is the reason why...

[Chorus:]
I will stumble
I will fall down
But I will not be moved
I will make mistakes
I will face heartache
But I will not be moved
On Christ the Solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
I will not be moved

Bitterness has plagued my heart
Many times before
My life has been like broken glass
And I have kept the score
Of all my shattered dreams and though it seemed
That I was far too gone
My brokenness helped me to see
It's grace I'm standing on

[Chorus]

And the chaos in my life
Has been a badge I've worn
Though I have been torn
I will not be moved

[Chorus]

He longs for you to come to Him...healing, wholeness, and freedom await you in His Presence.

He loves you so very much!

Studio Inspiration

(click any image to see details)

I N S P I R A T I O N

for my Studio

The collage I created above is like a digital inspiration board for the studio - snippets of things I love, colors that speak to me, items I've crafted, images that make me smile. As I've pondered the next steps with the Studio, my mind has (naturally) raced ahead to how I will decorate it. Let me begin the decorating discussion with a disclaimer:

I have eclectic tastes...there, I said it. I love bright colors. I love pastel colors. I love neutrals. And on any given day I can declare one as my most favorite of all, and the next day declare just the opposite... I drive myself crazy sometimes...

Here's the definition of eclectic:

1. selecting what appears to be best in various doctrines, methods, or styles;

2. composed of elements drawn from various sources

Yep, that about sums it up. The best term I have come up with to describe my eclectic "style" is Colorful/Whimsical Cottage...kinda like if Mary Engelbreit, Rachel Ashwell, and the editors of Romantic Home, Victoria, Country Living, and Romantic Country magazines all ran into each other, spilling all their designs, illustrations, samples, paints, photos, and fabric swatches into one gloriously diverse, colorful, fun pile of decorating bliss...

I know I am not alone in my decorating schizophrenia...I know you are out there too!

The only "method" I have devised to "manage" my eclectic decorating taste is to have three "firmly" established "guidelines":

1. Rescue and repurpose whenever possible
2. Surround yourself with things that make you smile
3. There are no rules or wrong answers in this kind of decorating
   

The exciting thing about decorating a Studio is that you can take this decorating philosophy to its furthest extreme if you desire...it is a grown-up playroom you are creating after all! For my purposes, I will likely keep it comfortable and colorful and inspirational, but functional too. Speaking of function, what exactly does a primarily digital artist need with a Studio anyway..?

Well, I have A LOT of projects-in-waiting that require more space than just the kitchen table to tackle properly. Here are a couple of examples of the type of rescuing and repurposing I was referring to in Guideline #1...

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

I have BOXES and BOXES of stuff like this...

...that I want to craft into things like this...

Now WHAT I am going to do with these projects once they are complete is still somewhat unclear. For sure, I will be creating gifts for family and friends. In addition, perhaps I will open a booth/space again in a local antique store/flea market...? Perhaps I will have semi-annual Studio shows/sales...? Perhaps I will participate in various art/crafts shows here and there..? Perhaps I will sell online...? Perhaps I will develop patterns and/or submit ideas to crafts magazines. I really don't have a real clear direction yet, but I know the Lord knows. I'm counting on Him to direct my path...right now I am just certain of one thing - I am supposed to create...

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So, that covers the "why" question - next comes "how?" I have decided that I will paint the walls a soft buttery yellow - very much like the walls in my space at Whispering Willow last year...

From a practical standpoint, my Studio will need to accommodate this china cabinet (which has been in storage for months) - I love its soft yellow color...it definitely helped me to decide on yellow as the main color for the room.

I will also be fitting this dresser into the space...more cottage goodness. I'm sure I'll break down and paint/shabby it eventually...

Below are some other items that may find their way onto my Studio walls and into its nooks and crannies...this is a photo of one corner of my Studio in my previous home...I have a fairly large collection of vintage framed crewel/needlepoint/cross-stitch pieces that I have collected for years (this is just a few of them). I love crowding them all together on a wall... I'm sure the yellow lamp will fit right in as well. The dark bookcases (I have 2) are being used in our office in the mobile home currently. They will likely stay there, so I will be on the hunt, via Craigslist and garage sales, for more shelving for the Studio. Coming up with clever (cheap) storage ideas will be one of my biggest challenges...

Here is another view of my previous Studio - I will still be using the big desk on the left as my primary desk...

This past weekend sweet hubby and I went to a local church rummage sale - it was a really good one...great prices! I was blessed to find 8 matching creamy lace valances for just $2 total! I needed exactly 8 for the Studio (3 each on the two double window sets and 2 on the single window) , and there they were! ( I LOVE it when that happens!!) - I found some other goodies too that I will share in a future post...

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I've talked about "why" and "how" - now let's give you an update on "when"... The water heater episode ended up burning up the better part of the day on Thursday, so hubby has only had time to finish the insulation...the paneling and painting will have to wait until this week's time off. I STILL believe we can have it all finished by the end of August!!??!! I can't wait!!

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I'll share more Studio inspiration pieces as I gather them, Lord-willing...thanks for taking that little tour with me!! I hope you'll come back often to see the progress... You are ALWAYS more than welcome here!