2014 Where Bloggers Create

Wow! I cannot believe this is my third straight year participating in Karen Valentine's (at "My Desert Cottage") "Where Bloggers Create" party. What a great way to drop by the studios of old friends, discover new bloggers, get inspiration and receive visitors from around the globe to my creative space. Huge appreciation goes out to Karen as always for the opportunity to participate.

This year I thought I would expand my tour just as I have expanded my creative ventures. No longer am I limiting myself to art in my Studio - I now find myself knitting in other rooms of our home too. Coincidentally, not only have I ventured outside my Studio; so have some of my vintage treasures that used to live in my small craft room.

Without really realizing it, my antique collecting focused on two distinct styles from the same time period: the late 1800's.

One is Victorian (natch): although Canadian, both sides of my ancestry date back to England and Ireland. British artifacts with the Union Jack, crowns, regal icons, English transferware and ornate silver adorn my Studio; featuring the more "civilized" side of the late 19th century with a touch of Steampunk thrown in for a touch of whimsy.

The second style I am drawn to is Rustic - from my vintage railroad treasures (I once worked on a circa 1882 steam locomotive) to chippy wood, rusted tools and antique farm implements. These are the items I have pulled from my over-crowded Studio and began displaying in other parts of our home.

I hope you enjoy the tour; if you've visited previously, there are a few differences from last year. Oh and click to biggify the images and feel free to Pin away if you so desire!


Part One:  Victorian Studio

View as you walk into my 8x10 Studio

Main workspace with lots of drawers to store tools and supplies

The wooden Lazy Susan is new (well new to me)
I use three glass flower frogs to hold pencils, scissors, tools - very handy!

Closeup of desktop - repurposing old silver as storage

This bunny has been front and center of my desk for years

A few creations, some hourglasses and Beswick bunnies
My Tim Holtz autograph is inspirational too!

Vintage products - love the graphics

RCA Victor sign and vintage Nipper salt & pepper shakers
(thanks to Maureen at "It's All Connected"
for an informative post about them, I knew what to look for.
Her grandfather designed these for RCA Victor!)

Three Edison items - that sign kills me...

Hand painted mouse plate circa 1905

My thrifty chandelier - perfect for $45!

View of the closet (door removed) and 12 x 12 paper stand

At the top of the closet are vintage holiday decorations

My Halloween Apothecary and knitting stash

South wall with cabinets on top of and inside a former dresser
(drawers removed and shelves inserted for more storage)

Antique collapsible top hat on a House of Lords cigar box
I think that postal scale is one of the very first antiques I collected!

Two Singers: one an antique toy!
Pincushions, notions and pins from 1806

Storage inside dresser - boxes, cabinets & small printer's trays all
make finding supplies so easy

Baby shoes under glass & pretty vintage doorknobs

My newest acquisition: a treadle sewing machine desk
(yes, there is a working sewing machine inside too!)
Perfect for extra room to cut paper

or, more often than not, extra room for a cat to stretch out on

East wall - Regal china, crystal, silver and cobalt

Candlestick phone and bell box
The drawers below store oil and acrylic paints and painting supplies
the breadbox holds completed cards

Meggie models my circa 1980 wedding dress (hat made last year)
She stands in front of an authentic Union Jack about 80 years old

Sheba - the master of "feed me" pleading eyes
She magically appears anytime I am snacking...

Glitter in crystal salt & pepper shakers, other vintage glassware and buttons

This fruit peeler looks very Steampunk to me...
luckily, the cats leave it alone!

Once again, Dakotah snags the prime napping spot

Under desk storage - file drawers, baskets, milk can and jars

Part Two:  Rustic Home

Living Room: Where I do the majority of my knitting (on the chair to the right)
The blanket and pillows were all knit by me in recent weeks

A pallet turned into decor thanks to inspiration
from Donna at Funky Junk Interiors!
A vintage duck decoy sits on the table
and my antique bridge lamp now sheds needed light behind my knitting chair
(previously located in my Studio)

Everything is securely wired -
don't want to skewer any guests on the couch now, do we?

More rustic on the fireplace -
lanterns, wheels, wooden pulley, railroad spikes & watch
and a painting of the 1882 train I worked on - again these used to be in my Studio

Hearth re-do. Pulled the blue crate from my Studio
Milk can on the left, CPR rail water can on the right
Also, that's a shoe shine box in the middle with old brushes and tools inside

Antlers, birdcage and vintage clock
That lamp was once in my Studio too

More birdcages; there are seven in our living / dining spaces
instead of crowding together in the craft room

Old game pieces in our dining room (where we played family board games)
including my collection of 100+ Monopoly tokens
The silver trays, cup and cloche were from the craft room
So much better to have these items grouped together out here!

Antique fan and scale - moved to the dining room
along with a few other rustic gems

Kitchen vintage - heavy scale, tea box, pie birds and green utensils
The pie birds used to grace the high shelf in my Studio: so much better in here!

More green utensils, boards, and egg cups from the Studio
in Coke crate that was once in the craft room too

Over the stove: fruit box with rustic treasures
Makes so much more sense to have food-related items out here

A crate of geese and cows -
love the way the geese ended up "peeking" out of the cheese box!

Whew! Thank you for staying for the entire tour, I hoped you enjoyed it!

On July 12th, be sure to check out the whole list of participants in this year's Where Blogger's Create party over at My Desert Cottage. Karen, as always you are so wonderful to host this awesome event - thank you so much. As I've done in previous years, I am looking forward to visiting each and every participant!