I created a niche in the DEN. It's not a studio but, it is a place for me to work on my jewelry! In my previous post I think many of you thought I did not have a studio at all. That is incorrect. I do have a studio but, it is small & has
WAY TOO much stuff going on in it for my jewelry to have the space it will need & deserve. Also, the other problem I was having was that I was trying to do my jewelry
work on my lap(sitting in my recliner which when you drop a bead or jump ring... it falls between your legs & disappears in the bowels of the chair never to be found again arggggggg maddening I assure you).
And the light was horrible! I had to redo too many things. You are asking "why is she working on her lap?" Well, "Honey" loves to watch TV at night & likes me to be in the room with him "because he doesn't get to see me much when he is working so much." OK he's spoiled I admit it but, he spoils me so I try to make it all work. I can not just sit & watch TV without doing something with my hands. So, I tried to do the jewelry in my lap. WRONG THING TO DO! There is the birth of the jewelry niche.
As I said before this is in the Den & the theme of the Den is "The Lodge Look" We found a wonderful painting of a man fly fishing in a stream. Along with this I have hung my Daddy's rod & reel along with his fishing creel. It is just a wonderful reminder of him when I walk in that room. The furniture (only 2 big chairs because only we watch TV in there) is leather & the other items are all "Lodge". Someday I will photograph that room & share but, the main thing for this post is my niche & how I made it work in the only "Manly" room in the house. All the other rooms have more my personality than his & I did not want to take over his room too. I used a desk that I already had painted white (prior place guest room). Since I put the desk facing into the room so I could view the TV I needed to do something with the unfinished back of it. I made a black & white gingham skirt & stapled it to the back. I then put the glass back on the top & I have a nice sturdy work surface. And the OTT light is on the corner & what a difference that make!!!! And it has a magnifying glass built right in for when I need the extra help seeing tiny things. The bookshelves have a lot of stuff that needs to come off so I can use the space. Right now there are DVDs on& Cd's on the top shelf but, I have the second shelf for jewelry bead containers. I will show you progress as it goes BUT this is PROGRESS... I have a jewelry niche to create in & I am happy! 
Now this is my studio in my Laundry Room. It is quiet & tucked away so my mess does not show.
This is my crowded work space. The very best thing about this studio is that it looks out over my garden in the front of my house. I love that! I can see the birds, my birdbath/fountain, flowers & all the coming & going of the neighborhood. The theme of this room is "Garden" & I love the colors. It is hard to see because there is so much light coming in the window right now.
Stuff all over the top of the work space & under it too! Someday I will paint that orange chair. Right now... it doesn't bother me & I would rather create fun stuff than paint the chair. 
Here is a photo of the wall paper in this studio. We do not have much wall paper in our house but, I did like this. It is cheerful & colorful. So, until we build another house that has room for a much bigger studio I will keep my jewelry niche & my current studio. Maybe I can do a better job organizing it all to make it work better. But, I am just happy to have places to create. There are many of you that responded about wanting studios or remakes on the ones you have. Be sure & pick up the magazine Where Women Create. It is published by Somerset & is full of wonderful studios as well as the artists that create in them. Have a wonderful weekend.
I want to thank my friend Tiffany http://wwwbeyondthevintagepath.blogspot.com/ for creating my new banner. I love sweet Tiffany & was cruising her Blog & noticed this banner (go over & see for yourself all the goodies she has created). LOVE at first site. As we all know Marie is sooooooooo very popular now & I loved the chandelier & all the sparkle that Tiffany added to this banner. Also our friends/neighbors Pierre & Daniele have just come back for their 3 month stay in Texas. They live between Texas & Mont Pieler France(in the south of France near the Mediterranean Sea). Three months in one place & then three months in the other. So, I guess I was feeling a little French right now. Thank You Tiffany I Love My New Banner! 
Here is "Honey" toasting Daniele & Pierre's return at our celebration steak dinner. They say that Texas has the best beef in the whole world. We just love to hear that.
I went to visit a new (for me) Antique Store named Golightly's & fell in love with this cute little black shelf. It had to be mine. I haven't found it's new spot yet but, I have it & know just the right place will come to me.
Also, found, loved, & purchased at the same shop is the black side table, old Underwood typewriter, & photo holder. This is how they were displayed in the bathroom (yes, you heard me right the bathroom) of Golightly's.
And here is a quick shot of them in my living room backed up to my rocker (with another vice of mine in view... stacks of magazines). Do you see the photo holder? Yet another new obsession... adopting children. The two on the left were found in Arroyo Grande, California while out at Diana's class, the one on the bottom found in Cambria & the one you can't see because I chopped it off in this photo... 
I found last week while shopping at Lone Star Antiques in Ft Worth. Please feel free to use this sweet baby if you would like. It is my Wednesday gift to you. As Dawn http://the-feathered-nest.blogspot.com/ says it's so nice to share, so Dawn I'm paying one forward for you dear. Hugs to each of you my friends.
Poppies & Daisy's 
Lupine, Iris, & Lobelea. Such cool colors here. 
Susan & I were told that in another month all of this green will be gone & the hills will be 
Enjoy this 
Diana & I with one of her Mannequins full of jewelry she designed.
Here I am hard at work wrapping, wrapping, wrapping! I had serious hat hair that day because we had been toodling around in the convertible. Note the beautiful handbag Diana had created & hung over the work desk where I am sitting. She designs jewelry for a clothing designer in Los Angeles (if you go on Diana's blog you can find links to see this designers work & other pieces Diana has done for her shows). The designer gives her a lot of the silk fabric scraps from the clothing line. So Diana makes wonderful headbands (see Jody wearing one of the headbands the day of class) & other things using these silk scraps. Creativity & art just seems to oooooooooze out of Diana.
This is a shelf that holds all of Diana's Art Stamps. I thought this was a great way to display the stamps because, one of the biggest problems is remembering what you have. This way it is all visible as well as decorative. And I loved the "QUEEN BEE" above it all. This shelf hangs above a long counter of work space that holds many TOOLS! Grinders, torches, a kiln, SERIOUS TOOLS! This counter is then covered in a sweet vintage floral fabric hiding her storage shelves.
This is another work area for Diana. She used to be a floral designer & the white piece to her right is a cooler that used to hold her flowers. Now holding her favorite cold drink selections. On this station you can see her drill. And her little shelf unit hold some of her treasures created in other workshops or art retreats, photos of her & friends, & things near to her heart.
Here is a treasure she created at an art workshop that I thought was wonderful! There was so many details to this I can not even imagine the amount of time it would take. I believe that this was a Sally Jean Alexander class. I just purchased her book & I loved it.
See how these German Porcelain Doll Heads keep showing up in so many different forms of art.
This is a TERRIBLE picture of me but, for the sake of showing you a better glance of the studio lay out I will add this photo of Susan & I. See the work space under the stamp shelf to the right. The workstation I just showed you to the left behind me And the table I was working at is behind us in the rear of the room. There is a center work table directly behind us & above this is a banner that says DREAM. This studio is a DREAM!
A Manni full of treasures created by Diana.
And a another one!
OK here we are, Almost look like convicts in the stripes don't we? Funny, there was no notice of what to wear that day, it just happened that all three of us were in stripes, jeans, & black shoes. And doesn't it work well on her carpets there in the studio!
Outside of the studio door was this pot of orchids in full bloom. I hope you enjoyed the visit as much as I did. And if you have a chance to attend one of Diana's classes I urge you to do so. 
