A Re-Post For a Party: PRESTO--CHANGE-O.....MY WORKSPACE!

Today, Karen, over at My Desert Cottage, is having the MOST exciting party ever! Her Party is giving us the chance to peek into eachother's workspaces and studios. I couldn't resist joining in on the fun by re-posting about my humble little space...(with a few fun edits included).
Thanks Karen!! When my oldest daughter got married, her room was made into our guest bedroom. So the bedroom you see below is what I call my yellow, white and blue room. AKA the happy room. : )

I wanted a "Studio" I could call my own, but I really did not want to give up this perfect guest bedroom. So...I came up with an unconventional idea. No surprises there!!! : )
EDIT BELOW: This is what the little bedstand looks like these days. Got these stacking "stamp-shelves" from Goodwill for $7.99 each.

I found both these wood pieces (below) at Goodwill for $19.99 each. I think you can see the direction I'm headed. I would like to paint both pieces black. EDIT: No laughing from the Peanut Gallery by those of you who know how long ago I posted this and here it sits in all it's glory...STILL unpainted!
Below, you can see that I took off the cheap knobs and am in the process of changing them out for the file pulls. Desk from my childhood that both my daughters used as well. Sara has graduated to a

hip new desk from Ikea. : )

More storage that can be taken down when we have guests.

Okay, so off came the sliding closet doors.
This divider system which provides separate bins, came from Costco.
I ordered my paper rack from http://www.mediashelving.com/. They had the best price out there. EDIT: Their prices have gone up since I posted this...so sorry.
Fun little labels. I printed them out with the font I wanted and then used my circle punch and glued them in these inexpensive tags from Walmart.
I love these bins below from JoAnn's, found in the bead aisle. The brand: ArtBin.

Next, I put the bed risers on either side of the bed. You'll see why I had to in the next photo.

Next, when we have guests, I'll bring the closet doors back in and lean them in place. Because of the hardware at the top they cannot fall down. You'll understand if you try this. In comes the rolling closet rod.
And presto...change-o! From guest room to "Studio". If only it really looked like this when I'm in the middle of creating. Our little secret...right???
EDIT BELOW: The way my table top looks these days. It seems I never use items for their intended purpose. Oh well...makes life more interesting!

Look what else my little workspace can be used for. The best part! : )

Be sure to head over to Karen's place for lots more inspiring ideas!

Wednesdays With My Mom

This is one of the few photos of my mom wearing pants. She knew how to do it right! My dad always use to call her "Miss America". Then as his daughters came along, he called us that too. So many times when he and mom would come to visit me as an adult, I would walk into the room where they were and he would say..."Miss America!", as I walked in. Cute!!

From what I understand, this was my mom and dad's first date (to Knotts Berry Farm). Most likely my Aunt Ione took this picture because she is responsible for them meeting. My aunt sent my dad a picture of my mom while he was still serving in WWII. You can only imagine how interested he was when he saw it. So when he got home, he got the chance to do something about it. : ) Way to go Dad!!!
This Wednesday was very laid back. Laundry, cleaning the apartment, grocery shopping, and a little handy-man job for me. : )
I told Mom to pose for me. After I took the picture and looked at it, I went over and hugged her and told her how cute she was. She of course laughed, shrugged it off and said, "Ooh!"

Okay, funny story. I was giving my mom instructions on how to pose for this one...I know... such a dork. That's why she has that questioning look on her face. But that's not all. Right in the middle of our "photo shoot", Mom's neighbor, Jean, walked in. We started laughing like a bunch of little girls. I had to explain to her about my blog. Hee-hee.
When your parents start to get up there in age, you will notice that sometimes little things bother them. Things that seem irrational to you. But I don't care because it's real to her. Just as of last week it's been bothering her that there is an attic access door in her closet. I guess there have been a lot of contracted workers at the Apartments lately doing work. She loves the on-staff maintenance guys, but she's felt a little edgy about these "strangers" around lately. So when she told me she hadn't slept much the night before because of the attic door, I told her I would take care of it "today". So I went home, got my ladder, got my "girl tools", stopped by Home Depot for the locks and........see photo below.
Best I could do. I was up on a ladder, taking a photo of myself.

IT WAS FUN......BUT NOW I'M DONE!

With the inside decorating anyway. The top of the piano was my last available (big) surface. So I decided to tackle that today. You see this little guy on the box below? Well, he was also on my "Bucket List", thanks to Cherry's Jubilee. : ) So..........another Check Mark!
I got his head at Michael's. It originally looked like a miniature trick-or-treat bucket w/ a handle. I just cut off the wire handle.

Did any of you buy these 3 skeletons in a row, holding votives, from Target several years ago? I'll love them forever.


Mr. Cat proudly sporting his repaired ear. : ) I like to think of these little trick-or-treaters as my brother, Steve, and me. We were the "two little kids" in the family and I was Steve's shadow most of the time while growing up. (Sorry Steve!) However, you wouldn't even believe how many times he let me tag along without a hint of complaint. He even let me come along on my bike to help him collect for his paper route in the afternoons. Sometimes he would also let me tear off the payment stubs to give to his customers. WHAT FUN! I remember him keeping the stubs and the money he collected in a tin band-aid box. Isn't it funny the things that stick out in a child's mind?

Happy Halloween Steve! And Diana, and Andy and June! : )
Here's a wooden black cat I painted back in the Dark Ages. He's a black plaid.
Okay, onto the fun stuff. I got this little vintage cat at 75% off because of his broken ear.
I brought him home and applied some Femo clay. Painted it black to match the rest of him.

And covered one of those little $1.00 M.E. boxes we all pick up from Michael's, to act as a base for the cat. Now on to the "Pumpkin on the box". To gather crepe paper, use a needle and thread.
Pull it tight to make a circle.
Cut a lot of slits in a long strip and then roll it up for the top of the hat.

The collar is made out of nice, sturdy paper.
Hot glue the collar on top of the box (which I covered earlier).
For my faithful readers, you will remember a post WAY back that was subtitled, 'In Praise of Never Throwing Anything Away...EVER!' Well, case in point...I needed a shiny pipe cleaner for the clown hat, so I went out to my garage & pulled down the box that said Crafts, and there these beauties were. Just had to add glue & glitter. That rubber band is SO OLD that it had petrified. Hee-hee.

And there you have it...another piece of "Psycho Art" as my daughter, Sara, would say. Sara, you're so CUTE!! : )