Finally!

 Well, darn!  I can't get the photos aligned right but maybe you can still get a sense of the closet off my studio.  I've finally gotten it somewhat organized, or at least to the point where I'm not too terribly embarrassed to show you photos of it.  This closet is about 8 feet deep and over 6 feet wide with a little niche that adds another 2 feet on one wall.  That niche is the perfect place to put the treadmill so the closet isn't strictly for my art supplies.

Unfortunately, because it's so big, it became the storage area for things we didn't know where else to put and got very messy and disorganized.  It still has to store a few sewing supplies, the treadmill and my saddle (not shown).  I plan to advertise my saddle though and hopefully will be able to sell it - do any of you need a nice Stubben saddle and other tack? lol

So, as you can see, I'm getting there with organization but still messing around with the placement of things in the studio.  I'm thinking of moving the desk that used to house my computer stuff into the closet and use it for a mat cutting area.  I don't think that would work though as the desk would have to sit out from the wall far enough to allow a full sheet of mat board to be cut and I don't think there's quite enough room for that.

As I said, still exploring the possibilities!

Back Again

I don't have any photos yet because I just finished moving all the computer stuff to the new work area and everything is such a mess that I can't get back far enough to get a decent shot!

We have a couple of desks and a table to move out that are currently in the way of everything!  I also have to move my huge work table and the paper cabinet that our friends gave me for Christmas. 

Still so much more to do but I'm just blessed that all the computer stuff is moved and set up and actually working!  lol  And, in this so-called wireless society, I've found that everything (that I have at least) still needs electricity so still have a lot of wires to deal with. 

So, I'll still be working on the studio for a while yet.  My DH still has to put the trim around the base of the cabinets and we still need some pulls or knobs of some kind. 

I'm thinking wrought iron as I saw some in the home improvement store that I really liked and they were very reasonable to boot.  I like the look and texture of wrought iron and I think those pulls would look good with the black countertop.  I've not seen any I like better so will probably go get those this weekend.

Things are slowly coming together!

Just Stuff

I've been working at trying to arrange the studio so that my husband can install the new cabinets this weekend.  But I have to admit that I was also checking out things on the internet and noticed that there's been a run on visitors viewing my Kelpie puppy painting from way back in 2008!  It's not that great of a painting and when I see things like this, it always makes me curious!

If any of you who have searched for the Kelpie puppy and viewed it recently would like to explain why it's so popular, I'd appreciate it.  Or, if any of you who know what's going on with it would like to tell me, I'd appreciate that also!

I do notice when paintings are viewed frequently and will change them around from one host to another or add additional or heavier watermarks to them if I feel it's warranted.  

I do hope that people using the internet know by now that items posted online are copyrighted even if there is no copyright notice on them.

Anyway, I'll keep my eye on the various "popular" and may even sign up for a photo tracking program.

I also wanted to comment about the areas of the US who have been absolutely slammed with snow and ice.  I do feel for you and you have my prayers.  You know I don't particularly care for winter weather so I'm especially aware of the inconvenience at least that you're suffering.  I hope there's a break soon and that spring arrives early this year!

Stay warm everyone.

They're Here!

As you can see, the cabinets for my studio have finally arrived.  Right now they're sitting in the living room (my studio is just around the corner) waiting for my DH to have the time to install them.

Of course, I need to finish moving a large bookcase and a little table out of the way so he can get to the area!  lol  Who knew a bookcase could hold so much stuff?!!!!

We haven't opened any boxes yet - just checked that everything we ordered is here - but the cabinets are supposed to be white.  I have two windows on the north side of the room which is the only natural light so I wanted white cabinets so as to reflect the light.  I thought dark finished cabinets would only make the studio dreary.

So, let me get back to work getting stuff out of the way so my darling husband can hopefully get started installing them this coming weekend!

I'll keep you posted!

In the Studio: Re-Organization and Re-Model

It's begun!  My husband gave me cabinets for my studio for Christmas and the countertop we ordered arrived yesterday!  The actual cabinets are supposed to be here by the 31st then the fun really begins. 

This set of cabinets is for the "office" area and will hold my computer and peripherals.  There will be cabinet storage both below and above the work surface.  We started with the office wall because I'll need to get the desk and tables out that currently hold my computer stuff.  Once that's done, we'll be able to get the cabinets for the other walls.

We haven't ordered them yet as I'm not sure exactly what I want and they're too expensive to get something I don't like.  I don't think I want any wall cabinets for the other walls.  I do want the counter space and cabinets beneath the countertops would be ideal.  I'm not crazy about wall cabinets because I'm so short that the shelves above the lowest ones would probably go to waste!

I'll keep you posted on how it goes!

Back To Normal?

Well, the snow is finally melting and the roads are clear at least.  There's still quite a bit of the white stuff around but the patches of bare ground are getting bigger all the time.  The weather forecasters say we should be up to around 70 degrees by the weekend!  Whooo Hooo!

In the meantime, I'm still trying to clean up and organize my studio when I really need to be painting.  I have several paintings to do and have got to get cracking on them soon - I just need to be able to find my table so I can paint!

So, I want to take this time to wish everyone a wonderful coming new year.  I think I missed wishing you all a merry Christmas but I hope you had one anyway.

All the best in 2011!

That Four-Letter Word Again!

You can call me a whiner, I don't care, but I don't like snow and cold.  I even moved to the southern part of the country to escape it but we still get some from time to time.  Usually we get a few flakes then the sun will come out and it's gone within a few hours.  But we got dumped on Christmas night and it's still here 2 days later!  That's not what I bargained for when I moved here!

So, I've stayed inside and finished painting my new cabinet and am in the process of filling it up with all my various art papers.  Right now, my studio is a royal mess as everything was piled on my art table to make room for the new cabinet so I've got to sort through all of that and decide where each type of paper should go.  This is NOT the fun part as I'm notoriously unskilled at organization.  Once something is organized, I tend to keep it that way, but deciding how it should be organized is giving me a brain freeze!

That's why it's taken me this long to decide what I want in the studio and how I should arrange it.  My husband gave me carte blanche in the home improvement store for Christmas and insists I get cabinets and counters ordered.  That's great but every time I tell him what I'd like, he comes up with a reason why it would be impractical!  Like, there's a short wall that I think would be ideal for my computer desk and peripherals table or a counter but my DH has pointed out that the phone line is on the opposite wall across the room.  Since I use the phone line to connect for DSL internet access, I really need to have my computer close enough to connect to it.  I'm not so sure that's a real problem though as I'm sure the phone line can be moved.  I'm also sure my DH wouldn't be thrilled to have to do it since it would involve crawling under the house!  I could have the phone company or an independent contractor move it, but I know my sweetie would rather do it himself even if it means crawling through cobwebs in a dark place.  I can just see him moving the phone line then I find out later that moving my computer to the new area just isn't working after all!  He's a wonderful, patient and indulgent man but I think that could cause some major words between us!

So, these kinds of problems keep me in a dither about how to organize and I tend to do nothing instead of forging ahead and maybe making a mistake!

Are any of you out there any good at organization?  Any suggestions would be more than welcome!