Playing in the Studio

(click any image to enlarge)

I've been playing around in the studio this week, combining my love of vintage fabrics, china, linens, jewelry, buttons, trims, and trinkets with retro images from my collection of vintage sewing patterns. It's kind of a cross between an inspiration board and an illustration. I have lots of tweaking yet to do, but I am having fun. This is the beginning of the new work I was talking about in a previous post...

I plan to make at least one vintage inspiration board/color study/illustration every week, post it on the blog/FB/Pinterest,  plus I hope to include a series of these images with seasonal themes for a calendar as well as notecards and greeting cards...all with a retro vibe. The larger image (above), or something like it will probably be my October design. Here's a snippet of what will likely be the November design...

Like I said, still experimenting, but it's coming along...

Meanwhile, my art licensing work is humming right along...just signed and mailed my latest contract for more party plates coming out in 2014! Can't say more about those until then, but I think/hope they will be a very positive product set for the manufacturer and me! Yay God!  :o)

Also, as I mentioned in a previous post, I am planning to kick off the Fall season with a blog/branding makeover - maybe not huge, major changes but a much needed refreshing...fun, but a lot of work!

Hope the remainder of your Summer is a lovely, relaxing, happy time with family and friends...take care friends...

What to Wear?

Struggling with what to wear today? Can't find anything in your closet that you like? We might want to try these clothes on today - they always fit perfectly and never go out of style!

"Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience."

Colossians 3:12

Just Bee 'n Me Girls Calendar - November

Here's Sadie, my November Just Bee 'n Me girl. She's a fabulous cook and is blessed with the gift of hospitality. She loves all things vintage and has a great set of vintage Pyrex serving pieces that she loves to use when serving her guests...  Pumpkin pie and hot coffee are ready and waiting!

This image is what the basic layout of the Just Bee 'n Me Girls calendar will look like...each month will feature one of the colorful, creative Just Bee 'n Me girls with a Scripture and encouraging words, plus coordinating "accessories" that reflect each girl's personality. 

Can't wait to get them all together so I can share them with you - still hoping/planning to have these ready by Christmas!!  I'll keep posting little sneak peeks as I get them ready...

Hugs to you my dear friends...thanks so much for stopping by!

Meet "Maggie"!

Meet "Maggie", my October Just Bee 'n Me calendar girl! I'm so happy to finally be moving forward on the Just Bee 'n Me Girls 2013 calendar! I have lots of fun creative girls waiting in the wings for their  calendar debut - I just have to get them from the sketchbook to the computer where they start to really take shape and develop their "personalities".

Maggie is herself quite a doodler, filling one art journal after another with her bright, colorful sketches and mixed media pages. Her personal style is a little bit Boho, a little bit Romantic. She loves to laugh and spread a little joy whenever, wherever she can...

Can't wait to introduce more girls to you soon!

You'll be seeing these girls make appearances in the new Etsy shop soon too...should be fun! 

(yikes, we're sold out in our shop right now but we are working hard to restock it with more Inspiration Kits by Wednesday evening 9/26!)

Talk to you soon - have a great week!

Where Bloggers Create 2012: Just Bee 'n Me Studio

Hello!! Whether you are visiting here for the first time from Where Bloggers Create 2012 or you're an old friend stopping by to say hi - Welcome!!  I'm Becky Schultea, full-time licensing artist and illustrator (and part time crafter), and this is a tour of my little studio at our Woodland Cottage near Houston, Texas. I have had a BLAST setting up my studio here and getting it functional and fun!!  Can't wait to show you the details...

Before we get started though, I want to thank Karen at My Desert Cottage for hosting this incredibly inspiring blog event - this is the 4th annual one and they just keep getting better and more amazing! I am looking forward to looking through all the many creative spaces and getting to know the creative souls behind them...I hope you'll do the same!

So here are the details of my 10 x 13 studio, otherwise known as a spare bedroom in our 3 bedroom cottage. I will keep my commentary to a bare minimum and just let the photos do the talking...enjoy!!

This inspiration board is a rusty old baby mattress spring - I used to use it for display at the antique shop space I used to have...

 Love my little buckets full of fabric...

Vintage stuff everywhere...

The display with the little cards is from Universal Designs who licenses my artwork. That is from my Easter collection from 2012...

I won that adorable little bear illustration (below) from my friend and fellow artist Diane Knott when she was having a blog giveaway a few years ago...

I love my paint caddy - $15 garage sale find and it was full of unopened paint bottles!

Here's my bakers rack in the corner, loaded down with goodies. Above it are the posters I made of my Just Bee 'n Me girls for the Craft and Hobby Association trade show I attended in January...

There's always a place at my craft table for you...I hope you can come by someday and play!!!

My Mom and I are going to be launching an Etsy shop early this Fall - these vintage junk jewelry pieces might just be part of the fun you'll find there...you'll have to check back and see!! We're shooting for an August 31st grand opening...

The dual closets are full of fun too...

Rounding out the room is a rack full of vintage embroidered linens (one of my most favorite things in the world!) Just love 'em!! I love the one in the middle (a sweet gift from a dear friend) that says "Say It With Stitches" - just perfect!

I am so grateful that you stopped by to tour my studio and say hi! What an honor to have you here!! 

Thanks again and God Bless You!!

Fresh Mercies

It's going to be one of those weeks - the busy kind. The kind that have you meeting yourself coming and going. The kind where you hit yourself in the head for being a procrastinator. The kind where you have to make a list every single day to make sure you don't forget to do each very important thing you have to do. The kind where it's so easy to forget to stop...and pray...and trust...and be grateful. You know those kind of weeks...those kind of days...

Thank You Lord for your fresh mercies each morning. Help me to not hurry past them with my own agenda leading the way. Help me to pause, to breathe, to reflect...help me to seek You first in all things. Thank you for this new day...may it be Your priorities at the top of my list, and not my own. May I feel Your gentle guidance, and take Your easy yoke, and pull Your light burden....mine are just too heavy to carry.

He has fresh mercies for you this morning...don't let your agenda push you past them. Enjoy them today and all this week, and I will try to do the same. I have a feeling that we'll still get everything done that is important, but we'll also get some much needed peace in the process...

Back to the Drawing Board

Hey y'all - I had to put decorating at the Woodland Cottage on the back burner for about a week or so because I've been doing some seasonal designing back at the old drawing board for a client. Here's just a few little snippets of what I've been up to...

I also made a little Scripture art that I posted to Facebook recently just for fun...

"...you have been called to live in freedom...
use your freedom to serve one another in love."

Galatians 5:13

Do you remember this daisy trim from the 60's/70's...?

When I was about 8 years old, my Mom gave me a small vanity table that she had skirted in lime green dotted swiss fabric and trimmed with this daisy trim. I LOVED that vanity...it looked so grown up and so cute. I guess I've loved that daisy trim ever since. It seems to be growing in popularity again along with lot's of other 70's icons and images. Here's a cute example from Etsy that I saw on Pinterest...

 These adorable tea towels can be found in SureLeeQ Designs' Etsy shop - 

thanks Shirley for permission to post your photo! 

If you'd like to Pin this photo, please pin from the SureLeeQ link - thanks!

Meanwhile, even though I had to take a bit of a decorating break, I've still done quite a bit since my last post. I just have not had time to take good photos. I promise I will very soon - the cottage is looking so sweet and cozy and colorful and comfortable - just like I dreamed it could be!!  I'd LOVE to have you all over for coffee and cupcakes - wish I could!!

I'll leave you with this one little tease - this garage sale dresser hutch ($4.00 is what the tag says) is an important part of a big repurpose project I did for the living room at the cottage - can't wait to show you how it turned out!!

Have a great week friends - I'll be back soon with more reveal photos!!

Oh - not to forget - prayers for all those affected by the extreme heat, the wildfires, and the mess that tropical storm Debby is already causing...Lord please keep your children under the shadow of your wing!