Where Bloggers Create: From Storage Building to Studio

Welcome friends, old and new! I'm thrilled to be participating in the second annual "Where Bloggers Create" party put on by the gracious Karen at My Desert Cottage! If you didn't come here from there, do yourself a BIG favor and head over there for a FEAST of inspiration!! Simply click on the many Where Bloggers Create links on Karen's sidebar to see the creative spaces of talented bloggers all over the world...

And now for a tour of my studio space. If you've seen it before, I  hope you'll look again - I have added more photos as well as projects I have made there...and if it is your first time here, I warmly welcome you to Just Bee 'n Me, the art and heart of me, Becky Schultea...

What do you get when you take a storage building full of junk...

...empty it out, and have your fabulous husband work SO hard on it for months...?

...you get a light, airy but cozy space that's ready...

...to make into my colorful cottage studio! Thanks Sweetie! I have SO enjoyed my sweet, creative space!

I hope you'll take a stroll with me through my studio to see the details that make it dear to me...

I put an extra work table to the left as you enter the studio...

See the peg rack? Here's how it looked when I first got it...

It was comprised of a $1.00 garage sale rack with a 80's paint job and a set of $.50 pastel buckets. Now it provides extra storage (should I need it)...

Above the peg rack I hung three of my favorite illustrations framed with flea market frames painted black with whimsical white polka dots...

Onward along the left wall (the white rocker was sitting out along the curb for the trash when I rescued it!)...

...to the desk area - a large pine desk/work table flanked by two bookcases...

I cut up and used a vintage cutter quilt with cute butterflies as valances on all the windows (easy, no sew project)...I also draped a few vintage embroidered linens over the curtain rod for fun...

More desk area details...

Here's another of my favorite illustrations, matted with fabric and ribbon trim...

The back portion of the studio is made up mostly of storage shelves holding flea market and garage sale finds awaiting repurposing...

A couple of my many bunnies on a hand painted chair...

Moving around now to the right side of the studio you'll see one of my favorite thrifted treasures of all time - my $30 couch! I WISH I had taken a before photo...but trust me, the fabric was not the prettiest...but the couch's bones were good and it was solid...

So with a $19.99 king size discount store quilt, and pieces of leftover bargain quilt that I already had (you may recall I used it to make no-sew valances for my livingroom), my Mom and I tucked and tacked and managed to fashion a no-sew slipcover of sorts for it. I used a couple of flower pins that I had on hand to "gather" the slipcover around the arms of the couch...

A thrifted dresser and mirror ($25) provide lots of fabric storage as well as more display area...

This corner shelf rounds out the right side of the studio and is home to larger pieces of fabric yardage and ribbon...

Finally, I thought I'd include a selection of the projects I've made in the studio since it was finished (I sell these in our space at theWhispering Willow Gifts & Antiques)...

And honestly, this is the very last image for this post. Since many of you are visiting for the first time, I thought I would include my very latest digtal illustration - she will be the June design for my 2011 "Between us Bunnies" calendar....

THANK YOU so much for taking time to visit my studio and see some of my work. It means so much to me to be able to share it with you! I hope to see you again soon and I am looking forward to visiting with you too! Have a glorious weekend!!

"He has made everything beautiful in its time..."

Ecclesiastes 3:11

Set Me Free

 One of my all time favorite Casting Crowns songs sets the stage for this dramatic interpretation I found on You Tube. I pray it will encourage you, motivate you, change you... I love posting about the sweet, pretty side of life, and I will continue to, but I cannot continue to pass by the hurting captives and do nothing...I can't. I've worn many of those same chains and have experienced the freedom that only Jesus Christ can give - I must share that freedom, that hope, however I can... And friends, there is nothing so sweet, so beautiful as true freedom... "Rescue those being led away to death;  hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, "But we knew nothing about this," does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?"Proverbs 24:11-12   "The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor."Isaiah 61:1-3
 

  

2011 Bunny Calendar Sneak Peek & Giveaway Announcement

Hello friends!! I am so excited for so many reasons these days...but I'll share two reasons today. First of all, I am very happy to introduce to you my first bunny girl from my upcoming 2011 Scripture Calendar: "Between Us Bunnies" - Kathleen Grace for the month of July!! I approached the design of the new calendar by basing each month's bunny on a girlfriend or family member of mine. For July, I chose one of my dear blog buddies and sweet Sister in the Lord, Kathleen Grace (Kathy) of Kathy's Cottage. If you've never met Kathy, do yourself a favor and get acquainted with her - she is so very genuine, multi-talented, funny, smart, hard-working, and warm! We hit it off as blog pals a couple of years ago or so now and I have loved reading the tales from her journey, and seeing the beautiful works of art from her hands. Plus she was kind enough to custom make a heart pillow for my Mom on her 70th birthday a couple of years ago - it was a big hit! The inspiration for the images in the illustration is from her writings on her blog as well as actual sewing projects Kathy has made and shared on her blog or in her etsy shop, Hens in Daisies. I fell in love with this sweet birdie from her sold items gallery in her etsy shop...

(photo courtesy of Kathleen Miller)

...and did my little interpretation of it for the illustration...

...same goes for this adorable apron (available now when I last checked!!)...

(photo courtesy of Kathleen Miller)

From reading "Kathy's Cottage", I knew she has a soft spot for hollyhocks and cherries and LOVES the color red! The bunny herself was pretty easy to design once I decided that she would be sitting and stitching; from there, the porch swing was just a natural next step for the design and helped tie the visual concept together. But it was the Scripture that really made it all come together as an overall illustration - it even includes the word "Grace" which is Kathy's middle name...

"Each of you has received a gift to use to serve others. Be good servants of God's various gifts of grace."

1 Peter 4:10 (New Century Version)

Yep, that's Kathy all right! I do hope you'll stop by and say hello to my sweet friend!

In addition to the calendar, I will be making this artwork available as notecards in my CafePress store, plus I will be offering all of the elements and background patterns from the illustration as a new Summer digital clipart kit in my Aimee Asher digital boutique! I hope you'll stop back by and check those out when they are available - hopefully within the next week to 10 days!

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Secondly, I am thrilled to be able to announce a very special monthly giveaway that my dear friend Sue Cramer is having right now at her awesome blog "Praise and Coffee"! I am a proud "sponsor" of sorts for part of this giveaway as I have shared several sets of my "My Cup Runneth Over" notecards for Sue to give away this month and for several more upcoming months as well!! Sue is a wonderful sweet servant of the Lord, writing devotionals on her blog (like "Two Shall be as One Tuesday") as well as for Internet Cafe Devotions, and elsewhere. She is also the founder of Praise and Coffee Nights girlfriend gatherings that are springing up all over the country and the world!!

I hope you'll head over to Praise and Coffee right now and enter the awesome double-giveaway that also includes a music CD, coffee mug, and coffee of course! You'll be so blessed as I have to get to know Sue and share her heart for the Lord, for families, for marriages, and for the special bonds of girlfriends!!

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Thanks all for hanging in there with me as I work hard on the bunny calendar - I hope you'll keep stopping by for more calendar updates and previews as well as my other ongoing adventures here at Just Bee 'n Me! I treasure you and look forward to visiting you too!!

50 by Fifty: Busy Days

Yep, it's been a busy week to be sure...I blew right past 50 by Fifty "Friday", although, I am happy to report that I am back on track and have lost 2 more pounds this past week for a total of 9.1 pounds in 8 weeks! All I can attribute the loss to is simply sticking with writing down what I eat and staying within my points...period. I have not done an appreciable amount of exercise and I could still make better food choices, but overall I am happy to say that I can see some good habits slowly taking the place of bad habits, and in the long run, that is precisely what I need to happen...  

The reason it's been a busy week is primarily because I've been pretty single-mindedly focused on a project and I have not made time for much else besides some family time that was much needed. (I WILL share photos of the crawfish boil SOON...it was so fun!) I'm excited to share that the project I am working on is a brand new calendar for 2011!! It is all starting to click now as the concept finally came together and the sketches are more refined and focused...and typically, once I have that in place, I just put my head down and draw...which is precisely what I've been doing. I promise I will tell you more about it soon, and share sneak previews of it as I go, but for now I will simply provide a one word clue:  'Bunnies'! Lord willing, it is really going to be a fun, sweet, encouraging calendar...one that celebrates friendship and creativity...  If my blog postings become even a bit more sparse than normal, you'll know that it's likely because I'm drawing a bunny or bunny "accessories"  :o) 

But today is a workday at the shop, and tonight is the Dancing with the Stars finale, so the bunnies will have to wait until tomorrow...

Oh and if you're wondering "why bunnies?", here's a glimpse at just a few of the bunnies in my world...

I definitely have a thing for bunnies....they've been demanding their own calendar for a while now! :o)

I look forward to catching up will all of you soon and seeing what you're up to...until then, happy Monday and a blessed week to you all!!

"Mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance."

Jude 2