In the spirit of continuing my birthday celebration & doing absolutely no work, I made a trip to Ikea today. We're working on a new little studio space for muah.  And when I say little, I mean little.... we bumped out a 4x8 area off our laundry/utility room, aka "the dungeon".  So what better place to get inspiration for maximizing a small space than Ikea?!  Seriously, how much do you love that place?

Tight on Space

So I'm trying to figure out where I can have studio space in our house without taking up an entire bedroom (which is what I've done).  We could build some sort of structure in the back, but that would require running power to it, getting permits, and spending way too much money.  We could move a wall in our utility room out a few feet into the carport, but we'd need to get some sort of little heating & air unit to build in.  Those options seem a bit too involved for a not-so-handy-couple.

So, I'm thinking about converting a closet.  Here are some images I've been checking out this morning {click on image for source}:

Random Week in Review

Sometimes I wonder what I've done all week, but this isn't one of those weeks.  I was out of town for about 24hrs, watched my nephew for multiple hours, and still managed to complete several orders.  My house is proof that I've been busy....  

Stacks of barn boards all over the floor.

Paint everywhere.  I am constantly getting it on my hands without knowing, which inevitably ends up on something that I can't get it out of.  I even managed to spill an entire quart of paint yesterday.  Everywhere.

When I wasn't at the easel I was sitting in this very uncomfortable chair for countless hours (with the dog next to me):

I finished a watercolor (while apparently using 3 different forms of chapstick).

I have been trying to figure out how to make a slideshow of my nursery art with "iMovie".  I'm sure for a tech-savvy individual this program is easy.  I'm not tech savvy, but I did manage to come up with a rough draft.

This weekend I plan on planting a beautiful rose bush that Mot gave us for a our 3 year anniversary (a few weeks early) and doing lots of other much needed yard work.  In other words, not spending much time in the studio.

Speaking of roses, I'm going to climb on my soapbox for second.... these guys have given roses a bad wrap in my opinion: 

I LOVE roses, just not roses from a florist.  My grandpa always kept up a few amazing rose bushes in his front yard.  I have fond memories of him sending blossoms home with me & mom.  They were always wrapped in a wet paper towel, usually inside a sandwich bag.  The fragrance- intoxicating.  

Sadly, many rosebushes don't have the fragrance they once did.  I'm no botanist, but I'd guess this is because they've been hybridized?  Anyhow, Mot scored us an Heirloom Tea Rose.  Not only are they beautiful- they are intoxicating.  Happy weekend!

I've got a new attitude.

This little red file carrier is helping me to be a bit more positive about the uglies of being self employed.

I've wanted to bang my head against the wall several times this week while attempting to make 'painted.' a legit business. One would think I was opening a huge retail shop because of all the hoops I've had to jump through (court house to register my trade name, the newspaper to publish the trade name (must be run for 2 weeks), planning & zoning for a certificate of occupation (for working IN my house?!), the finance department for the actual business license, the GA tax office for a tax ID number, and apparently I've got to do something else with the secretary of state). All of this just because I want to take care of taxes in the proper way. Ugh.

After running around for all that jazz I came home to my disaster of a studio and had a flashback of when it was my sweet little guest bedroom (pictured below). This flashback motivated me to spend a significant time yesterday shuffling through piles of paperwork & misc other items. I decided that I needed a separate filing system for the business paperwork & headed to TJ Maxx homegoods in search of the appropriate item..... hence the red file carrier. It makes me pretty happy.

The previous life of the guest bedroom.

The current life of the bedroom DBA 'the studio'