Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Worktable Wednesday - the storybeader's studio

Italian paper beads on Etsy
Welcome to the storybeader's studio... well actually, my home.  I've got lots of paper all over because I'm working on three or four different projects all at the same time.  Our  team has just been talking about multi-tasking and how we all cope.  This is my way of handling it - spread out!

desk in our converted garage
The desk in our converted garage is where I pay household bills.  It also acts as my studio desk, so I try to keep it organized.  I'm preparing my art journal for Gesso (above).  In this round of AlphabeThursday (one of my favorite memes) I decided to create pages for a children's Alphabet Book.  This week's letter is D - I'm thinking of painting my DOGS from a photo.  Last week we wrote about the letter C (naturally) :

AlphabeThursday - C is for Cat

Another project I'm in the middle of is making paper beads.  This is something I'm always doing; cutting, rolling, coating, photographing, or posting to my Etsy shop.  Below (left) is where I cut my paper, on a thick piece of glass.  I used to have DH cut my paper, but I’ve learned how to handle a utility knife on my own.  On the right (below) are some rolled beads.  I place them on toothpicks in syrofoam, and spray them out on our porch - never in the house.  The smell is just too strong.  And it’s not healthy, for us or the pups!   


On the 15th, I started my mandala class given by Guadalupe, an artist from Buenos Aires (she accepts donations).  I just love mandalas and was so excited to learn some of her  techniques.  First thing was to clear off my work table (in the living room).  Then add  intersecting lines to the template (below, on the right) she gave us.  Next step: color.  Guadalupe uses watercolor pencils, but I used markers.  You see, my printer won’t accept thick watercolor paper.  It's just too old and perspicuity.  This week she's teaching us how to draw our own templates.  Problem solved!

drawing mandalas with Guadalupe on willowing.ning.com

There are other things I'm looking forward to doing, like getting my sewing machine running and making more cards.  And I'm wanting to make some foam stamps, something that Moira Richardson taught us in my art journaling class, Falling for You.  So many projects to try, so much to do!  

You can find the storybeader all over the internet:





Pinterest


Flickr , and on 

Facebook (personal and business)

Phew!  Hope you enjoyed the tour!

8 comments:

Memories for Life said...

You have so many fun projects going! As you know... I love to multi-task too :)

AWJ said...

Great feature. I love seeing behind-the-scenes stuff. :)

Anonymous said...

Wow...so much going on on your desk!!

storybeader said...

I love to multi-task too! And try new things... My art journal is real special to me, but there's something else out there that is going to really catch my interest. I can just feel it! {:-D

BeadedTail said...

It's fun to get a peek at Deb's space and projects! I enjoyed this feature!

Splendid Little Stars said...

So many fun projects going on! It was fun to see your workspace and projects, Deb!

Rose Clearfield said...

I'm always glad to know that I'm not the only one with about 6 projects going at any given time. I loved seeing this peek into your work areas.

Honey from the Bee said...

Aren't we lucky to be able to create! Love that your head is in many different places like mine. : ) Curious how you end up liking the mandala class. There's someone here that teaches it and I've thought about taking a class from her.