Where's Susie??

You know, kind of like "Where's Waldo"? Well, it's been a crazy busy few weeks since I last posted. The studio is still in chaos, but working it's way back to normal. In fact, I'll be mounting some cabinets tonight. In the midst of all this chaos I've had to hunt for supplies to fill orders!

For the past week we've had abolutely gorgeous 70 and 80 degree weather so I've been trying to enjoy that as much as possible. We've waited so long for summer to finally arrive! Tonight I hng out with my husband on our patio swing...I'm such a little kid, huh? I also have a son who is now in driver's ed, so we've been doing alot of driving as well.

As for Vintage Susie, I'm hoping to be getting some of the new Ava Rose fabric by Tanya Whelan. I absolutely love her designs. My other favorite is Heather Bailey...these gals are so talented! Today I took a quick trip the quilt shop...can't resist a sale! I got some gorgeous fabric there. Of course my normal florals, but I also happened upon this killer oriental design...big flowers...kind of Amy Butler looking.

I'll be posting new pics in the next couple days, so check back!

Some Studio Pics...The Joy...The Mess...The Joyful Mess!

(I apologize for the funky spacing...I don't know why the software is doing this). Ok, so I spent some more time trying to put things away. Oh my gosh...I have so much stuff. Goodwill is going to be happy to see my trunk - I'm determined to edit and get rid of things I don't use. I know there's a much happier home for them out there!

Here is the first promised picture. Don't you just love the layout? There is my $20 sewing corner desk...what a deal! A good wash and a new glass drawer handle was all it needed. Behind it I have a snazzy little magnet board from Ikea that I've dressed up with rose applique magnets (crafted those too!) Dang, I'm in Martha Stewart mode :-)

This next picture of the continuation of the sewing desk...it's the part I made myself and then my original white desk. Again, just perfect (not by accident...I have many hours of painstaking calculating and planning to get to this place). Directly above is a bank of cabinets I pieced together from Ikea as well (love them for a budget). I actually started in the 'as-is' area and found the style cabinet doors that match my wardrobes (pictures of that side of the room later this weekend). The price on each of them was over $50 (just for the doors!!), but because they had a few bumps, I got them for $8 and $5...such a deal! I drug my finds back to the cabinet area and matched them up with the right frames. I think that whole upper bank of cabinets (with shelves) was about $100. I'm going to keep watching for those deals and hopefully put more cabinets around the other wall above the sewing machine.

See the little blue filing cabinet there? That's the one I wrote about in my previous post. It was a whopping $15 at the thrift store but was the worst 70's icky mustard yellow...this perky little Robin's Egg Blue paint did the trick! I even took the chrome off and polished it all up. I just love it.

Here is one last picture of that end of the room. I'm so thrilled with it...it will be so functional and wonderful compared to what I had before.

The Studio...Continued (Oh...and I'm 40!!)

Ok, first of all let me say that I am now 40. Holy cow, I didn't know that the day would ever come when I'd actually say I'm 40. Ok, so I don't feel any different, just feel like I should look around and be thankful for what I have...and that I've made it 40 years!

So...now to the studio. I will post another picture soon. I have been working like a crazy woman and it's coming together very nicely. In addition to the score of a sewing table, I am using my old desk as well to make a u shaped work space. But I had trouble with the remaining area, so I made my own surface. Mission accomplished, and for a fraction of the price.

I also wanted a filing cabinet, but not one of those cheap ones that bends if you look at it sideways. I wanted a sturdy office strength one, so I stopped on by my local thrift shop and found a fabulous goldish ick colored cabinet. Had great clean lines and chrome trim. I brought that baby home, stripped it apart and put a gorgeous Robin's Egg blue color on it. A bit of polish made the chrome shine and now it's full of goodies in my space!

Ok...enough for now. I'll post more in a day or so with some pics...gotta get to work putting it all away now!!!

The Studio Under Renovation

Ok, this post should really be titled....I HAVE TOO MUCH STUFF! So I got this bug to reorganize my studio and make it more efficient...little did I know I was opening a can of worms. I've been shopping the past two days between IKEA and the thrift store to find what I need. I found a gorgous rose frame that will make an awesome bulletin board. The ultimate score came at a thrift store though. I was going to try to find some cool cabinets or tables to make into my machine desks. Didn't see anything at all...until I hit the last row. There it was...a white corner table with dual machine cut ins and lifts. I couldn't believe it...and for $20! Ok, you probably can't guess how excited I was, but this was exactly what I was looking for!

I have these wonderful wardrobes from IKEA that just needed some accessories, so I after two trips there, I only needed one more thing... the rest of the desk. I couldn't find what I needed so I headed to Lowes to get in touch with my inner carpenter. So, supplies in hand, I figure I better get some of the many, many, many tubs of fabric moved out so I can get right to it in the morning. I've planned two full days of hard work...yikes, what was i thinking?

So...my lovely teenage boys helped transport all my wonderful goodies to the other room. It's a much smaller room, but still a reasonable size. Of course they had to make comments along the way...like, "wow, you have way too much fabric"...my other favorite was "you just need to give a bunch of this to goodwill." Of course he's talking about my $9 a yard fabric!

I have to tell you I'm just a bit overwhelmed and depressed after looking at how much stuff I have and how much work I've just made for myself. Ok...here we go. As embarassing as it is, I'm going to give you the play by play pictures. If I'm not dead tired tomorrow night I'll post again with some new pictures!

The first pictures are after we removed alot of totes and such...the third picture is all that stuff in another room...YIKES!

Arlene's Apron...Cookies Anyone?

I have met the most wonderful people since opening my store at Vintage Susie. Two of those people are Arlene and Terri. Arlene (at RetroBoutiques) loves all things retro. She was especially lusting after a retro apron to wear when she hosted dinner at her house. Terri (at Artform Nails) wanted to thank Arlene for all the work she'd done on her site, so she did a sneak attack and ordered an apron for Arlene. Not just any apron...a vintage styled one. Getting to know the girls a bit, I began to hunt through the mounds of fabric I have to find just the right one. Here it is!! I used a retro 40's style blue and red with a vintage dishtowel for the pockets. Finished off with red ric rac, I just loved it...happily both Arlene and Terri loved it too! Thanks girls!

My Blog Design...by Miss Ali

Don't you just love this gorgeous design? Miss Ali (Ali Regan) of Miss Alis, is the one I have to thank. She is a lovely gal in Australia who I had the fortune of discovering on the web last year. She did my initial web design and the refresh, as well as this gorgeous blog design! If you need any work like this at all (including business cards and more), please contact Ali - she is absolutely wonderful to work with - you won't be sorry!

In fact, check out some of her gorgeous creations (she sells through Boutique Mama)...I just love the Rich Chocolate...hard to resist buying that one!!

The Lady...Dressed for the Ball!

The lady is now dressed properly and ready for the ball. I just love the way it all turned out. I still do not have my extra crystals...which will add a whole new drippy layer to the bottom of the chandelier, but they will hopefully be waiting for me when I get home from work tomorrow!

The shades are custom made by moi...with Rachel Ashwel fabric I bought several years ago (can't remember which it was)...so shabby chic! There are seven shades total and all are trimmed with gorgeous white trim too. My teenage boys don't seem as excited about it as I am, but too bad for them. I feel like such a girl in my studio now...pink walls and all. Did I tell you my husband says it looks like Pepto Bismal...it's actually a Martha Stewart color I believe.

Thanks for hanging in there with me through this very long story. The past two weeks have been so much fun. Now that it's done I'm on to the next project. Re designing my studio (have to showcase this baby!)