Folk Art Fusion - Bee Happy

Helloooooooooo there! How's your week so far? Mine has been very creative. I'm having fun finishing up a new Folk Art Fusion Design.

Here's a little sneaky peeky. It's called "Bee Happy."
 

I decided to make another bee design, but I changed the style of the bee in this piece. This will also be one of the classes I offer.

I'm using some lighter colors in my new designs. I guess you can say I feel the need to "lighten up and bee happy." hee,hee,hee  Plus, I really looooooove these Valdani Pearl Cotton colors and have wanted to play with them for some time now.

Last week I forgot to show you the magic door in my studio! This little door is the entrance to my world of creativity. It's my favorite place to be and there is so much inspiration there. Oh...and lots of animals too!

My dear friend Jean gave me this little magic door. It came from a wonderful artist in England, Sue McLearie.
I just love it and I think it is in the perfect spot on my sewing table. What do you think?

Well my friend, I hope you have a wonderful weekend and a Happy Easter! My birthday is actually on Easter this year. Go figure...the bunny lady has a birthday on a bunny day. I think I will spend some time petting Hannah, my precious and sweet Easter bunny.

Light, love and hugs to you!
Michelle and Hannah Bunny too!

The new studio - HomeMayd

Well hellooooo! I hope you are doing well. So last week I told you I had an interesting week. Basically, I had to make a hard decision, but I feel like I made the right one. I resigned from working for the builder who built my cottage. It's a really long story and way too much negativity, which I don't care to drudge up again. I will say that this week I feel like a million tons of weight has been lifted off my shoulders. It was a rough haul building this house and living in the "shed." My creativity/mojo took a major leave of absence. However, I finally got my new studio put together and today was the first day in a very long time that I felt the magic of creativity flowing again.

So, let's take a little tour shall we?

This is my sewing table which was custom built for me by my cabinet maker back in New Bern. I love this thing. It's a perfect cutting table, sewing table and storage cabinet. I still remember my cabinet maker saying to me, "Shuuug...don't tell anyone I made this. I don't want to make another one. This was too much work!" I still laugh when I think about it and feel honored that he cared about me enough to create a custom piece.

As I have mentioned, I am taking this house from "Builder Grade" to "HomeMayd." I'm also keeping things uncluttered with my calm, clean and serene style.  I changed out the standard light fixture to this beautiful piece. It gives off tons of light and I love the fact that fabric and wool dust can't get caught in anything. Oh, I also put vinyl flooring in this space so my chair could roll easily and I would be able to find pins and needles on the floor instead of in my foot. ;)

This was the standard light. Ahhh yes, the "Boob" light. Dreadful things.

Speaking of lights, this bunny lamp has been with me for 15 years now. Her name is Claire. She shines the light of "clarity" in my studio. hee,hee,hee. She was in the guest bedroom of our former house. I think she is the cutest. 

This old dresser is a new addition. I bought off a fella on Craigslist. I'm going to paint it white eventually. I holds my yarn stash, paper stash and lot of tools I use all the time. Of course, I had to hang this big clock in here. I do love clocks and time.

Buddha bunny is perfect for this room. He was given to me by my dear friend, Judy C in NC. I adore him. He brings peace and happiness to my studio. 

Of course you remember Esmeralda, my muse, who was painted for me by my bestie in England, Jules. She hangs at the doorway to welcome me and to wish me well when I leave the studio.

This is the view as you come down the hallway.

I purchased this comfy chair so I could sit, listen to music and stitch away. It's also the perfect spot for my friends (Jean!) to sit and have a coffee break with me.

Above it hangs this treasured piece. It is a print from Mary Engelbreit. It's signed and is number 500 of 500. This piece means so much to me and reminds me why I started my small business after I lost my job in 2010. When I hung it up in here, I was reminded to follow my heart and it helped me make the decision to leave the builder. I love being an artist more than anything else I have ever done. It makes me the happiest and brings me so much joy to be able to share my creativity with others.

Looking back across the room from the chair, the closet space has lots of storage.

I purchased this little caddy at a local store. Create, Design, Inspire. Yep, that's exactly what I want to do with my life and it's where my heart truly is.

Now that I'm finally settled into a room filled with light and I have a gorgeous view across the pond, I know there is no stopping my creativity. I feel so very blessed.

Light, love and hugs to you,
Michelle

HomeMayd - Kitchen and Dining Room

Well hello there! How's your week going? Mine has been interesting for sure. I'll get into that on another day.

Today I want to share my Dining Room and Kitchen. Like I said last week, I had plantation shutters installed on all the windows. They make my heart go pitter patter. hee,hee,hee

The four paintings hanging there are originals by Jennifer Lanne. My dear friends Mary Kay and Marianne in New Bern did the framing for me. They own a wonderful framing shop there.

This was the original light fixture that came with the house. Everyone in our neighborhood has the same light fixture. So, since I'm taking my house from "Builder Grade" to "HomeMayd," I had David install the light you see in the photo above. It came from Ballard Designs. I love the simple forged iron look and the check chain cover.

After having white cabinets for 14 years, I decided to go with ebony cabinets this time. They aren't pure black, but more like espresso beans.

We added our own knobs to the cabinets. I found these on Wayfair.

Of course, my kitchen wouldn't be finished without my Harrington and Hannah hand-painted soap dispenser, which was created for me by my talented friend, Natasha. I treasure this piece so much.

This is Bob and Larry, the buffet bunnies. hee,hee,hee. They enjoy serving up some tasty vegetables to our guests. I found them at Pottery Barn last year when I was out shopping with Lydia.

Like many of us I don't have a house phone anymore, but I couldn't resist buying this old phone I found on Ebay. I think it's fun in the kitchen and reminds me of days gone by.

I love the way the light comes in this space. What do you think?

Light, love and hugs to you,
Michelle

Captains Quarters - A HomeMayd Cottage

Well helloooooooooooo! Did you miss me? I sure missed you! Good gracious has it been two crazy weeks with trying to get the house finished so we could move in. Yes, you read that right...finished! We closed on the cottage on February 12, but they didn't finish it until the evening of the 16th. Then there were three more days of miscellaneous work that had to be done not to mention cleaning. This place was a mess. Our movers brought the big stuff on the 19th, so we consider that our first day in the new house as that was the first day we were able to sleep here.

It turned out really cute and David loves his extra garage.

I decided I will take you on a tour of the rooms over the next few weeks. I want to show you how I am taking the house from "builder grade" to "HomeMayd." Get it? My last name is May...hee,hee,hee. My dear friend, Vikki, came up with that. I love it!

I'm doing things a little different this time around. I want a calm, clean and serene feel without a lot of clutter and things I have to maintain. I will be making some quilts and items down the road and will show you how I change things out. But, since that is waaaaaaay down the road, I am decorating with some store-bought items for now because I need some sense of order after 7 months in the shed.

Today I will start off with the Captains Quarters, aka our guest room. When I left New Bern, Captain told me that when people wanted to visit me in Wilmington, they would have to make sure the Captains Quarters were available. I must say, I did the happy bunny dance when I found this antique iron sign from an old Navy ship. How perfect! Captain loves it too. It sits on the bookcase in the room.

I got a new bed, tables, lamps, wreath and bedding for the room. I also had plantation shutters installed throughout the entire house. I saved my pennies from the sale of our last home to get these. They are super expensive, but I loooooooooove them!!!

This bunny picture is from Mommy Syl (Captain's Mom). She and I have passed this picture back and forth several times. I had it re-framed and it's perfect in here.

Also in this room is a picture which was given to David and me by our close friends when we left New Bern. It's by a local artist and it's a view of downtown. I had it professionally framed as well. It's a wonderful keepsake of the place in which we lived for over 20 years.

Well, what do you think so far?

Light, love and hugs to you,
Michelle