Well once again time has flown and it's Wednesday again - the day where I always try to spend a bit of time hopping around the globe looking at crafty desks andpeeking into thier lives, as well as sharing my own... Go HERE to find out all about Julia Dunnit's wonderful weekly blog hop "What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday" over at the Stamping Ground... and THIS is my desk this morning...
Messy and hard to see because there is lots I am working on that I am not ready to share just yet.
Instead I am going to share some detailed shots of the area where I do all my "inky-painty-messy stuff", (or what is now being called Mixed Media.)
Mr. Awesome found me these solid wood storage units on-line for the incredible price of $50 for both, and the tops make a wonderful work surface for everything messy (hence the paper-covered top and back). The grey mat is an oversized craft mat that is heat proof and washable and I use it to keep clean and to stop my paper from catching fire from my heat gun... Grin)
I found the grey shelving unit to the left at Winners and spent more than I normally would because of the hooks that I could use for hanging stuff... 
I love having all my mediums within easy reach and easy to see and to inspire me when I am in the creative zone. I also helps me to remember what I have if I can see it!
The best money I ever spent was having these wall-mounted boxes built for all my sprays.
There is a small lip on the front edge of each of the shelves which prevent them from sliding out too easily and each shelf is slanted backwards so the bottles settle against the back of the unit and don't fall on my head.
It is easy see all my colors, to find what I want quickly and, the most important thing, it is REALLY EASY to put them all away again when I am done!
The books hanging on the wall are storage that I created to hold my large and small stencils...
I made them using scrap cardboard and plastic page protectors for scrapbook pages. The big book has 12-inch pages the smaller book uses 8-inch pages...
And they make it really easy to find a stencil, use it and put it back again so I can find it next time...
Now I want you to know that I am not this organized in real life!!! All these processes were developed and put into place after I had wasted many hours either a) taking all day to clean up a HUGE mess (which I HATE) or b) trying to find stuff that I NEEDED - grin. And since I hate wasting creative time for no reason - here are my solutions - which I am happy to share with all of you.
And the last thing I want to share are these wonderful storage pots from IKEA... the hanging bar cost $3 and the pots were $1 each for a total of $10 spent.... I love these pots because I can see everything I have stored in them, and I can throw stuf fin there to get it off my workspace and then still find that stuff again later... Grin.
So that's it for my workdesk area today. And now the following are some photos of things I want to share from the past week... so feel free to FLY AWAY if this does not interest you... Smile!
I was trying to capture the sun steaming through my studio window lighting up all my hangy things and just LOOK at the great shot I got of both the window and Mr. Awesome raking leaves...
Thank goodness he loves working in our yard because I don't want to rake up all these leaves!
The rock garden I put in this spring seems to be
loving these cooler days of fall and is looking spectacular!
Teh backdrop of all the yellow just makes everything pop!
I love how Mr. Everet looks so happy being in charge of all the flowers...
And how my wee fairy keeps watch over everything while communing with the metal dove.
and how Huck looks on from his still green patch of Snow-on-the- mountain - the Guardian of the Rock Garden...
and how the wild violets are blooming again ... I'm not sure why but I'll Take it!
And finally... here is what is left of my concord grapes... something came through and ate every single bunch except this one... on the ground
And that Something was a BEAR! ... I found SIX large piles of poop all over the yard this week... and it turns out bears love walnuts! So now Mr. Awesome says that I have to pick up all the walnuts - Every Day And I have to pick them up before the sun goes down because Mr. Bear comes around at night to find more food.
Crap! Ooops, no pun intended! Grin
So Happy WOYWW from Canada everyone and go HERE to visit more blogs!
Lynne Mizera,
Mixed Media Artist & Bear Avoiding Walnut Hunter
what a lovely arty space you have..I like the stencil storage idea and the bear poop ha ha scary stuff
ReplyDeleteThanks for popping in Lorraine... and yes BEARS ARE SCARY STUFF! Grin
DeleteSheesh - a bear? We only have sheep, cows and horses around here and the occasional badger and fox. And now I can say I have seen bear poop, if only in a photo courtesy of Lynne Mizera! I would be up at midnight trying to get a glimpse of my that special visitor - and I would put out those walnuts especially! Your bear photos would trump my Oreo photos for sure, LOL! Love the in-depth look of your mixed-media area. I could spend hours rummaging through your stuff! Happy WOYWW! zsuzsa #24
ReplyDeleteGood Morning Zsuzsa and thanks for popping in. I like bears from a distance, like watching them on TV... They are NOT like the Walt Disney version and their poop is BIG, I mean REALLY BIG, YUCK! At this time of year the bears are coming up from the river valley (which is below us) on their way to their mountain dens (which are way above us), eating up all the fruit from the orchards that surround us, getting ready for hibernation. The good thing is that they are FULL and FOCUSED so not usually a threat, but still... I HAVE BEARS... gulp. Life in the Rockies.. So Worth it!! I amoff to go visit you now... Happy belated WOYWW!
DeleteHi Lynne, great post, loved it all. Fancy getting a bear in your backyard! Crazy, lol. A fox would be the biggest thing we'd get! Have a great week, Hugs, Shaz #1 xx
ReplyDeleteThanks for popping in Shaz! and NO I do NOT fancy getting a bear in my backyard... Grin... but Hey...I live in the Rocky MOuntains... So Worth it! Happy belated WOYWW!
DeleteWow. Your craft room made me smile. It is so wonderfully unique. I love the books you've created to hold your stencils. Your space is so colourful.
ReplyDeleteHappy WOYWW
Sharon K #42
Hi Lynne! What a GREAT post! I want your craft room, lol!!!! I love everything there and how well organized it is. Especially all those spray bottles. I don't think I have ever seen such a large craft room and also so organized and looks great. You did it all. Always nice when the hubby rakes the leaves and your rock garden is so pretty. Have a great week! Hugs, Rasz #56
ReplyDeleteDear Rasz... HELLO! and Welcome! and by the way the space only LOOKS organized.... it's usually chaos when I am creating... but I have learned that I have to clean up after each project or it takes me DAYS to get to the bottom layers and I hate wasting all that time cleaning! Grin Thanks for popping in and Come again SOON!
DeleteI am in love with your art space.. what a room. how do you ever find time to do anything anywhere else, let alone pickup walnuts! Whilst living in a country as beautiful as Canada would be great,having a bear come into my garden would not be ideal!! thanks for sharing this week with us. Helen #5
ReplyDeleteHelen... I really don't find time to do anything else... So it's a good thing that the children are all grown, we have no more pets and Mr. Awesome is working out of town five days a week... I rush around on Friday, just hours before he is due home, cleaning and cooking and tidying to make it look like worked hard all week, but really I was mostly in my PJ's in my studio... Happy Sigh! Thanks for the visit and the lovely comment! From Lynne
Delete*weeps with envy*. Your craft room looks like everything my heart desires. Plus you have violets blooming in October, a visiting bear and A WALNUT TREE. I want a walnut tree! I want to be able to collect green walnuts and pickle them, I want to have a big bowl of walnuts on the table and a pair of nutcrackers so people can help themselves and I want to make a chicken and walnut stir fry NOW. (Yes, even though I'm typing this at 7 in the morning)
ReplyDeleteJane
OH Jane... Thank you For making sure I NEVER take this life for granted! (It has not always been this sweet.) I KNOW I am "Living My Dream" and I say a heartfelt, THANK YOU every morning from my studio! Now Chicken and Walnut stir fry... THAT is something I haven't tried and will be looling up! If I could I would mail you a giant bag of fresh walnuts but they confiscate stuff like that at the Border- sigh. And now I am off to look up Green, pickled Walnuts.. something Ihave never come across before. Thanks for the visit! Lynne
Deletelove your creative space, the folder for stencils wouldn't work for me, I'm not patient enough to take it out and place everything back, i just put them in one folder. I'm envious about all those spraybottles, that is one collection you have there. The cameleon canvas is fab! Happy WOYWW, Vicky #14
ReplyDeleteThanks Vicky... and I am not the PATIENT type either, but I got really tired of never being able to find what I KNEW I had somewhere and wasted so much time looking and not finding that I just had to come up with a better solution.... and BTW, those stencils are in no particular order... I just shove them back into which ever sleeve is empty... Grin Thaks for Visiting!!! Lynne
DeleteWell, that's a first - I've never seen bear poop on WOYWW before, lol! How amazing to think that you have wild animals all round you, what a beautiful place you live in. I really do love all your great storage too, it's great that everything has a home :-D
ReplyDeleteHugs, LLJ 4 xxx
GOOD MORNING JAN!! And I am so glad that I can still provide unique and unusual experiences for you... Grin! Yes I live in the Rocky Mountains where having deer in your yard is just annoying (they are worse than rabbits - they eat EVERYTHING!) and Bear Bells and Bear Spray are a way of life... but it is so worth it!! Thanks for the visit! Lynne
DeleteOh you have been busy. Your journal peeps make me wish I could turn through the pages. just gorgeous! That masking off the messy area is pure genius. Now to find the room...in my room to dedicate a space for that! Thanks for the idea. Hope you don't mind I am pinning you to my creative organizing board. With bear droppings that size....I say stay in your room and keep an eye on your gardener, he looks handy to have. Love your outside picks. Looks like we would have a lot in common if we could visit in real time. Keep smiling and creating.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your room! Big and bright, and everything at your fingertips! My room already had floor to ceiling bookshelves on 3 walls, so I had to make do with deep shelves, but I love how you have everything displayed - and the colors are so pretty! I can't imagine what it would be like to have to worry about bears in my garden - squirrels and raccoons are bad enough! Thanks for visiting, Lindart #49
ReplyDeleteThat is a brilliant room and so organised, love it but not sure about the bear though. Thanks for the visit to mine and happy belated woyww, Angela x 20
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness!! Bears in your back yard!! How amazing is that! I'd be spying on them at night, but as you say, not cute Disney type bears, so best to keep some distance! The most annoying wildlife in our garden are the possums (Australian ring-tailed or brush-tailed, not opossums), especially when they are tap dancing on the roof in the middle of the night!
ReplyDeleteI'm always in awe of your fabulous art space! In fact I'm green with envy! Love the stencil storage. Might even take that one onboard :)
Have a good week!
WOW love all the storage ideas you have given me. I really could use shelving for my sprays etc cause I tend to just dump them in a basket. I am not so for sure that I would want bears in my back yard. We saw some black bear cubs in Texas and while they were cute I don't think I would like to deal with them on a daily basis! Thanks for stopping by my desk and leaving a comment. Have a great week. Vickie #11
ReplyDeleteI totally did not expect to see bear poop while blog hopping today! Ha! I adore all your organization in your space. That shelf for all the sprays is what caught my eye first. I think it's so great that you are able to have so much within reach. Thanks for sharing your tips and great buys!
ReplyDeleteHope #43
I love reading your posts, Lynne. They make me smile and give me so much joy! Thank you my friend. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's not often that you see bear poop whilst visiting blogs....LOL! Always love to see your creative spaces, both inside and out!
ReplyDeleteCan I move in with you if either of these two dough heads win the presidency? Please!!!!