Bottles Bellissimo class at Rita Reade's

 Bottles Bellissimo

Spending time with creative friends is such a privilege. Yesterday I took a wonderful class at Rita Reade's and was thrilled to spend the afternoon with Rita, Christine, Kay Ellen, Michelle and met new friends Christie, Vicki and Nancy. Enjoyed creating and conversation so much that I almost forgot to take pictures! I did manage to get a few shots that I thought you might enjoy.

Attending a soldering class at Rita's lovely home is like taking a vacation into Romantic Homes, Romantic Country or Casa Romantica. Every corner filled with objects of beauty - and she is constantly changing things up so each time there is something different to see.

(r-l)Christie, Rita, Liz

Rita made a wonderful lunch (with homemade bread!) and Christine brought an incredible buttermilk cake her daughter baked (sorry, I was too busy eating to take a pic!)

Liz's beautiful bottle

(l-r) Michele, Christine, Vicki, Nancy soldering

As class was wrapping up, Rita opened her mail and discovered she's published in the upcoming Somerset Home magazine -congrats, Rita!

At the end of class I took a "special" picture by holding my iphone at arms length. Here it is -

(l-r) back row: Michele, Vicki, Liz
front row: Kay Ellen, Christine, Rita, me

Welcome to my Studio

Buddy and Bruno - official Greeters for our Studio Tour

Hello! Welcome! C'mon in!  

I'm so excited you're here - isn't this the coolest party? A huge thank you to 

Karen Valentine from  My Desert Cottage 

for creating this amazing event!

My studio is my sanctuary--I'm surrounded by everything I love-- art, books , music,  the garden through the window, my cats-- I'm so excited to share it with you! While I am most often a solitary worker in my studio, you'll soon learn what a large role my husband plays in the creation of this magical space. 

I love this table. Everything fits!

My Summer Tree
if you look closely you'll see not only my artwork, but ornaments done
 by Julie Nutting,  Sheri Baldy and way in the back,  Iva Wilcox

My husband (who is an EXTRAORDINARY man!!) built a huge table (it used to be a closet door!) that is my work surface.   It holds my computer, EVERYTHING I need when working on a project - paints, brushes, etc. AND a six foot white Christmas tree that I decorate each month. 

Valentine's Day Tree

Spring Tree

Project, computer and the tree

Despite the large table, Buddy likes to sit on the edge

 Last week I was making tiny cones for some Victorian ornaments
 --my husband came up with these "drying racks"
He makes me laugh every day!

Apparently HE thought they were elf hats!!

Some of my bits and bobs

Lots of shelves with inspirational items. The two darling mice were made by the incredible Jenn Hernandez.

Now here's the part that makes me cry (happy tears!!) I told my husband about Where Bloggers Create two days ago. That is when the corner by the windows looked like this:

He surprised me --and put in a work counter!! He finished it this afternoon - and now that corner looks like this:

 I'll get this corner "set up" in the next week or so and take a long shot of the studio so you can see the entire room.

When I originally started this post, I thought it would be about my art and my studio--I'm grateful that I also get to publicly acknowledge all my husband's hard work and how much it means to me.

Well, that's it - hope you enjoyed the tour. Thanks so much for stopping by.  Can't wait to see all of your studios!!

ox
Jenelle

The Party Starts Tomorrow!

Can't wait for the Where Bloggers Create 2011 party to start! It's almost here! A big thank you to Karen Valentine of My Desert Cottage for putting together this amazing event. I've been a big fan of hers since I saw her "Witchy Woman" vignette in Somerset Studio (Vintage Halloween/Sept/Oct 2010). I'll be posting my "Studio Tour" for the party soon--can't wait to see everyone's creative spaces! See y'all at the party tomorrow!!

ox

Jenelle