swag and squeals

 

one of the things i am most excited about with pulling together our upcoming SOUTHERN CIRCLE RETREATS is the swag bag creation. jenni and i are brain storming tons of ideas that will make the attendees ooh and ahh. we might even hear some squeals - in fact, i'm counting on it!

send me an email at: info (@) linwood avenue (dot) com if you would like some of your goodies included in the swag bag. only 12 attendees this time around, so not much to donate, but definitely a great advertising opportunity!

halloween and decorating

at the nagging of my munchkins who say that our house is seriously lacking in the halloween decorations, each year, i try to step up my game. this table in my entry hall typically serves as my decoration spot throughout the holidays. the problem with halloween is that it is so close to thanksgiving, so i prefer to have decorations that do double duty. the vintage bridge tablecloth will carry through seamlessly and i will just have to trade out a few of the added decorations.

my newest purchase is the glittery owl under the dome. i got him at target and i hope that every target across the country have lots of these in stock because they are seriously one of the cutest things i have ever seen and you all must go see them for yourself. this guy is wearing a top hat with a silver glittered band. also for sale is a owl wife for this guy. she faces the opposite way and sports a pointy witch hat. so very cute!

i whipped up this boo banner with a circle punch, some glitter and some black and white bakers twine from may arts. i still need to add some cobwebs, but after that, it's pretty much done! now i have to get the munchkins approval

a studio and a house tour

welcome to my studio - my favorite stop on the house tour.

not much to say about these pics except - holy crap, i have a lot of stuff! i swear, it is not hoarder central in person, it is a warm and cozy room which i love being in, i swear ;)

this peg board wall is the perfect place to display what i am currently working on. plus it is the great storage spot for all my may arts ribbon. i need to buy better pegboard hooks and then all the ribbon you see leaning against the chair on the right will be on the wall also.

these book shelves have slowly transformed from holding books to holding art supplies.

my double long desk is from ikea and is genious with a top layer of glass that has a shelf beneath it. this pic would have been beautiful had i thought to take out the trash before photographing the room. and while i am looking at it, i could have paused the episode of project runway that i was watching as well. geez, way to have attention to detail!

on the table, i have a wire basket which holds my most frequently art supplies.

on the side table, there is a drawing station set up which holds my journals, colored pencils, ink, rapidio sketch pens. really anything i need.

last but not least, my hanging white shelf has slowly been taken over with my 5x7 paintings. love seeing them when i am working on my computer.

art and illustration

i recently got this sweet print in the mail today for my art illustration wall in the laundry room. LOVE it!

check out emily mcdowell's etsy shop to see more of her beautiful work...

a dining room and a house tour

i'm back with more of my house tour!

here is the dining room which is the first room to the left when you walk in the house.

the room is a perfect square which fits my circular dining room table perfectly. i love this round table so much for dinners with friends and game night. a round table is so much better than long rectangles because you can see everyone and talk to everyone.

the blue cabinet between the windows holds my ever growing milk glass collection. on the doors i have taped some watercolors i did on old book pages to bring a bit more art into the space.

i painted the room white so all my treasures and trinkets would pop. this wall is filled with some family pictures, a fabric covered M and a few etsy photographs i have picked up through the years. i cannot believe my munchkins were once that little. at 9 and 7, they still resemble these pics, but i have a hard time seeing the baby faces that are reflected here.

this room is full of thrifty finds which include the blue milk glass cabinet, the recently painted blue low and long buffet, the mirror above the buffet, the chandelier and this white cabinet. oh, and pretty much everything in the cabinet from the gold rimmed china to the bridge tablecloths folded in the bottom section. yay for saving money through thrifting!