In The Studio - Wednesday

It's been a fairly uneventful week as far as organizing and "reclaiming my space" goes. Sorting glass was put to a halt when I ran out of glass jars and see-through containers! It should take another week to get a few more jars and then I can continue. There are other things I can do, sorting glass and broken china is not the only thing that needs to be done. One of the goals for this week is to get the area where the jars will be placed cleaned up. I'll share a photo next week when it is all cleaned up.

I absolutely wish I could close my eyes and blink and have it all clean and set up the way I see this room in my head. I struggle with cleaning and keeping things neat. I feel more free to create when things are on the messy side. However, I understand the need for some organization. I have let it go for too long and often get overwhelmed with what needs to be done before I do it. This will be a slower process than I imagined for those reasons. However, stay with me as I journey through it. And any encouragement you wish to share would be greatly appreciated.

This photo was taken last year around this time. This is the area (which no longer looks like this --- it's got a large pile of boxes in front of it now) that needs my attention and the shelving is to be used for the glass jars and some mosaics too of course.

Meanwhile, I finished the mosaic marker plaque for our beloved Trampy. It's ready for grout.

It'll get some wire for hanging on the fence.

I am working on my online shops, getting them updated with info. I left Instagram this week. I'm very sad about that but the photos I used to share on the site were horrific. I had to take a photo with my iPod of an existing photo from my computer which caused the end result to be grainy and often not even close to the original colors. This iPod is old, can't be updated any longer and has been replaced more or less by a Kindle Fire. Android doesn't support Instagram and the photos from the Kindle aren't much better than the iPod. In the end, I decided to let Instagram go. Should I ever get an iPhone (doubtful but you never know!), I will join up again as I've seen some wonderful photos using those cool devices. However, all my listings on all sites, websites and social media share the Instagram link. That means I need to change them all! I've decided to use my Google+ link in its place. I'm working on the storenvy shop right now and will probably need another week to get it all fixed up and to my liking. Aftcra is all set and ready for more items to be added soon. Yay!

I used to love making treasuries through Etsy. It was one of the things I enjoyed so much and still miss now that I no longer sell on the site. I've gathered up a few of my favorite things from aftcra and made a small collection similar to a treasury. I'm including the name and link associated with each item below the photo so you can head on over and take a look at all of the cool things in each shop. I might have to make these small collections a few times a month. I really enjoyed it! Let the love fest begin!!

They are listed here from left to right:

Canvas and Leather Bucket Bag by Beaudin
https://www.aftcra.com/beaudin

Brown American Leather Duffle Bag with Roll Top
https://www.aftcra.com/themadecollective

Toy Wooden Green Grasshopper Made in America
https://www.aftcra.com/mccoytoys

Baby Dragon Playing with Toys
https://www.aftcra.com/dakotamidnyght

Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Stave Bench
https://www.aftcra.com/KentuckyRustic

Wine Bottle Chandelier
https://www.aftcra.com/glow828

Reclaimed wood stand
https://www.aftcra.com/KJdesigns

Stained Glass Birdhouse - Orange with Copper Swirls
https://www.aftcra.com/DobbyStainedGlass

Personalized leather cuff
https://www.aftcra.com/JustKismet

And finally, I managed to grout a little bit this week. I'm happy and surprised I felt the pull to do it at all, so that's a great and wonderful thing from "In The Studio"!! Especially when organizing the space needed to grout properly doesn't exist. I grouted these while sitting on my bed!

Shown below, a pretty set of switch plates (which will be sold as a pair) and a new small cross. Everything was still wet from the grout when I took these photos. The grout color lightened up a bit now that it is dry.

Once sealed, this set will be given some attention and photographed then listed.

A 4 Inch Mosaic Cross Wall Hanging needs some paint around the sides and back before it gets listed.

I'm hoping these will all be listed by the end of the week! Yay!

Support Independent Artisans, Designers and Crafters for your gift-giving needs all throughout the year. Thank you!~Cindy, EarthMotherMosaics