STUDIO MAKEOVER

Macrame Window Panel - Pretty Kooky // Macrame Plant Hanger - Lark & Arrow

Metal Moon Phase Hanging - Storm & Stress // Mongolian Copper Bells - Shop Grain

Drawing - Bird Black // Macrame Wall Hanging - Pretty Kooky

Bohemian Collective Magazine - Issue 1 & Issue 2

Mini Flag - SoulMakes

Antler Wall Hanging - Sailor's Omen

Shelf + Baskets + Wood Stand - World Market // LOVE Letters + Glass Tiered Case - Urban Outfitters

Moth Painting - Becca Eirikson // Ring Holder - Axis Moon

You are the Magic Art -  Umber Dove // Floral Smudge Wand - Aquarian Soul // A Beautiful Mess Books

Intentional Wear Spirit Animal Oils - Root Foot

Macrame Curtains + Necklace Hanger - Urban Outfitters

Manifesto Poster - Holstee // Macrame Wall Hanging + Picture Frames - Urban Outfitters // Chair - World Market

Rug - vintage find on etsy

I have re-decorated and rearranged rooms in my home multiple times, but this is the biggest makeover Ive ever done from the ground up.  On my birthday in June we sold my parents house, which was a long time coming, and even though it broke my heart to let go of my childhood home, there is a big blessing in it all from my parents for our future.  From this I allowed myself one big splurge to makeover my whole studio.  My whole life I have outfitted my home with hand me down furniture, thrift finds, etc.  Which is really wonderful and has made my home very homey and often sentimental to me.  In my studio space I always just made it work with what I had, but I allowed myself to create my dream studio, and it felt like the biggest birthday gift ever from my parents.  I am so grateful for this space and everytime I walk in the room to create I am filled up with gratitude. 

My biggest goal was to be able to transform my studio from a jewelry studio to a jewelry/ magazine writing space.  Before my jewelry supplies cluttered two huge desks and it was hard to even think in this space unless I was submerged in jewelry design.  Over the past year I have made jewelry less and less b/c of the magazine and Skyline Fever. So now I have all my jewelry supplies tucked away in this desk with drawers where I can easily access them if I'm inspired to do so, and have also created an inspiring place to write my magazine.  I sit at this desk with the window open, watching the deer outside, usually with Banjo b/c he loves watching the deer too.  It is now a space I can go to to sit and daydream about the magazine and feel super inspired.  The whole feel of this space has just shifted incredibly. 

A little side note: I do NOT think you have to have the perfect space to create, ever.  I think it's often an excuse so many of us make to not create something, by not having the right space.  My dream of starting my own business years ago began on a card table behind my couch in a 3x6 space.  If you have the passion, you make it work, regardless!  That being said, there is also nothing wrong with creating a beautiful space to create in if you are able to.  It can be truly inspiring to do so.  I'm very grateful to have this space, but I would never stop creating if I did not have it. 

STUDIO SHELF + EMOTION RIVER

Today was my first day in a week I have had the house all to myself.  My friend Katelyn and her family came to stay with me this past week, and it was full of not only good and fun moments, but also lots of heartache, sick babies, and tension.  Sometimes life is just that way, and knowing that you can be friends through those tough moments is a wonderful feeling.  It was not the best time for either of us and I'm pretty sure there were quite a few moments we both wanted to run and hide in a corner due to outside stresses.  But we fought our way through the obstacles of the week, got our photoshoots done, had many heart to hearts, had to time to be together alone for one day which was the first time that has ever happened, made lots of really yummy homeade food, and more.   

It is also the week of my moontime and I am highly sensitive and emotional right now.  Really I have felt this way for a while now.  I feel like each time I come to my blog I leave hints of it behind, but don't really feel like going in depth, or showing my true feelings, b/c honestly it's pretty dark right now.  I'm going through alot of my own shadowlands, dealing with letting go, death, relationship, wounds, and more.  I am in my own wintering, a deeper transformation, yet another layer of my being that is screaming to be shed.  I read little momentos all over the web that say, just let go of your past, be in the now.  But I am finding that very hard.  I feel there are wounds in me that I have turned my head to for far too long, and if I don't go in there and excavate them now, they are only going to bury themselves deeper in my spirit, which is feeling a bit numb right now b/c it knows the road ahead is the wild unknown.  I am learning that true healing is not a matter of just looking the other way and letting things heal themselves, b/c for me, they don't.  My family history has taught me to look the other way, and I cannot do that anymore.   

The feeling of missing the boat keeps creeping in, but I just keep reminding myself of the line in my birthchart that tells me there is never a boat to be missed.  It is all in divine timing, and what I do not know yet, I do not know for a reason.  I think we are so complex as humans that if all of the things we are here to learn on this earth were given to us all at once, would just spontaneously combust or something.   

Anyway... having some me time this morning, with the rain outside... I decided to put on some Doc Watson and rearrange in my studio a bit to make it come alive again.  This is a necessary and frequent thing I must do for myself to keep my creativity alive.  I put this wooden shelf on my desk a little while back and for the most part is was just for function.  I had most of my utensils and stuff on it, but everytime I looked at it, it kind of depressed me.  I love the shelf, its one my dad made just for his powders for his pottery.  I decided to take everything down and rearrange all of my utensils among things that make my heart come alive.  It is now the perfect blend of function and soulful beauty.  I also hung my two new prints of Dylan and Janis I got from Earthbound Trading.  I love these two photos of them, the one of Dylan looks like my dad, and the one of Janis looks like my aunt.  This space feels alive to me again.   

Thank you solitude.  Thank you rain.  Thank you Doc.  Thank you special momentos. 

MAKING CREATIVE SPACE

Lately, my studio have been a wreck!  Fitting all of my work into one bedroom is a challenge.  And I begin to feel claustrophobic in my creative space when it gets this way.  So, I decided to take back over the second spare room in our house.  At least a corner of it.  I moved all of my fabrics and supplies for making my dreamcatchers and gypsy flags in there.  So now I have a textile space and a jewelry space.  It feels so good.  Bella helped me rearrange, of course...

This is our new view.  Since I work on the floor.  Bella likes to get up in the window seal while I work.  I can now open the window and hear the birds or the wind in the trees.  Its perfect.  And in the evenings, the sun sets on this side, so I get to see the light spilling through the cracks in the trees and leaves.  Its magic.

I also added a tiny sacred space in the room.  The word art was a gift from a dear friend, and its from Messy Canvas.  The words she chose for me were absolutely perfect.  I feel so blessed to have such friends in my life.

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Studio Tour >>>

 This is my special place to create.  I recently remodeled the whole room with some of my parents furniture, and hundreds of little trinkets that belonged to my parents that I have been holding onto.  It feels so wonderful to be completely surrounded by these things while I work each day.  It brings me constant little reminders of their love.  There are moments it makes me sad, but more often then not, it brings a sense of comfort.  I could spend hours telling you the story behind each little thing in this room... I could not have formed a more perfect little sanctuary to spend my days in.  I just wish my mom could see it.  She would be so delighted.  The AMAZING cubby shelf my dad built a long time ago.  Im so honored to have it in my home now.  I love love love my studio!

You can view all of the photos in my flickr set here also.

 PEACE,

 Laura