A SWEET PLACE TO DREAM...

What does this little girl dream of, dream of,

Oh, what do I dream of?
Tattered Linens and Shabby Lace,
In my Hillybilly Chic studio space,
That's what I've been dreaming of!
I have a dream. Over the past six month I have been watching it take shape in a new space. As I stood at the threshold of the studio this morning I realized that this dream was a long time in the making from my crafting on TV trays days to an entire room dedicated to the pursuit of making art. There is one area, although not yet complete and probably the most impractical part of the room, (besides the carpet I wanted to rip out before I moved in, but that is in and of itself a tale best saved for another day), that has become my favorite dreaming spot...I could have put my sewing station here where it would have been bathed in wonderful natural light or I could have added another work surface with storage underneath, either of which would have been quite practical...but, to me...dreams are never practical but based on the improbable. That's what makes them dreams.
I had a vision when I moved into this space six months ago and it is still being fleshed out and realized, a cherished desire to step into a workspace each morning where a succession of images of an artfully placed room brings about thoughts of creativity. My desire is for a soothing and sweet place to dream.

I want a creative space to evoke the emotions of serenity and quite calm. I envisioned a space filled with tactile textures and layers where castoffs are crowning jewels. I wanted something wholly feminine yet with a rustic elegance and earthy grit that gives a nod back to my hill people heritage where you learned to make it do, make it over, or do without it. And I wanted it to tell a story, each piece has its own history and tells something about the person who now inhabits the space...me.
(OK, so maybe I am slightly older than this portrait but 11 3/4 was such a wonderful age. This portrait has one of the happiest memories of my life attached to it, a time when a fondest dream came true and I am pretty sure it will make it into the studio decor.)

What started out as something to put in the big gaping hole until I could find something better because I didn't have anything else on hand, has now become a favorite element of the room. An antique iron crib turned daybed is a sweet place to dream...And if you happen to be a four year old boy, it makes a dandy pretend pirate ship! Clearance items, flea market finds, and what I had on hand make up the mix and match bedding ensemble. I am working on a few more pillows and then the daybed will be complete. The carved tray belonged to my late mother-on-law and it allows me a space to set a cup of tea while reposed there. " Baby" is the rag and composition doll who keeps her eye on my journal and all its secret thoughts and dreams. I can't really say what drew me to her but I love her, my family does not, they call her " Frankenbaby" and say she is creepy because she stares... The rag rug was a flea market find that still has the tags on it, never used. I stitched on some vintage pillow case lace to the ends and I love its shabby soft t-shirt like texture...Same thing with the coffee filter topiary's. I'd rather have had little tables with drawers for storage on each side but alas my furniture stash is down to one lone piece and a child sized wardrobe is a bit large for an end table. What I did have on hand were two old lamps, two tin planters, two wire topiary balls, some white paint, silk cording, lamp wiring, coffee filters and a little ingenuity.My style is shall we say a bit more " fluffy" than my daughters but when she saw these she gasp and said, " Mom, when I get married I want those in my wedding." I take that as very high praise. They smell delicious too when the light warms the filters, the ones that have been dyed give off a light coffee scent and the glow in the evening is just dreamy!Little Inez stands guard in her flea market found gauzy handmade gown of yesteryear. Some of you might remember when she came to live here as a simple brown torso adopted from Ebay, which got me grounded. Well, shes got herself all gussied up now and wanted me to be sure and show off her new gift wrap decoupage...Inez is named for my beloved aunt who was a seamstress. Her jewelry is a little Avon cameo given to me by my paternal grandmother when I was very young and her door knob finial came from the maternal grandmothers old house. Her stand is also a flea market find, I am not sure what it was used for but there were three exactly alike in graduated sizes for $1.00, maybe a candle holder without the holder? I flanked the window with two old white chippy columns that were salvage pieces a friend gave me from a renovation from her former house. Old door knobs salvaged from a house in Romance, AR (don't you love that town name?) serve as hangers to hold empty frames waiting for artwork. In the meantime they have become artwork, every piece on these is removable when the time comes to use them for something else...The only thing left in this room when my daughter moved out were the carpet and the blinds...matchstick blinds...see through in the dark when the light is on inside blinds..that I detest, but, remember this is a make due room so I have to make do with them until I can afford the ones I want. Darling Daughter had lovely heavy curtain panels to pull closed over them, I do not, nor did I want any. Studio spaces need lots of good lighting so I wanted to keep the airy feeling with a little something pretty...I was so inspired by an online fabric collage class by Lisa that I created these fabric collage panels for my windows as a base for a rotating art instillation. I wish the gauzy white tulle, mummy cloth, and cheese cloth in the background showed up better in the photos, trust me, it is there and it looks awesome! All embellishments are removable and can be replaced with anything I can pin to the base panels. I still have a few details to add to the base design. I want to put old worn brown braided leather buttons over the tack heads that hold them in place, until I find enough I am using small pearl buttons but they don't show well. I recently purchased some old glass tear drop chandelier crystals that I want to stitch onto each point as well. Painted canvas lettering, crinkled seam binding, and a few old millinery flowers grace this panel for now.I have a little something else planned for the columns and for the lovely popcorn space above the daybed but those will have to wait until after the holidays. I still have a dream and it is ever so slowly taking shape one little addition at a time.

What inspires me? Just seeing this little slice of a dream taking shape by making it do (it is not the perfect or even ideal space), making it over (using what I have on hand or can thrift when the budget allows), and in some cases, even doing without (I dream of heart pine flooring, dull carpet is what I've got). Just this one little area inspires me to dream...

I hope you have been inspired by this little slice of a studio tour, today I am joining Debra of Common Ground for her Vintage Inspiration Friday post. There are many lovely links to visit and I hope you will enjoy them as well. Have a wonderful weekend!