new directions

it always seems that just when you're floating along and getting comfortable, 

life will give you a new set of directions.

and you know when opportunity calls,  you've gotta take it!

my little dutch sweetie and i have been traveling back and forth from florida to 

the north carolina mountains for over a year, and the time has come 

to make it a permanent move.  

it's time to spread our wings....

and test the waters in new and exciting places.

i know we'll meet lots of great people and make new friends......

and find some new favorite places to hang out.

and in no time,  i'm sure we'll be floating along again 

and getting comfortable in our new lives in the mountains!

(we met these goofy pelicans on a recent trip to amelia island, florida....

aren't they cute?  :))

{i've been busy getting our house ready for sale and i have lots of

art supplies that i won't be moving, so i'd like to share them with you!

more details on monday!  hope you have a great weekend!}

happy landing

this is the landing that leads up to my new studio (please pardon the glare from my little oval window!).  i'll change out the artwork on the easel from time to time....i'm starting with this lovely from mary englebreit.

this is one of my all-time favorites.  i'm not always good about remembering the message, so i decided to put it out where i'll see it frequently!  i'm trying not to worry about getting everything moved in and put in place TODAY.....my house is a work in progress, just like me.....and, it's gonna take some time to get everything juuuust right!

click on image to see it larger

elvie studio: before

i wish i could tell you how excited i am about my new studio!  this is the outside....it sits above the garage, so it's a really, really big space!  it looks like a little playhouse, don't you think?!

and here is the inside.....it's a little overwhelming,  but it's actually not as bad as it looks.   we moved everything in on monday and i still haven't had a chance to start organizing it all!  

but wait, there's more stuff on the other side of the room!  i've been "collecting" for almost twenty years....and believe it or not, i've actually gotten rid of things along the way!  hopefully, in a few days i'll show you the "after" shots!

inspiration monday

i found this packed away in a box labeled "so true"!

thank you SO much for all of your sweet, encouraging words and best wishes these past several days!!  you're the absolute BEST!!  oh, and that squeeze you feel around you right now?   that's me giving you a big 'ol hug!!  :))) 

card by Leigh Standley at "curly girl design"

click on image for larger view

moving: phase one

thinking about all of the things that go into a move is overwhelming.  and then i realize that's my very problem....i'm thinking about it.....sometimes you've just gotta do it.  so, here i go, ready for phase one, armed with a stack of recycled boxes and a roll of tape.  if i don't resurface in a couple of days, please send out the rescue squad.....

life happening...again

we moved into our new rental almost a week ago, and for the past several days i've been hearing this little voice nagging me to finish putting away all of this "stuff". the past two days have been studio time, but today was the day that i finally tackled the spare room/storage room...this is the room that we literally put in everything that we didn't know what to do with.  by the looks of this room, we didn't know what to do with a lot of stuff!   and as i've learned with most unpleasant tasks, you can't really think about it, you just have to do it.  so after a long day of hard work, i'm happy to report that i have paper and portfolios behind every door in the house,  there is no room left under the beds, and the goodwill pile has grown again.  so, nothing to creative to show today from my studio, but, finally, i'm starting to feel moved in. 

elvie studio is open again!

welcome to my new studio!  i have worked all weekend to get everything organized.  hopefully, it's not so organized that i won't be able to find anything!  anyway, i was definitely dreading this task, but now that it's finished, i'm happy with the result.  i have lots of natural light coming through the window behind my work table, and there's room to walk around, so i'm hoping that inspiration will come to visit me here often.  now i just need the motivation to get the guest room organized and we'll be completely moved in....!

slowly, but surely

well, we are moved in.  or, let me say that all of our belongings are now at our new address.  putting everything away is another story...and i'm working on that....slowly, but surely.  so, hopefully i'll have pictures of my newly organized studio to share with you soon.  i've missed being creative, so i'm highly motivated to get back into the swing of things!