Saturday, August 20, 2022

More Spots

Hi everyone. Happy weekend to you. 

I'm excited it's Saturday because this starts a nice stretch of days without anything on the calendar. I have lots of art ideas in my head, and I am so ready to have some uninterrupted art time. Smile!

When I made a striped tag for the latest challenge at Tag Tuesday, I also made a spotted one. Let me share that one with you today.


This time Valerie is hosting with the challenge of spots and/or stripes, being sure to make the stripes or spots the main part of your tag.

I painted my tag light blue and then painted some big pink spots. The rest of the tag was easy-peasy. I used a punch out girl from an Art By Marlene packet, a strip of washi tape, a quote sticker, and finished with a few pink confetti foam flowers. 

A couple of weeks ago I finally got around to unpacking the last 3 boxes of items I still needed to put away in my recently renovated art space.  You might remember, we removed a closet from the spare bedroom that I use as my art space. We also put in a new ceiling and floor. When I finally got through those boxes, I was able to "decorate" the new art space with some of my little tchotchkes.   

Most of my decorations are little things I've either had since childhood or I've picked up on my travels. There are also a few things that my daughter was going to get rid of that I liked and reminded me of her.  And there were small gifts or other items I collected at different times during my life. All of these knickknacks are inspirations to me in some form or another.


I like little animals made from various materials, as well as shells. And the big leg bone was something my daughter's fiance dug up while working in their driveway. I have a few other bones in my collection too, but I'm not sure they made any photos.


These green vowel letters are old. Before one of my good friends moved away in the early 2000s to North Carolina we used to hit some interesting stores on our occasional trips out. I bought these on one of our adventures.

I like this old printer's shelf for displaying my little tchotchkes. You can see lots of my little animals, as well as some other items. There's a vial of pyramid sand from Egypt one of my students brought me when he went back to visit his family, as well as a big rock I picked up off the ground in Iceland. The claws are reproductions of various dinosaur (raptors mostly) claws, and there's a little piece of the top of a wheat stalk that my husband picked up and brought home when we visited Mount Vernon (George Washington's home) when my daughter was young. That's displayed as well as a few other items like a vertebrae and some shells I found while out exploring. And a few other bits and bobs too.


Below, the Stellaluna bat and a Beanie Baby bat are both from the daughter's things, and you can  also see some tea tins I decorated for storage, a lucky 8 billiard ball and a piece of glass panada that I found on the beach.


And here's a few items I rehung. 



Yes, I have lots of little things. They make me happy. 




I could change the last 2 words of this last sign to say Erika-smile.

I am loving my new fixed up space. It might be too cluttered and crowded for some people, and I know my little bits and pieces wouldn't be for everyone either. But for me, it is a happy place to be. 

Enjoy your weekend.








 

17 comments:

craftytrog said...

I love your collection of interesting nik naks Erika, and that's a beautiful tag.
Happy Saturday,
Alison

Angie's Recipes said...

You have to share some tips on how to keep them clean and dust free...man, that's lots of work.

CJ Kennedy said...

Your printer's tray is a 3D stripes and dots. I love all your fun pieces especially the Maneki-neko and the Parchesi men. Summer is back this weekend. Enjoy!

Valerie-Jael said...

Wonderful tag, Erika, love it, thanks so much for going dotty for my challenge! I love all those little bits and pieces in your tray and on your shelves. I also have lots of bits and bobs I have collected since childhood, and I will not get rid of them, in spite of some of the stange comments I sometimes get. My apartment is my world! So glad you now have a space just for you, enjoy! Hugs, Valerie

carol l mckenna said...

Creative and lovely tag art ~ lovely collection on wall and shelves ~ Wow! Xo

Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,

A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)

Christine said...

Glad you are enjoying your new space! Nice tag

Let's Art Journal said...

Such a pretty tag! The image is adorable 😊. I loved seeing all your nik naks too, so interesting and so many happy memories too! I hope you've had a wonderful week, happy weekend! Hugs Jo x

Iris Flavia said...

Love the tag and you did a great job with all the collections!
Much better than I did.
I doodled a sleeping cat the other day. Ingo loved the sketch but had never seen the real thing - it´s in the not-so-organized shelf since over a year!

pinky said...

Your tag is just gorgeous Erika and the colour makes it pop! Wow I am loving your crafty space with all your treasures!! Thanks so much for playing along with us at Tag Tuesday.
Pinky

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

What a fun, fun tag. I am in awe of the spots you created to go with the stripes tag. Really fun tag.

I love what you have done to decorate your room. There's a BIG difference between clutter and creative vignettes. I see lots of great vignettes, not clutter. I am delighted you have shown us these gems, including your lovely printer's tray.



Jeanie said...

I loved seeing all your treasures and finds from your travels! It's fun to have those things -- and as you said, they make you happy. I get that --- and have the same thing. Yours are beautifully displayed. The printer's tray is especially useful for that and looks great. Loved this, Erika!

Divers and Sundry said...

How nice to be surrounded by the little treasures that make you smile :)

Michele Fawcett said...

Your space looks wonderful! I love your collections. I also like to have little things tucked away in various corners of my home and my creative space. Like you it makes me happy :)

Sandra Wright. said...

What a fabulous Tag Erika, loving the young lady in her snazzy swimming costume.
Thank you for joining us at Tag Tuesday x

Sandra Wright. said...

Just had to leave a comment about your gorgeous printers tray.
Much to my shame I have 2, had them for several years and have done nothing with them.
Seeing yours today makes me realise I should get mine out of storage and use them.
Thank you for your inspiration.x

David M. Gascoigne, said...

We all need to be surrounded by the things that make us happy, especially those that evoke memories of places visited that we will almost certainly never visit again. The way you have them all displayed is right up my alley, Erika. I am no slouch in this department myself! A good friend of mine, a fellow member of our local nature club, decided one day that all the "best" dishes etc that were housed in her china cabinet were items that she never used and didn't need so she got rid of all of them and was left with an alluring array of empty shelves. My friend is a very keen collector of animal skulls, which she takes great pains to identify, using dentition and other clues, and that is now what fills her china cabinet. To have dinner there is an experience not to be missed. I suspect that you and I, as joint guests, would find ourselves right at home there, Erika. Hugs - David

Aimeslee Winans said...

Oh I'd be right at home there! The Lived-in Look is the only way to be happy. Now I'm wondering how you came to use the word tchotchkes? Were you a Christopher Lowell HGTV fan too? I loved watching his show. XOX