Look what I found on clearance at HobbyLobby for $1.99! Just what a hippy dippy happy studio needs!
Mar23
Category Archives: Mama’s House
Jan5
Big Decisions, Big Changes
I love this magazine. I hoped someday Mama’s House would be featured.
My mother-in-law passed away unexpectedly on Dec. 22, 2018. My husband had been caring for her almost every day. Now, we are free to move near our grandchildren.
I still don’t have Mama’s House set up completely as I want it, but I was getting close. 
I’ve not gotten to teach in it as much as I planned, either. 
I would’ve liked to have a stained glass studio in the basement in front of glass doors that face south. I also thought about moving my soap station to the back of the basement where there’s a utility sink. I don’t like the idea of glass and soap on the same floor, though.
I’ve bragged repeatedly about how great it is to use my mom’s glass range top and hood for jewelry making.
It is not going to be easy to pack up and sell out. 
Maybe I should keep it and rent it. Then, in 12 years when PJ’s in college and Vivi’s driving, I could move back and give it another try. I’ll be 74. I wonder if I’ll be able to see and use my hands to craft.
Decisions, decisions.
Nov23
Back to a room…
with some lace, and metal flowers!
I hung my metal daisies at Mama’s House, today.
I did some bead sorting and vacuuming and put the tree up. It still needs ornaments, but I am happy with my hippy dippy craft library.
Nov8
Hello, Blog!
I have been doing lots of crafting, but no blogging, It’s time to get back to it! Here’s an update on Mama’s House: A friend of my husband’s did some work for us that included hanging some shelves and organizers at Mama’s house. These are RIBBA picture ledges from IKEA. They are now called MOSSLANDA for some reason, but are great for storing little seed bead containers and small bottles of patina and nail polish. These are beside the china cabinet in the dining/classroom.
The adjacent wall has a “slat wall” from Michael’s:
This magazine rack in the den is from Hobby Lobby. I’ve been waiting to put it up so long, it was covered in spider webs.
These are old dresser drawers that I had stained inside. They’re on a wall in the bedroom I’m using for scrapbooking and sewing. The friend hung my Fons&Porter design wall, too. I’ll photograph it, again, when I have a “design” on it. 
Apr30
Mini Quilt or Poster?
I downloaded this from Love and Print on Etsy:
I think it’s the perfect sentiment for what I’m doing at Mama’s House. It makes an 8×10 print, though the company gives you a really high resolution image for $4.00. I wonder if it could be printed much larger without losing resolution. For now, I’m printing it at home. The questions is, on cardstock or fabric? I think I’ll start with fabric! (If it doesn’t work out, I know cardstock will work.) Then, I’ll decide how to finish it.
Apr27
Hippy Dippy Love!
I ordered a new throw for the front room at Mama’s. It’s name, “Adrianne,” (my daughter’s name, spelled the same) so I was meant to have it! It’s not quite big enough for a slipcover, but I have some ideas…
Look how well it goes with the new lamp!
Apr24
Another Bright Spot!
Hobby Lobby had their lamps on 50% off last week, so I got this for Mama’s House.
I put it in the living room/library near where I store my beads. (The card in the foreground is by my sister-in-law, Pamela McLean, using one of my yo-yo’s.)
Apr20
A Little Light for Mama’s House
I finally got around to turning one of Mama’s blue canning jars into a light. I’ve had the kit for about 2 years. You have to use a really low wattage bulb, 11 or lower. This is a 3W flicker bulb. I guess it’ll just have to be decorative instead of functional.
The lamp kit is from Factory Direct Crafts and they still have them, as of this post.
I also hunted around for a reproduction Edison bulb. I found one at Country Roads Emporium in Jonesville, NC, though they have them at Lowes, now. It was too fat to go through the mouth of the jar! I looked to see if Mama had any wide mouth jars, but decided that was stupid because then the lamp kit wouldn’t work! I do amuse myself! The Edison bulbs I found were all too high wattage, anyway. The kit warns that bulbs burning in the jar create a lot of heat.
I hung the hook myself, too! I found it on Amazon.
Mar29
About Mama’s House
When my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2012, she told me she was leaving me her most valuable possession, her house. She asked that I not sell it and not rent it. She hoped that I would move there. It’s a ranch house, and I made it fairly accessible when she shattered her ankle in 2006. My husband has MS, and she thought it would be a good place for us. She reminded me that it was part of Daddy’s family homeplace, (great-grandparents buried in a family graveyard nearby,) and he said it should stay in the family. I suggested my brother should have it, since he bears that family name, but she said he’d sell it, again letting me know she didn’t want it sold.
My husband wasn’t, and still isn’t, interested in moving there. What to do?
Enter Susan Sorrell. I had seen her on one of the craft shows I watch, probably Quilting Arts. I loved her work and was delighted to find she was from South Carolina. I started following her blog, Little House Art Studios. I was also jealous of Susan Sorrell because she had inherited her grandmother’s house and turned it into her craft studio! Bingo!
I have since friended Susan on Facebook and let her know she is the inspiration for what I’m doing with my mother’s house! I’ll also let her know I’ve blogged about her.
Mama’s House is only two miles from my current house. It is right next to the old community school I attended as a child and where I later taught for 25 years. It’s located in the middle of my peeps and my kids! Perfect!
To be fair, Mama left what little money she had to my brother, and my daughter, her only grandchild. Now what to do about restoring and maintaining the house? I had some ideas about that, too, which I’ll blog about in a future post! Till then, K<3.
Oct26
Still Working, Working, Working on Mama’s House
There are hardwood floors in the living and dining rooms, now, and new sheers at the windows. The sheers have machine embroidery that reminds me of free-motion quilting. I recently discovered that my great-grandmother’s sewing machine was much more attractive open than closed, so I’m trying it in front of the living room windows. I’m keeping the two yellow floral chairs because they are comfortable and have nice low arms for knitting.
I bought a throw to cover one of the chairs. I thought if I liked it, I’d order another for the other one. I don’t much. It’s a beautiful throw, but the design is huge and only shows up well on a sofa. My daughter says putting a throw on a chair is an old lady thing to do, but it is Mama’s House. I’ve looked for slipcovers, but haven’t found any I think would fit.
On Pinterest, I’ve pinned all sorts of patchwork covered chairs and instructions for making your own slipcovers. I don’t think I have the time or patience to do either. For now, they’ll just be loud yellow floral chairs!