Dragonfly Dreams to entice Spring !!

Hello again :)
I hope your weekend went well and your Monday went quick!! I am here with LOTS of info and tons of photos so I hope you bear with me today LOL>

First I need to tell you that our fabulous SAB campaign is coming to an end, not that much time left to place some orders and collect some of the freebies. And from today Stampin'Up! have released a few extra choices for you, click the picture to see the items and remember that for every £45 spend you choose a FREE GIFT, also see HERE and HERE for all the freebie choices.

 I have a very Spring Inspired project to share with you today, which is fitting as yesterday was the first official Spring Day. Also incidentally this weekend I had the first bumble bee visiting my studio, well she/he was clearly lost trying to get out through the close skylight but it was lovely to hear it buzzing about inside my happy place. Here's my project 

Ahhh that instantly makes me happy :), yellow has that power don't it?? the power to cheer you up,  this particular yellow is called Daffodil Delight from Stampin'Up! 

The Inside the Lines Designer Paper ( one of the FREE Sale a Bration Gifts ) was layered over some Daffodil Delight card stock which was inked with Crushed Curry ink first, them put through the Big Shot machine with the Hexagon Dynamic Textured Embossing Folder. This technique gives depth to your embossed layers if used in the same colourway. I love how that one simple step that makes such a big difference. 

The bees from the Dragonfly Dreams Bundle  were stamped in black archival ink,  then coloured using our Marvellous Markers and cut one while the sentiment was heat embossed in black powder onto vellum. 

Aren't my pictures pretty today?? I took them in my new studio !! NO, I haven't moved in yet but I am loving the light in there so much already. I loved the dappled effect the sun cast on the windowsills in there so I grabbed today's project and went for it. 

Ok so I promised you an studio update so let's talk progress. Last time I showed you that room it looked like this

It was soon after this picture was taken that we realised we employed the wrong team (I know, I didn't believe it either) and sadly we had to removed them from the project. We decided that between us we would carry out the remainder of the work and we set about finishing mainly at the weekends. But then the ceiling started leaking AGAIN !!! And we found out that all the work carried out on the roof wasn't good and realised we wasted a lot of time and money. They say every project hits a low point and this was certainly ours. 

But you carry on and I am a bit happier to report that as of this weekend I think we are back on track and a lot has been happening inside, it now looks like this !! 

Ceiling is finished and has a first coat of paint on, will need a couple more before the lights can get fitted. 

I wanted to add some planking to the walls to create a bit more of a visual impact and give it a warmer feel rather than just plain walls, and OH EM GEE I couldn't be happier with the result. It makes such a difference I cannot wait to see it finished, right now the boards are only primed waiting for their final coat. 

Those marks on the floor are from me spray painting the bespoke units I had made especially for this room to store all of my paper, ink pads, markers, punches etc. Its a thing of beauty let me tell you and I could burst with excitement. Here they all are painted, and ready to be filled with the goodies, and YES THE STUFF FITS !!!

We have paint on the doors, LOOOVE that colour, Downpipes from Farrow and Ball for all the interior wood finishes. 

Here's a view from inside with the doors closed, this will be my view from my working spot, I can imagine it in Summer with those doors flung open listening to the birds singing LOL 

Oh there's also paint on the windows as well.

And yes my chief Inspector Olly the Cockapoo, is always on site making sure every detail is just right. 

Here's a glimpse of the colour the actual planked walls will be. Its called Classic Grey( I know it doesn't look very grey in my photo) by Benjamin Moore and its their Aura type, let me tell you BEST PAINT ever. I am new to their paints but already a convert, used it in one of our spare bedrooms at the recommendation of an interior designer friend of mine and now my studio. I wanted a warm grey and this certainly fits the bill well. 

I find greys are so hard to get right. They are either too blue or too purple but this is just right for me, the perfect neutral backdrop for my rainbow of colour and happiness in there.  There's a little bit of trimming round the windows and corners of the room left to do, they will look like the below picture, plus a lot of things to be painted with final coats, flooring to be laid, door to the toilet to be hang...Then there's the small issue of about a million flat packed boxes that are being delivered from Ikea on Friday to build and install.

 

So yes, a LOT of progress but really if you think this is week 7 and it should have taken 2-3 weeks we are really behind schedule and there's still a fair bit to be done in there before I can move in. Still those things can happen I guess and they did, and by Golly it wasn't easy on my sanity. LOL 

Thank you for sticking with this insanely long post and for visiting me today, let me know what you think?

Till next time 

BIG HUGS, Monica  xxx