BlissFull Living Studio is now OPEN yay!!

Well its been a fun creation journey! 

I am so grateful for this dream come true!

When you set your heart to something and fully believe in miracles

 and believe in yourself, I believe anything can happen.

Here is a peek at our kitchen/storage area.

I love the industrial sink I found at a used restaurant supply warehouse.

 Instead of buying a countertop I opted for plywood and wax :)

I am so in love with these metal stools. We have twelve of them, which are to be used for the art workshops. 

This sales counter was a labor of love and is actually one of the first things I ever really built of "furniture" significance. I incorporated a stainless steel food prep table on one side..

LOVE how it turned out. Of course us artists always have imperfections to pick upon but, I will Let them go :) 

I love how everything came together...Like this painting. I totally did not plan for the red to match so perfect. But they do. It's just another one of the magical things that happened.

And the floors..Man they were challenging but I love them. I was inspired by Anthropologie. About 7 years ago when I was in one of their stores they had plywood floors. I think they were washed with paint or something and were not installed in this fashion but still left an imprint of "I want that" in my brain. Now, manifested. :) 

I am having so much fun. I have to pinch myself because this is REAL!!!! 

This is our permanent gallery space where we will house 

rotating art exhibits every 5-6 weeks.

Right now its crammed with my stuff :) 

I had these metal pink shelves left from my old studio space which I mounted to this "doorway niche" and put glass behind it to show off 

the Pixy Pocahontis headbands on all sides. 

I cannot believe how transformed this room is, well the whole place is but man this room was "shitty" Lol..

                    

Through these doors is my studio space..

I am in LOVE with this painting...I feel like I am finally settling into a groove...seeing more of this awesomeness that is building in my chest....It makes me feel like a Care Bear :)

Now I have to get on top of painting and drawing. 

I've got a couple of shows to do this year.

One is Highland Art in the Park in October and the other...

Strange Folk Festival, which I hope I get into again because its an awesome show!

And I'm a little Strange, so, yeah :)  

Do you like the phallic wallpaper? lol

Makes me giggle. 

Thank you for stopping by...Be back soon with something less technical and more poetic :) 

Peace 

Making the Dream a Reality, Watering the Seed.

Good Morning Peeps!

I don't know how many of you follow on my Facebook page

but there has been a detour in my current time line. 

giggle

The wonderful Universe has created a gumdrop bridge bringing me to my future dream now.

Oh man I cannot wait until you see what happens outside here :)

Blissfull Living Studio 

is actually becoming a reality!!!

I am SO so grateful.

Believe it or not this is our kitchen/storage room. A wall came out and new items have been installed...curious?

I know I have been sharing with everyone that I am in the process of making my children's storybook,

"Pixy Pocahontis",

This is the most hideous room of the whole place.  Happy to say that the ceiling has been removed,
 drywall is going in and...

well, that is STILL happening just a little detour a delightful, inspiring pause. 

It all seems so crazy beautiful.

It's really happening.

This is a shot of my old studio..The new studio is SO full of LIGHT! 

And while I would like to share ever detail at this moment,

I have SO much to do and FIVE weeks left until the 

Grand Opening!

 So for now I am leaving you with some pictures of the BEFORE and random pictures of my current basement studio, along with scattered

photos of the process. 

Peace love and joy!

OMG I cannot wait until this corner is complete! 

 I hope to see you all there.

The Grand Opening is the weekend of 

Art on the Square in Belleville, IL. 

So come on by, take a peek, have a drink and see what 

BlissFull Living Studio has to offer the community.

You will be glad you stopped by :)

Oh, and you will get to see what this "Funky Modern Chic" is all about. Aren't you curious? :)

It involves my friend Mia Noriega and I'm super happy to be working with her on this project! 

She has a great heart!

 Natalie

Blog is in Rehab :)

In case any of you stumble across my blog and it seems in shambles...well that's because I am trying to figure it all out :) Working on some things so PLEASE excuse the arranging and rearranging that WILL be happening over the next couple of weeks. Thank you Peace 

Natalie

Happiness in the Studio

Gosh, every time I sit down and tell myself...Make it short and sweet I end up babbling like a flock of butterflies.

SO, gonna do my best-est to

Focus.

Actually (here we go)...

I have really great focus it just likes to 

skip, hop, and dance :)

Come on who doesn't like to dance?

Anyways...

                                               

I am still on my set time line...

Just added a little extra luggage.

("Girls"-sheesh, we always pack so much!)

But its all good, a little extra lipstick

Miss Mia...We are pairing furniture together.
Good girl time. 

and a closet of shoes for every outfit

www.rarrarpress.etsy.com

isn't that bad?..

Nope not at all :)

So yeah that's it...

Pixy Pocahontis, 

("Pixy" being spirit and "Pocahontis" being the physical)

this is not her...just little inspirations along the process.
Miss Winter Moonshine

Is still on track to be completed by the end of June and I am completely loving her!

And Miss Winter Sunshine :) 

She is slowly being nurtured and is in a upward growth pattern, "a seedling that has just risen through the dirt and is heading to the sun:)"

And in between inspirations I am working on wall art.

some being more three dimensional, full of textures and WAX.

I LOVE Liberon paste wax. 

Smells SO good! 

I'm not sure if it kills brain cells or not, I think, because I am so entrenched by its smell that I don't look for the possible dangers?

Just kidding.

If its safe for use on kids toys I think its Gouda.

And another part of the work circle of happily skipping, hoping and 

dancing is refurbishing/painting furniture, frames and

                         thing-a-ma-bobbers.

Yep!

I love it All!

and I am looking forward to sharing it all with you..

OH ANNNNDDD...I am SO excited to go check out Surtex in May.

I'm really thinking about showing there next year to venture out into licensing deals and beyond. 

I know I'm gonna be walking around Surtex looking like a smiling kid licking a spiral lolly pop.

(whatever that looks like, lol)

It's gonna be amazing!

Oh and here are a few of cool things 

I have run across lately...

I love this Colourlovers website...

I haven't played with it much yet but I am sure I will when I get back into the illustrator seat more when creating my book in digital format. 

I also have found a bunch of COOL stuff through Pinterest lately.

The Painted furniture section has some great inspirations in

 it.  

Well short went to long...I tried :)

Peace and have a great weekend!

Natalie

Waiting for the Sunshine and Spring Flowers to Bloom

Man these days are flying fast..So many things I am trying to accomplish, So many things in my head.

Om Mani Padme hum

Been journaling a lot lately..Trying to get the blahs OUT..Flip can the sun melt this snow and bring back the color or what?

I just feel like such a downer, I don't even know what to say, just I look t the screen and giggle like duh. 

Still trying to sell this flipping extra house of ours...It still sits there, lol. 

BLAH

BUT...All is well..

I have a lot to be grateful for :)

Art is great, kids are healthy, beautiful home that we live in, a studio in the basement, part time job to supplement my expansion.

I am TOTALLY looking forward to going to Surtex in May to check it out!!!!! It is my desire to show there next year..I've got big plans, maybe too many? lol

I've got some HUGE decisions to make. 

Currently I am working on random art projects, illustrating my children's book (which I plan to have ready to be published in June/July) social media shouting, St. Anthony Project and selling this darn house. 

IT is my plan to go to massage school next fall, but Surtex, SURTEX is calling me too..And from what I've read from this excellent helpful book Jump Trust Repeat  by Jessica Swift, (which I highly recommend to you artist out there) It takes a lot of work and planning and moola :) Another book I recommend to artist is on my side bar...Flying lessons, by Kelly Rae Roberts, also an EXCELLENT read :) 

Gotta focus on the present and see where the Journey takes me right? I have HUGE plans for a collection of stuff to go with my children's book, a lot of which could be fantastically promoted at Surtex so massage school MAY wait a little longer. 

I totally want to create fabric, wall paper, kids rain boots, Children's bedding, kids room art, journals, umbrella patterns, iPad covers and more. IT's huge, exciting and I want to make it happen. 

Well, gonna run...Got both my boys in bed, thank God, they were little crabby monkeys this evening and I want to create!

Peace to you all!

Turning Point

Although I have made this distinction before never have I seen it so clearly. As I try to stay focused on what I really want as a tornado surrounds me I find myself in this mode of moving energy. Like a contoller maybe, or trying my hardest to create a divine shift in the energy that surrounds me. Or is it a drug? Anyways,  here I am once again with this intense desire to rearrange furniture. It's been like this since I was a kid. It makes me feel better, somehow. Not just when things are shitty or chaotic. I 

passionately enjoy it...but now, it's like this intense desire to feel better and this new layout will be a bandaid until things heal? So I keep rearranging, making it through. I am really grateful for this self taught healing modality/creative gift I have. So while it may have bloomed from a room of loneliness as an only child, it has blossomed into a passionate intense desire for an appealing design aesthetic which I love. 

I love designing space and at the same time it has a healing affect, bonus. The space may be a room, a blank canvas, paper, etc. I guess it's kind of like birth again or something, this newness...anyways...

Can you relate?

                                   

I am going through a really tough time in life right now but am focusing the BEST I can on what I want, doing what I love, and letting all of the negativity flow through me, feeling it, processing it's message yet letting it go through me to make room for what I want. I believe that by doing this I am creating a momentum. Like a circle or the recycle triangle with arrows which propells me in the direction I desire. If I allow the negativity inside me stay



 in the cycle without exiting then I'm continually focusing on 

what I don't want. But the key here is believing in myself, having trust in my focusing abilities, having faith that I really have the power to create the reality in which I desire.. That desire is love/flow. And being SO open to recieve the love I desire that it is formless until it's manifestation. Just focusing on how I want to feel and doing what makes me happy, following my passion and loving my family even if it 

means living a family of 6 instead of seven. I have pretty much ALWAYS gotten what I have focused on, be it good or the bad, unfortunately the the later too. 

I have manifested A LOT of amazingly wonderful things in my life when I have focused on what I want. 

I plan to continue that pattern 

So... I am going to have faith in my compass. 

So now...

I let the sadness flow through me, not inside me:) 

And I keep shining my light and spreading the love. 

Peace all.