Mouse in the House background

Friday, July 11, 2014

It's studio tour time again! Where Bloggers Create 2014


Welcome to my happy place. Thanks to Karen Valentine of My Desert Cottage  for hosting another Where Bloggers Create event! This is my second year at the party, and I appreciate all of Karen's efforts to make this event exciting and fun. 

The photo above is a studio view from the doorway. My studio is three steps down from our dining room. New in this area since the last year's WBC party are the pull-down school maps on the back wall and the chest of map drawers (below).


I've been calling this a map cabinet because the drawers are large and shallow, but the chest was actually handmade to store hardware in someone's garage. I saw it in the bed of a pick-up truck and asked the driver if it was for sale. Lucky for me, the answer was yes! It was a mess when I bought it, but a friend repaired it for me, and I love it because it is so useful. The bin pulls are solid brass and the sides are beadboard.


One large map drawer holds washi tape in plastic trays from cracker packages.

This tall 40-drawer Post Office cabinet (below) is my pride and joy. It looks like a card catalog cabinet in photos, but it is much larger. The drawers are 8-1/2" wide and 24 inches long. so they hold a LOT! The second photo below shows all the vintage oddities I put on top of it.

Love this 5-foot-tall Post Office cabinet!  I'll show you what's in some of the drawers later.

A hodgepodge of vintage goodies that caught my eye: folk art American flag on corrugated metal, parking meter, beach pail and shovels, toy trucks, toy cash register, vintage tins, and what some people call "creepy doll heads." 



Another of my favorite pieces is this golden oak McCaskey Register System from the early 1900s (sitting on top of an oak card catalog cabinet).  This historic piece of furniture was part of a revolutionary accounting system for department stores and other businesses. (I call it the earliest version of QuickBooks.) The piece has large shallow drawers under glass, where ledgers displayed customer account numbers. Above the glass are metal fold-down receipt holders where numbered compartments hold clips for each customer's receipts. When the customer came to pay on his/her account, the store owner would look up the account number and then total the receipts for payment.


The receipt holders fold down and I use them for vintage photos, artwork and ephemera. 7 Gypsies produced a perfectly accurate replica of the black metal McCaskey receipt holders a few years ago as display pieces for artists. While 7 Gypsies did a great job with the reproduction, I think it's pretty exciting to have the genuine article!

I'm using the ledger drawer to display a collection of vintage office supplies.



Just some more of my funky stuff... I actually use the antique fan, but not the oversized pencils. (I found the pencils just last month, one at a time!) The hand-painted spool drawers hold rubber stamps for mail art projects. Everything in this picture was found at a local flea market except the stereo and the figural brush, which was a gift from my mother.


Can you guess my favorite color? I love my little red Corona typewriter and vintage red Arrow stapler. The Sychro-Jr. Jig Saw for Boys belonged to my father when he was a teen. He used it for model airplane making.The jig saw still works, as does the vintage Kodak photo developing timer. The metal Duro Sign Maker box holds some of my handmade books, and the little red metal blasting caps box holds some of my ATCs.  Shallow drawers below hold rubber stamps organized by theme.  It's nice that the drawer pulls are label holders; they make it easy to keep track of which theme is in each drawer.


Some of the many things I collect in my studio are vintage children's art supplies. I love the cute illustrations and the colorful packaging. Vintage watercolor tins are among my favorites.I had the same Playtime watercolor tin when I was a child, so it was a thrill to find that at a garage sale.  Did you notice the original price? 29 cents!  It's a bonus to be able to use the contents!

I hope you have enjoyed this peek into my studio, and I hope you'll stop by my blog again to download free printables. I have some wonderful ephemera to scan and share with you.

Be sure to visit the other WBC blogs to see more studios (via the link in my sidebar) --- and please stop back by here tomorrow for more pictures of my studio! 

Bonnie

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh my, I'm in heaven. Those cabinets are DREAMY. Yes, I am going back for a second tour. :)
Stopping by via Karen's.

Lola G. said...

My apologies for drooling all over your space – I could spend days wandering here, opening drawers at random and enjoying the treasure hunt of discovery!

Wishing Bonnie's Best all the best!

boulderdamcottage said...

OH MY GOODNESS! the cabinets, the RED, the STUFF, the ROOM, I love it all, I think we are sisters in another life! lol Thanks for sharing, I got some good ideas here and yes me too I will be back, following you and signed up for emails! I had to STOP MYSELF, had to EAT and get COFFEE LOLOLOL all of this fun today and for the next few days is amazing awesome, inspiring and just a plain BLAST! I LOVE your space! hugs and a great time today! kat =^.^=

Lily's Lace said...

Well OMG! All the cabinets and drawers and goodies and more drawers and more goodies! I "just love what you've done to the place." LOL thanks for a great tour!!-xox

Bonnie said...

Marcia, Lola and Kat -- thank you so much for stopping by and for your nice comments! I really appreciate your nice words.

Bonnie said...

Thanks, Cindy! I had to laugh at your "love what you've done to the place" comment... it was like you saw the "before." I had to do a massive straighten-up in order to take photos! Looking through the lens of a camera, you see messy spots much more clearly! Thank you for visiting and taking the time to comment!

the paper addiction said...

Wow - your space is amazing and I am so jealous of your amazing vintage storage pieces, Love this.

Leanne said...

I love love love all your cabinets!

Anonymous said...

Oh my oh my, this is another case of I have died and gone to heaven! Bonnie you have the most wonderful collection of drawers, they are just beautiful. Those display cases are just, we'll I am drooling. Thanks so much for sharing your gorgeous studio! I love it! I will be back to have another look in case I've missed anything. Karen.x

Unknown said...

Oh how I love all of your wooden pieces, so fantastic and it stores your stuff!!
I love your vintage chalk and such, how much fun is that!
Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful space.
Michele

Bohemian said...

OMG I am Certain I heard Angelic Hosts singing to me when I viewed the first Image of all those Fab Storage Cabinets! *Winks* Storage like that are the stuff Dreams are made of for Artistic Souls! Thanks for Sharing your Beautiful Creative Space, I'm having so much Fun and overdosing on Inspiration and Eye Candy at this Party!!!

Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian

Janet Hickey said...

Stunning. Simply stunning!

GranthamLynn said...

Wow I want to visit. I love the map. The vintage picnic baskets are really cool. You have a beautiful space!
Thanks for sharing. I linked my little closet sewing room.

Kathy said...

I ADORE your creative space and I am your newest follower. Thank you so much for sharing all the inspiration!

Sandra Kaye said...

The furniture you have is just delightful!!! I just started my hunt for pieces like that!!! Thanks for sharing:):)

Julia @ Vintage with Laces said...

I remember that I drooled over all your fabulous drawer chests last year and it's happening again. Drawer Chest Heaven!!! Please tell me that you sometimes forget what's in all the drawers. I do and I have a lot less than you. Thanks for the tour and happy creating!
Julia

Botanic Bleu said...

What wonderful antique wooden cabinets in which to store all your supplies. Your drawer full of vintage office supplies has a couple of items that I have...not as vintage items, but as items for me to use. LOL
I thoroughly enjoyed seeing your authentic antique creative space.

Judith

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

You have got the best cabinets for storage, Bonnie! Not just because of how useful they are, but they look so great, too. Such a fun space to create in!

Karen Valentine said...

okay Bonnie... now I know why I cant find any cool card catalogs or post cabinets.. You have them all!!! My heart stopped when I saw that first pic!! You are a lucky lucky girl!! The studio is fabulous!! Thank you so much for joining the party!!
xo,
Karen

Maureen Hayes said...

The cabinets are so pretty, I am quite jealous! Thanks for sharing all the vintage loveliness of your space.

Pam Kessler said...

Such a cool and fun office. Love the doll head just sitting there like it has belonged there all its life! And the red typewriter is gorgeous (I have a thing for vintage typewriters). Don't even get me started on those cabinets. Great job and thanks for sharing!

Cathy said...

I love your appreciation for interesting objects! Your creative space and your organization pieces are wonderful!
Cathy
CraftyCat

Maureen said...

I have visited many times, and can only say Wow! how awesome are those cabinets! You have a wonderful studio filled with fantastic treasures. I will definitely be back to see more!

Rita Barakat said...

I love all your cabinets and drawers! So amazing - I never find such cool stuff and I am always looking!

Deborah Weber said...

Oh goodness I have to sit down for moment. I'm swooning from all the fabulousity of your studio. Those cabinets - be still my envious heart! And all the treasures! What a delightful tour - thank you!

Unknown said...

I love all the cabinets. How fortunate to have all the storage. I love your vintage items too, takes me back. Thanks for inviting us in to take the tour. I am Janet from Graceful Rose.

Diana Seal said...

Oh WoW, I'm blown away, those cabinets, I'm still drooling!!!
Truly amazing!
Thanks for sharing your vintage treasures and beautiful creative space!
Diana

Art and Sand said...

I am in love!

Those cabinets and all the amazing eye candy.

Yes, it is definitely Collage Candy.

Mari Brown and Colourblob said...

Yep!!! this is the special drawer place to be, some of them are so amazing and that one with the file folders, well wow.

And I love the old metal picnic baskets, they are all so pretty and so functional as well. You have a fantastic collection of antiques and treasures, lovely tour and thank you for sharing that with us : )

Louise@ElsieMayandBertha said...

You have such beautiful storage and furniture in your room. It reminds me of a library I used to work. You must spend many a happy hour there. Thanks for sharing.

Shirlee Fassell said...

Your cabinets are divine! I often see similar ones at the Brimfield antique show but the prices are astronomical! Love your space!

Lori said...

Wow, Wow, WOW! I am in love with your happy place. I am a vintage junkie and can't believe all the vintage goodies in your room. I'd never leave if this was my room.

Gwen Simmons said...

I am in love with your studio. It's true that a girl can never have too many drawers. Your collection of cabinets is awesome, and the whole room is just so pulled together. Really liked your idea of using plastic cracker trays for the washi tape. Thanks so much for the tour.
Gwen Simmons

Lace Age Girl said...

Love all the old drawers! Must be hard to remember what's in them all.They sure look wonderful!

Arnoldo L. Romero, MLA said...

I LOVE your studio, especially all your antique cabinets. It would be so inspirational to be able to create in a place like this. You are blessed!

Bonnie said...

Thank you so much for all of your wonderful comments! I appreciate all of the visitors and I promise to post more often in the future.