A Quick Tour of My Office

The first thing my husband told me after he looked at our new home was, "It's got a great office space for you." And he was right.

You see, I couldn't get away to search for new lodgings. My mother was dying with cancer. So finally, I told David, "You'll just have to go find us a place to live. I trust you. You're pickier than I am."

I didn't see our house until the moment we arrived. That said, my husband did a fantastic job.

My office is 17 by 15 feet, with a walk in closet about 8 by 6. It's not only large, it's sunny. There are three windows are to my left as I face my desk. Two windows and a door with a glass window are on my right.

My big desks from England fit against a side wall (for crafting) and an interior wall for my word processing. Mainly, I stare at the screen or the Matisse print I bought in France, so I'm not distracted by the view outside. Yesterday, while I was talking with a friend who's helping me proof Photo, Snap, Shot, my gaze wandered. The snow was coming down in big, thick flakes. Through the woods to our house came our resident fox, his red hair fluffed out and his black stockings padding along softly in the falling snow.

Here's a collection of factoids about my work space:

1. Among of my most helpful tools is a concentration tape by Hemisync.

2. On the bookshelves are china animals from my grandmother's house, as well as a plastic tiger my mom and I found while shopping at Goodwill.

3. My closet is a total disaster. I hope to clear it out after I get done proofreading.

4. I have a success candle on my desk that I bought at Enchantments, a witchcraft store in New York City.

5. I love fresh flowers so I try to keep a vase of them near my workspace.

6. A big wipe board helps me organize my work as I write. I have the days plotted on them, the actions of the characters, and so on.

7. One of my prized possessions is a fossile of a prehistoric fish. I use it as a paper weight.

8. I keep chocolate in my desk drawer along with the Post-It Notes. It's been there a while. I like having it close, although chocolate gives me headaches.

9. My mouse pad has a picture my son drew when he was in fourth grade. It's of a grand piano. (No surprise!)

10. I keep an Ott-Lite in my office. They are true-to-life lights, so I can discern colors accurately when I scrapbook.

11. In my closet are drawers full of rubber stamps and punches. I love both tools!

12. On the back of my desk chair is a small blue afghan I crocheted. I toss it over my feet when they get cold.

What's in your office? What might surprise me if I visited?

Crafting a "Riff" on Other Projects

In my preparation for Bouchercon, I've been "kitting" up the stuff for my scrapbooking class where we'll be making the page above. (See the Sunday post below for details.) Unfortunately, the creative bug hit me hard in the midst.

Maybe that happens to you, too? You're supposed to be doing "A" but you suddenly feel the urge to do "B," and away you go. I couldn't help myself. I stopped everything to see if I could translate the page above, to scraplift the design, and make a similar page in the Halloween spirit.

After a couple of false starts--I couldn't decide what paper to use for the branch--I came up with the page below:



Can you guess what I used for the branch? The owl was a hand-drawn and colored piece I created last year. I have a file of these, and frankly, I can't recall what was the original inspiration. Sometimes I'll look at a rubber stamp or clip art or even a purchased embellishment and decide to try for my own version.

I liked the finished page pretty well. One problem was replicating the border on the big area of yellow/gold paper. I did it with scalloped scissors and a hole punch, which totally wrecked the palm of my right hand. I've injured the muscle connected my thumb to my palm, and I never seem to let it heal right. Somehow I roll my hand when I put my purse on my shoulder in a motion that keeps ripping the same spot.

Another problem: Page protectors are generally smaller than 12 x 12 inches. It's a cheat. So after you make your page, you often find it won't fit in the plastic protector. Hence, the wonky trim job. After the scan I also noticed my jerry-rigged border isn't completely straight.

But the biggest bug-a-boo I have with the page is the owl. Other crafters would either have to download a copy of mine or get their own. I puzzled over that most of the weekend. In fact, my husband David and I were invited to Robert Duvall's farm in Virginia, so we had a nice, long drive in the country side. Mr. Duvall--Bobbie--talked to me about seeing an osprey grab a fish once only to have it snatched back mid-flight by a bald eagle. He said that image has never left him.

So, I've had birds on the brain.

This morning, I used my punches and created the owl below. The main paper is a sort of corduroy paper I had with ridges on one side and smooth on the other. I used a large oval punch twice. One oval is the body--with a flat piece trimmed off the bottom. I split the other oval and trimmed the interior edges to be concave for the wings--then I flipped these over onto the flat side of the paper. I have a neat punch to create file tabs in 2 1/4 by 3/4 inches (by McGill). I used it to create the head with the tufts of ears. Yes, I trimmed it, but I think you can still make out the base shape. The eyes are 1/2 inch circles of white with a 1/2 inch brown flower (daisy) stuck on them. Then I added two black brads even though owls' eyes are more like cats'. Finally, I used that daisy punch again and turned a petal into a beak.

How'd I do?

PS Happy Columbus Day! I hope you have the day off to do some crafting.