Karen M. Andersen Art

:: Flea Market Fancy - legacy reprint 2012 ::

When Flea Market Fancy - a fabric line designed by Denyse Schmidt and produced by Free Spirit Fabrics - was first released many years ago, I was very new to quilting and had not yet discovered the online quilting and fabric shopping world, so by the time I heard of it and was witness to it's stunning rainbow beauty, it was unfortunately out of print and I was unable to purchase any. What a bummer! As you can most likely guess by looking at my blog, work, home, and studio, I love bright colours and prints...especially when they are mixed and matched together...so discovering Flea Market Fancy a little too late was like torture to my creative soul.

Enter 2012. Flea Market Fancy has been re-released, much to the delight of many a fabric lover and quilter around the globe. I was not about to miss out this time, so I have bought some for myself and I just can't wait for it to arrive in a few weeks from the US. I plan to use it to make a quilt for mine and David's bed and some little ditties for my shop. To say I'm excited is an understatement! 

What do you think? Do you like Flea Market Fancy? Do you prefer the original release to the new release? Are you planning on buying some Flea Market Fancy this time round? If so, what are you going to make with your stash?

(Original photo by Red Pepper Quilts)

 

:: Inside my studio - in Instagrams ::

I've been using Instagram solely as an app on my iPhone 4 since I first got my phone in late 2010. I have always loved it, but it's only been a couple of weeks since I discovered Instagram as a social networking medium. I must say, it is by far my favourite over all other social networking platforms. It's such a supportive, fun, visual, community and what I love most is that I can take good quality photos quickly and easily on my phone and instantly share them. LOVE IT, I tell you! If you are also an Instagrammer, you'll know what I mean.

Anyway, over the last few months I've received many emails about my studio, so I thought I'd kick off my return to blogging by sharing some Instagram photos of my home sewing / craft / art studio / office space / room / study. Wow, that's a mouthful! The fact is though that my studio is all of those things...it's my space where I can happily paint, draw, sew, quilt, crochet, explore the interwebs, and run the not-so-fun parts of my business till my heart's content. I absolutely love it in here. It's colourful (I'm sure you can see by my blog and photos how much I love colour), it's inspiring, and I'm so proud to call it mine. I should also add in here that almost every piece of furniture in my studio was thrifted and made over with paint. The things that weren't thrifted were either gifted or repurposed from another part of the house. I wanted to do this blog post to show you that you can have a lovely craft room while on a budget.

Well, I guess you can call this my "unofficial" Studio Tour blog post :) Come along and have a peek inside...

Firstly, the photo above is of my sewing, cutting, and assembling space in the studio. This is where all of the shop magic happens! The table, sewing desk, and chair here were all thrifted and repainted. I love to sit here in the afternoons and create while I look out my window at my kids playing outside with their little friend who lives across the road. The light is great here too, so it's a favourite spot to set up for taking photos with my digital SLR. One of my favourite things in this part of the studio is this...

...my basket of ribbons. I keep it on the white table in the photo above. It's just an old, large cane basket of David's that I painted up with some leftover paint from our kitchen renovation. It's so fun to fish around in there for a pretty little piece of something to use on my goodies for my Etsy shop :)

The photo above is my fabric storage area. Wondering how to store all of that fabric is the bane of many a sewist, and it is certainly something that had really been frustrating me in the past. In the studio at my old house I did have most of my fabric stashed in the room's built-in wardrobe and in the tiny shelves lining the sides of my little sewing table. As my shop and my fabric stash has grown significantly over the last 6 months, and as I was forever finding that piles of fabric and shop goodies in various stages of completion were multiplying like bunnies on the horizontal surfaces in my studio, I decided that the time had come for me to organize all of these bits and pieces. Being a highly visual person who forgets what I have if it's tucked away somewhere out of sight, I knew that I needed everything contained in the one spot where I could see with one look what I had, what I needed, and what required sewing for my shop.

Enter this simple white laminate bookcase. We had bought two of these for my children's bedrooms years ago. One of the bookcases was freed of it's load of toys when we had a big toy-sorting episode a couple of months ago, so I was quick to snavel it up for the studio before David (my man) could pinch it for tool storage in his workshop (heehee!). It wasn't all bad for him though - he got his red galvanised metal shelves back that used to sit in the spot in the studio where the white bookcase now resides, so he was happy :) Anyway, this bookshelf has been an absolute lifesaver! My fabric sits on the bottom two shelves and my shop goodies sit on the top two shelves. I absolutely love it :)

Who wouldn't want to see these pretty little stacks of cute fabrics every day?

Having said that, after sitting with it for a while, more stacks of shop goodies began to appear in the form of piles and piles of finished coin purses. Having nowhere else to keep them, they began to accumulate on the only free surface in the studio...on top of my fabric bookshelf.

See what I mean? I knew that the only solution was to utilize some of the wal space in the studio and to add some kind of shelving to hold my finished coin purses.

Enter this plate storage rack/unit that I came across when visiting one of my favourite local thrift stores a couple of weeks ago. I wasn't looking for anything in particular when I came across it, but the instant I saw it (and its $15 price tag) I knew it'd be perfect for storing my shop goodies so I quickly grabbed it before anyone else could :) I looked pretty funny lumping it around the shop while I continued looking for other hidden gems, let me tell you!

When I got it home I was greeted by some pretty strange looks and comments from Dave. Once I explained what I planned to do with it, we carried it upstairs, cleaned off the top of the bookcase, and sat it on top. It's the perfect width and sits there so nicely! Needless to say, I was ecstatic - all we had to do is add a good chunk of Blu-tack in the corners at the back and it sits very sturdy in it's new spot.

Doesn't it look lovely all loaded up with my shop goodies? I am so happy with it...

Immediately next to my fabric storage shelves is my general purpose area. It's here that I paint, sketch, crochet, brainstorm, research, package up shop orders ready to mail out to customers, and do all of the non-fun shop things that I have to do (ie. bookwork - BLERK!). This spot is very inspiring to me. I've loaded up the wall with tonnes of inspiring images - some have been cut out of my old Monster Children magazines, some have been purchased, some I have drawn/painted myself, some have been gifted to me, and some have been torn out of my beloved Frankie magazines. It's a fun spot full of colour that I just love to look at and create art in.

The newest addition to the studio is the shelving system in the photo below. The aqua boxes were old fabric-covered storage boxes from Target that had seen better days so I painted them with leftover aqua paint. The baskets were all bought at local $2 shops...bargain way to add a bit of colour and functionality to my studio. These shelves sit above my computer desk and holds my magazines, business bookwork system, miscellaneous computer sundries and stationery supplies, my new Blythe dolls' accessories (more on that in another post!), my yarn stash, and my sewing patterns. I really love these shelves! They are just what I needed and they look great to boot. Perfect :)

I know some of you will ask if it's always this tidy in my studio. Of course not. It gets messy, just like anyone's creative space does, but I spend a little time giving it a thorough tidy-up every Sunday. I can't work effectively if I know I have a mess in here. You can see below just how messy it can get in here! This pic is my view over the sewing machine one afternoon a week ago. My little girl Lili loves to sit amidst my sewing mess and do her homework. She's such a funny kid :)

While between the hours of 9am and 2:45pm (school pick-up and drop-off) it is serious studio work time for me (no disturbances allowed!), but the studio is also a favourite spot for the kids to settle to watch a movie on the computer, do homework, colour in, or make things while I get some work done after school and at weekends. This one little room is a real creative hub for our little family of four at times. It's not unusual to have all of us in here at once doing different things, but I don't mind one bit (unless I am in must-get-this-done-asap-or-else mode). It's lots of fun to share some creative family time together in the studio sometimes after school and on weekends - it really gives my soul a lift to see all four of us being creative together.

Well, that just about wraps up my now mammoth "unofficial" studio tour blog post. My studio is not finished yet...we have yet to paint the window frames, polish the bare floor boards, and paint one of the built-in wardrobe doors with chalkboard paint. I can't wait for that one as I am constantly forgetting things and need a BIG space to write things on so that I remember to do things! I want to make some pretty curtains to go along the window sometime soon, too. I'll share those things as they are completed, but for now I am calling the studio finished. I do hope that you enjoyed my Instagram pics of my creative space. If you have any questions, or want to show me your own studio, feel free to leave me a comment or link in the comments section of this post.

See you again very soon :)

 

:: It's Complicated ::

Hi.

It's been a while, I know.

Since I last wrote, there's been so much going on in my life. In all honesty, it has very much been an emotional roller-coaster. My newly-opened Etsy shop has been crazily busy (thank you to everyone who has supported my little shop). Christmas came and went. Dave, Lachie and I have all had birthdays, as have many of our close family members. The kids have been on their Summer school holidays and have now returned to school. There's been a new violin to learn for Lili and a return to regular golf lessons for Lachie. Sickness has invaded our house and our families - sometimes it has stayed and other times it has left as quickly as it arrived.

The last few months have seen a huge disruption to our normal household routine - in fact, the same can be said for most of the last year. It's been such a big adjustment for our little family of four. The Domestic and Family Violence that we have all suffered at the hands of Lachie and Lili's father (my ex) has been a very difficult road to traverse. All of the legal wrangling we have had to endure in an effort to make it stop has been tough on us. We've all come out of the other side of it now, I'm happy to say. Slowly but surely we are finding a new "normal" that works best for us.

Now that life has begun to settle down, I am feeling stronger and more inspired than ever. I am VERY glad to have that old feeling back and to once more have the time and energy to devote to my poor neglected blog, to being creative, and to updating my Etsy shop with some new pretties. It's an exciting time for me and I have much to share with you!

Here's to a wonderful new era - I'll see you again very soon :)

:: Happy mail ::

Over the last few weeks I've ordered over 80 new fabrics to make some coin purses, eReader cases, and iPad cases for my Etsy shop. It's always a thrill to receive a new parcel full of beautiful fabric in the post, but last week I received one in particular from Emi Craft In Japan on Etsy that was presented so beautifully that I just had to share it with you.

This is the front of the envelope. I love that little pink heart sticker - it's glittery too! I placed the yellow owl fabric over my address for this photo so it wasn't there originally.

This is the parcel from the back. LOVE that kawaii tape! I want some...it's so sweet and colourful!

This is the inside of the parcel before I took the fabric out of it's plastic - more thoughtful presentation with cute Japanese tape, a "thank you" sticker, and little yellow flower :)

...and some of my fabric after I unwrapped it fully...it's unbelieveably cute! I'm dying to start making up some new goodies with it, especially some sweet little Christmas-themed zipper pouches for my shop :)

Yoshimi included a free piece of fabric in my parcel as a little thank you. That was so thoughtful :) This is the second time that I have ordered from her and I love the whole experience, from her customer service to the way she presents her fabrics. My fabric even arrived smelling beautifully! If you are looking for some cute Japanese fabric, Yoshimi comes highly recommended. She is so very kind and thoughtful, and it shows that she truly values her customers and loves the products that she sells. As I am a new Etsy seller, she is most definitely an inspiration to me.

Have you received any Happy Mail lately, or had a wonderful shopping experience with an Etsian? 

 

:: Art inspiration - Tim Biskup ::

I first discovered the work of artist Tim Biskup via the interwebs many years ago and recently re-discovered him, only to fall in love with his art all over again! Why? Triangles feature heavily in his recent work - I am all over triangles and geometrics right now, so naturally his pieces below (sourced from his website and blog) really speak to my creative side...as does his colour palette. Loving it!

The portrait of the woman way up the top there and the tiger are my favourites, but I do love a good hand-drawn font so naturally I'm a touch partial to the first pic (which is actually the cover of a book featuring his paintings).

What do you think of Tim's work? What's inspiring you right now?

 

:: My little Etsy shop is open for business! ::

I've spent over a year working towards starting up a little Etsy shop that was truly "me" and that I could be proud of. It's taken a lot of blood, sweat, tears, sleepless nights, and funds to get it going, so it's a HUGE thing for me to finally be able to say that my shop is open for business!

These are just a few of the many little coin purses that I have available - all are handmade completely by me in my home studio. I have lots more coin purses (and other products) in many different fabrics that I will debut over the coming days and weeks. I love the whole process of shopping for new fabric, receiving it in the post, then cutting and sewing it into these pretty little ditties...they really bring a smile to my face :) They have so many different uses...the possibilities are endless! I hope that you will love them just as much as I love making them :)

I also have a newly-created Facebook page where I'll post about my shop (including exclusive discount codes for all "likers"), blog and life updates, and much more. The link is over <----- there in the left-hand sidebar of my blog if you want to head over to have a look.

In other news, it's a Pupil-Free Day on this Monday for us and we were planning to head to the beach but the weather has been very stormy this weekend with showers and wind forecast for today, so it looks like we'll be having a movie day at home.

I hope you have had/are having a wonderful weekend :)

:: Some scandinavian design inspiration ::

The home of Finnish interior designer and stylist Susanna Vento encompasses all that is inspiring me right now. I love her aesthetic - the pops of colour against the white walls, her use of geometric shapes (particularly triangles) throughout her home, the plethora of black and white, magazine pages and illustrated posters taped to the walls...I love it all!

I just had to dig up these photos of Susanna's Helsinki apartment that I discovered online long ago (where I saw them first I can't remember) and share them with you too. You can see more photos and read more about Susanna, her home, and her family in her interview with Katja Lindroos for Dwell magazine here. All photos originally taken by Petra Bindel for Dwell.

:: A peek inside my (new) studio ::

Since we moved into our new/old house in January 2011, I'd struggled with the layout of my new studio space. No matter what I did, I couldn't seem to get it looking right or organized in a way that was functional. I mentioned earlier that I did have 2 separate spaces - one for sewing and one for art-making - but I decided it would all work better if I moved everything into the one room. 

The paint in our house was awful...about 40 years old, peachy-cream in colour, and peeling off the walls...ewww! I'd had more than enough of it and, as I was opening my Etsy shop soon, Dave and I decided that the best time to re-paint the studio would be before I opened the shop so that I wouldn't be interrupted by renovations when it was in full swing...well, we have to sand and laquer our wooden floors later but that's another story (and job) altogether!

Anyway, it's amazing the difference some crisp white walls have made to this space - it's so much lighter and brighter which was very important to me as I don't get much light in here. It's been difficult to get some good photos in here though due to the light issue. I've done some fiddling with my camera settings since taking this shot and have managed to get some shots that are MUCH less grainy, so I'll share a proper studio tour post later on. You can check out some photos of the studio I had in my previous home here.

Well, that being said, I must say that I am absolutely thrilled with my newly renovated studio! It's organized just the way I wanted now...everything is just where I need it to be. I thrive on organization. It's very white, I know, and being the colour-lover that I am I never thought I'd be one to go for white walls, but the light in here is much better since we repainted and the colours in the studio really pop against the neutral walls. We're utilizing this technique throughout the whole house. I'm very inspired by this Scandinavian style of decorating. It must be my Danish heritage coming out haha :) 

Speaking of the studio, here's a pic of a stack of new fabrics that I have sitting on my sewing table right now. I'm using these to make some zipper pouches/coin purses, eReader cases, iPad cases, and laptop cases for my Etsy shop (I opened for business yesterday). I might just make a couple of wristlets, too!

Aren't they gorgeous fabrics? I love all of the colours here. The fabric third from the top is my favourite right now...it's vintage (as is the fabric at the very top of the stack) and not only will it become some products for my Etsy shop, I'll also use it to make some new cushions for our lounge.

See you again soon!

 

:: My blog makeover ::

After days and days of working on my new blog makeover, I am finally finished - and it feels so good!

It wasn't without it's obstacles, though. I had spent the better part of a month designing a new header and sidebar elements, but when I first began updating my blog with them, it didn't look right. The whole blog was far too cluttered and busy. I had already committed myself to updating it though, so I set about completely re-designing everything (I know, again!). I went with the "less is more" theory, which can be a difficult philosophy for me to adhere to as I love colour and pattern (and lots of it). It still features the things which inspire me the most...red and aqua (my fave colour combo), lots of colour (in the social media tabs), some geometrics and abstract shapes (the triangle background by Jo Klima and the butterfly's wings), and a pic of my new studio inspiration wall (in the studio tab). And, now it lets my posts really take centre stage, as they should!

I'm loving how the whole blog looks much cleaner and organised, but is still true to me. It's a keeper :)

In other news, my little ones are heading back to school tomorrow after two weeks of Spring school holidays. I can't believe how fast this year has gone by. Christmas is less than 12 weeks away! How did that happen? I have so much to do starting this week, and although I have loved having the kids home and will miss them, I am ready to get working on other things.

See you again soon!

:: Spring cleaning ::

Hi there everyone :) Please excuse my poor blog for looking a little mish-mashy over the next few days. I'm integrating some new design elements, as you can see. I thought it was time to freshen things up, just in time for Spring (well, here in Australia, anyway). Oh, am I loving this warmer weather!

If you look over <----- there to the left-hand side, you will see some new linky-tools to places where you can find me in other parts of the interwebs. Feel free to check it all out and like/follow/pin/add me if you feel so inclined.

And yes, that is an Etsy shop link, too! I'm opening in October. More on that soon enough.

I hope you have a lovely Tuesday in your part of the world :)

:: My Jacobsen family reunion ::

My Mum (that's her up there!) has spent many, many months researching our family history and preparing a Jacobsen family reunion which was held yesterday on Sunday 25th September, 2011. Before travelling to Denmark and Germany in 2009, where she was able to learn more about the origins of our family in Scandinavia, she had not been able to trace the origins her Dad's side of our family (the Jacobsens) in Denmark. That trip was a huge turning point for her as she was able to find the information she'd been searching for and since then she has been working on our family history with a view to holding a family reunion for all descendents born from my great-great-grandparents, Boi Hansen Jacobsen and Ane (Olsen) Jacobsen. Boi and Ane immigrated to Australia from Denmark in the mid-late 1870's. They met here in Australia, married, and settled in a little town only 30 minutes drive from where my family lives now. Boi and Ane lived a quiet but busy life on their farm and raised many children. Boi died on the farm, after which Ane moved to nearby Marybrough where she lived until her death.

My Mum (her maiden name is Jacobsen) has poured her heart and soul into working on our family tree. The reunion was very interesting...it has always fascinated me how family members can look a little like one ancestor and a little like another, so seeing my Mum in one person, Lachie in another, Lili in another, and my Pa in yet another was amazing! I'd always felt a little out of place as I didn't think I looked much like Mum's side of the family. My looks are typically Scandinavian as my ancestry is Danish and German (with just a dash of English thrown in for good measure), but I tend to take after my Dad and his Mum the most. My Mum has a photo of my great-great-grandmother Ane (Olsen) Jacobsen on her Jacobsen family website and I think Ane and I share very similar facial features. It's lovely to feel more of a bond to my Jacobsen family roots since the reunion, and especially since finding this photo of Ane. She is so tiny though! I have my paternal grandmother's thick, blonde wavy/curly hair and thicker, curvy build, and I am tall like my maternal grandmother (she is not a Jacobsen though and her family is English). It's funny how you can be a little like one family member and a little like another, isn't it? :)

And this photo below is of my great-great-grandfather, Boi - Ane's husband. Many of the Jacobsen men share Boi's looks, particulary my brother and my uncle (Mum's brother)!

Have you (or your family) researched your family tree?