Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for studio

Rain

July 10, 2010 at 11:11 am by Claudia


What happens when your ‘studio’ is in an upstairs hallway with a skylight and no air conditioning and it is over 100 degrees? You only see it as you move as quickly as you can to the air conditioned bedroom. Things get piled up and you can’t even contemplate dealing with them. Any creative ideas remain stuck somewhere in the recesses of your brain.

Your brain turns to mush.

Today, thank goodness, we have rain. Rain, blessed rain. I’ve been worried about the state of the garden, our lawn, and most importantly, our weeping willow. The willow has been dropping leaves at an alarming rate. Willows need a lot of water. I resorted to watering it by hand, although I don’t know if it made any difference. Then I quickly stopped the watering when I remembered that we have a well and that the well could run dry. A quick shift into water conservation mode. We’ve been very careful about our water use the last several days. Though it is just a start, I feel a bit more positive about everything today. I’ve never been happier to see rain.

And you will notice in the photo above that the sky is cloudy. Yes, gorgeously cloudy. We are supposed to have a chance of thunderstorms off and on for the next few days. Bring ’em on!

Filed Under: garden, studio, trees 36 Comments

Fussing With the Studio

February 2, 2010 at 9:16 am by Claudia


Happy second day of February, everyone! After several spectacularly frigid sunny days, the thermometer is registering a bit more warmth. It was cold, and I mean cold this past weekend. The dogs are handling the change in sleeping arrangements fairly well; perhaps a bit better than their mama.

I’ve been playing around in the ‘studio’ lately. I always put studio in quotes because, let’s face it, it is not like all those gorgeous studios I see throughout blogdom. I don’t think Where Women Create will come calling. It is not a separate room. Or a large space. It is the small hallway on our second floor. We are space challenged here at MHC. However, where there’s a will, there’s a way…. that’s my motto.

After much consideration, I decided to hang the reimagined bulletin board here. (I will be creating another one for the living room.)


Just a few things on it at the moment – when something inspires me, I will add it to the mix.


This gorgeous ribbon came from Andrea Singarella. Her blog, Everyday Beauty is simply gorgeous. I fell in love with the soft pastels she uses in her creations. The ‘C’ is from my friend Elyse and the bird was created by my friend Joy.


Vintage Chick button from Joy – Vowels print from my friend Heidi.


A McCoy pot full of pens, markers for quilting, a seam ripper, millinery flowers and tags made by Jill at Gypsy Brocante.


While shopping for Christmas presents, I found this little framed beauty. I love that vintage graphic. The ballerina in a little jar is from Linda Crispell.


The starfish and cherub are from Vintage Sue. The Carl Larsson prints are from IKEA – I used them in my temporary digs in San Diego.


A beautiful watercolor from Helene and a little pink chick from Elyse.


My ribbon board – full of favorite quotes, cards and notes from my blogging friends, my Ravelry button from Rhinebeck, a button from Heidi’s shop.


One of my favorite quotes – ever. I’ve carried it around with me for several years. Oh, and my Paul McCartney ticket. The red button came as part of the wrapping on a little gift from Amy at Inspire Company.


More quotes, cards and a photo of my best friend Laural and me taken a few years ago in Manhattan. Laural and I have been best of friends since I was 12 and she was 13. She lives outside of Chicago and is also in theater. My nails no longer look that nice – I went back to my real nails, for better or worse.


Blogging friends make such creative tags and I’m starting to gather them together in one spot. Some blogger had a post about using these tags in her studio space and darned if I can remember who it was!


There was a play on Broadway in the 40’s called Claudia. It was a big hit and was eventually made into a movie with Dorothy McGuire. There was a sequel made called Claudia and David. I’ve always known about these movies because they influenced the names my parents chose for my brother and me. A few years ago, my antique dealer friend Suzanne found this original program from the Broadway play and gave it to me.


I saw this piece in a shop over two months ago. When I went back recently, it was still there and so reasonably priced that I snapped it up. It is beautifully embroidered and is a doilies roll. Was that the way doilies were stored? I’ve kept in on the roll but I may hang it somewhere.


The sewing corner of the studio. There is also the design wall portion but I haven’t really changed anything there. As I finish this post, I am taken by how many of the items that are a part of this space are from my blogging friends. My life has been enriched by your friendship.

This is my happy place.

Filed Under: Fellow bloggers, studio 35 Comments

A Quick and Easy Office Chair Re-Do

August 10, 2009 at 12:00 pm by Claudia


Hello, Happy Monday! We all have them – office chairs. To my mind, they are necessary but unattractive. After my recent post about my creative space, I started obsessing about my ugly office chair (which I conveniently left out of my photos.) What could I do that would pretty it up but cost nothing?

I went through my linens and found 2 pillowcases I thought might work. One of them was embroidered by my grandmother and has her standard hand-crocheted edging. The other is a battenburg lace pillow sham that I used many years ago.


The great thing about the sham is that it slips neatly over the seat of the chair.


The other pillowcase slips over the seat back and with some discreet stitching, fits rather nicely. I positioned it so that it covers up the adjustment knob on the back of the chair.


And there is my seat cover! It costs nothing and will do nicely until I actually make a slip cover. Both pillowcases can be taken off quite easily for washing. This looks a lot better than the nubby grey fabric that magically attracted every stray dog hair. I may cut out the interior panel on the Battenburg lace case at some point – or I may not. I think this suits the look of my little studio nook nicely.

Filed Under: DIY, studio 23 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

Thanks for stopping by.

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The Dogs

Scout & Riley. Riley left us in 2012. Scout left us in February 2016. Dearest babies. Dearest friends.

Winston - Our first dog. We miss you, sweetheart.

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