A New Studio Update & Dixie Belle Paint : :

Hello All! Well, these past two weeks have certainly been some of the busiest of my life! Just three weeks ago on Monday, September 25th we looked at a newly available downtown rental space and decided to make the big move to get me and all the things out of the small sitting room in our home, that has been my sewing studio for the past almost five years, and into a space where I could go to work each day. Five years ago I could have never imagined where I'd be today and that I would ever outgrow this space as I have. Since deciding on the new studio, it's been a whirlwind of painting and cleaning, packing and moving, organizing and getting just settled enough to get me sewing again. These long days I know will be worth it! With all that has to be done this month for Quilt Market in Houston just a few weeks away, there have been moments that have felt like this is the worst possible timing, and then I'll remind myself that in another way it has been a true blessing to have no choice but to make it all happen as fast as possible. Today, just three weeks later, I'm about to head out the door for my first official work day in my new studio space! We've come a long way, very quickly, and today I plan to take some nice photos of how nicely things are coming along. But first, I want to share a little bit of the before photos, along with some of the Dixie Belle Paint projects I finished up last week. These first photos are from the first couple of days when we began clean up, wallpaper and office furniture removal, and painting...





Clearly this space was in need of some major love, but as the built-in office furniture and dingy wallpaper borders came down, the walls were patched and painted with a few coats of semi glass white and the carpet professionally cleaned, it transformed quickly into a cute space that feels just the right size for this next big step for my little business.



You may recall me mentioning Dixie Belle Paint in the past when about a year ago I was contacted by the Dixie Belle Paint Company to receive some product in exchange for a blog post that I happily accepted! Haila and I spent one weekend back in November and gave our hand me down dining room set a weekend makeover. We loved the results and I shared our paint project here on the blog. Since, I've been hooked on this paint and have been thrifting wood furniture and collecting paint for more chalk mineral paint makeovers to do and share once I found a bigger studio space to rent. Last week, using a few of my favorite colors -- Sea Glass, Mint Julep, Palmetto, and Colonel Mustard, I started painting some of those furniture pieces for the studio and I am so happy with how each has turned out!

















What do you think so far? I think the combination of the white walls and these pretty colors really brightened up the space and it smells so clean, hooray! And although Quilt Market prep needs to be my number one priority these next few weeks, I can't help but take breaks from sewing to slowly fill these shelves and begin to work on my fabric collection displays. I'll be back soon to show you more, I can't wait for you to see!

xo Maureen