The Art Studio

The sewing room/art studio in the Mouse House took some thought. It was hard to decide what should go in it–I have so much in my own studio that paring it down was a challenge.

I began with the paint jars and brushes. The “jars” are just slices of a plastic drinking straw I cut and painted. I then attached “snap” for the tops. I also made bins of scrapbook paper and a bottle of glue from a plastic syringe and a label from the internet.

Paint jars, bins of paper, glue and brushes on the studio shelves.

I made the paint brushes with small skewers trimmed to size. I was able to “shred” the skewers at the top to make the bristles which I then dipped into black paint and wrapped with a silver piece of foil.

I completed the shelves with bins of yarn and fabric, bottles of buttons, a crate of scrap wood and a paper cutter I made with wood and foil.

A close-up of the paper cutter (with thanks to my friend Jan for the idea!)

Next, I built the sewing machine. It took awhile for me to find the right pieces to build it but once I discovered this electrical-connector-thingie in one of my junk boxes I knew I was on to something. With a little glue, paint, snaps, buttons and foil, this is what I came up with:

I completed the sewing machine “vignette” with a pedal and attached it to a table with assorted sewing supplies.

I added a design wall above the sewing table complete with a partial quilt and yellow sticky-note reminders on the wall; an ironing space on top of a fabric cupboard; a trash can; table lamp; more sewing supplies; and a banner I made from trim I bought on my trip to India in 2020.