Day: January 17, 2009

In This Issue

Easy, Inexpensive Ways to Redo Your Studio

Learn new techniques with Pokey Bolton & Friends!

Easy, Inexpensive Ways to Redo Your Studio

A new year, the lack of light, and cabin fever (for those of us in cold climates) often moves us to mix things up and make a change in our surroundings. Here are 10 ways you can rev up your studio or other creative space (even if it’s just a desk) quickly and inexpensively.

1. Rearrange the furniture. Saying, “What if I put the desk over there?” and doing so, can give you a fresh perspective on your room and your art.
2. Let in the light. Remove the window treatments or, if privacy is an issue, install blinds or shades that will let in maximum light during the day and can be closed at night. Not only will this help more light shine on your artwork and your psyche, it will give the room a cleaner, airier look.
3. Put light on the subject. Those fancy “natural light” lamps are great, but even a small but powerful desk lamp will help you see things in a better light and avoid eye strain.
4. Get “new” furniture. Do like the furniture re-arrangers do on those home dec shows and “shop” for furniture in other rooms of your house. Is there a funky old desk in the garage? An extra chair in the guest room that would make a cozy place to embroider in? Sweep out the old and swap in the “new.”
5. Paint. A can of paint costs very little yet it can transform a room, warming it up, making it cheery, or conjuring up calm.
6. Floor it. Hard floors are usually best for sewing-oriented rooms—the better to sweep up threads and find dropped needles. But to give your floor some added oomph, put a colorful throw rug here or there away from the sewing machine or pick up an inexpensive piece of patterned linoleum to put down like a rug under your work area.
7. Find fresh inspiration. If you have an inspiration board, change the pictures or swatches. Find a new quote or quotes to create by and pin or staple them to the board. Cover the board with fresh fabric or paper. Or use something unusual for your “board,” like a large, lightweight metal tray, and attach your pictures and notes with magnets.
8. Change the scenery. Creative people need to stare out windows. If the space where you create has no windows or small, high ones (like in a basement), create your own “view.” Hang a large, framed photo of your favorite vacation spot or other vista where you’d like your window to be. Or, if you have the talent, paint a mural of your favorite view on a wall.
9. Trade spaces. So, you’ve been working in a corner of the dining room while a guest room upstairs goes unused 50 weeks of the year? Maybe it’s time to turn the “inn” into a studio with a fold-out sofa bed.
10. Get some new goodies. A couple of fat quarters, a new sketch pad, some dyes you’ve been longing to try, even a new pair of scissors—a small splurge goes a long way to upping your energy level and igniting the creative spark.

Looking for more ways to organize and spruce up your studio? Get the Fall/Winter issue of Cloth Paper Scissors Studios now.

Learn new techniques with Pokey Bolton & Friends!

On “Quilting Arts TV” and in The Quilting Arts Book, Pokey Bolton brings together some of the best creative minds in the art quilting world to bring you techniques, tricks, and inspiration. With the “QATV” DVD sets, you can watch and enjoy each of the three seasons at your own pace. The Quilting Arts Book shows you much of the best artwork and tutorials from Quilting Arts Magazine. Whether you are an experienced art quilter or just learning the basics, Pokey’s book and DVDs will help you take your art to the next level—and beyond!

Get the “QATV” DVDs now.
Get The Quilting Arts Book now.

To our customers: Please allow 10 days to process your order, due to the fact that our offices will be closed between Christmas and New Year’s. We thank you for your patience. Happy holidays from Quilting Arts.

Watch the Quilting Arts Holiday Video!