while i was in arizona, i got to hang out in two yummy and inspiring studios - belonging to sisters liz & emily. they used to live next to do each other but since my last trip to az they've both moved houses but still live closeby. i loved seeing how they had both set up their new creative spaces...want to snoop around them with me?
liz makes all kinds of cool stuff, but jewellery (yes i am going to spell it the aussie way!) is her first love. she has her metalsmith station on one side of the studio where she melts, hammers, stamps and does other cool stuff to silver...
on the other side of the studio she has a long workbench with computer, sewing stuff, baby stuff, and just cool stuff to look at. an island in the middle with lots of storage underneath. liz is all about storage, and being organized. i need her to live closer to me!
one end of the studio is for her boys to hang out in, so lots of fun stuff for them to play with and look at. i love this alphabet she made for them :)
liz can make anything. she's clever like that. while i was there i helped her with a massive king size quilt she started - totally her style - grungy and funky and colourful. i can't wait to see it finished!
i'm completely in love with the necklace she made for me....arrrr! i got to rummage through all of her stuff and say "make this bit like this...then do this here...and yep i want that!"...and it turned out exactly how i wanted!
(liz's online catalogue with all her designs is here)
while liz's house is full of metal and bikes and 3 little boys...her sister em is up the road with 3 little girls! emily is also insanely multi-talented and makes heaps of different cool things for her home and family. she has a big open studio off her kitchen, with lots of space to move around in, and handmade-by-her (she is amazing!) workbenches and shelving.
em has a great eye for colour and i'm in love with all her grungy and distressed touches she adds to her work.
emily makes signs and frames. really cool ones. she builds the frames herself, then uses tin, paint, mod podge, paper, cardboard and goodness knows what else to create these funky pieces.
i think she's so clever to takes basic stuff and turn it into this!...so rustic and unique. i brought my favourite of her signs home with me...
can't decide where to put it yet and it has been travelling from my bedroom to the living room to the kitchen to outside!
em & liz are each offering a $30 gift certificate to their shops as a giveaway! leave a comment below, telling us why your life is 'beauty full'...and a winner will be drawn at random on friday!
winners!!! picked by the true and trusted squint-&-point method (this time via mick's hairy finger):
katie, please email me so i can organise your winnings! morgs, birthday weekends must bring good luck hey? mick and his hairy finger finally came through!
My life is *beauty full* because now that my two kids are in school, I went back to university to achieve my goal/dream of becoming an art teacher. I enjoy every minute of my new life :-)
Posted by: Myriam | April 13, 2011 at 07:14 PM
three smart healthy kids makes my life beauty-full.
Posted by: Maureen | April 13, 2011 at 07:51 PM
Wow, their stuff rocks! My life is beauty FULL because I have love in my home, two beautiful kids to experience life with(one who is recovering from Autism - amazing boy) and a wonderful husband who is more patient than I!
Posted by: Lisa | April 13, 2011 at 08:32 PM
My life is beauty full because I am learning to simplify and I can teach my children that skill unlike the stressed out life I was taught.
Posted by: Darrah | April 13, 2011 at 08:49 PM
oh, wow! both of their spaces are so incredibly inspiring! i think you picked the perfect piece to bring home and your necklace is PERFECTION all wrapped up on a tiny circle. :)
life in and of itself is 'beauty full'. the boring and mundane, the exciting and full of joy. it's all good. but mostly what makes it so 'beauty full' are two little girls, who i'm lucky enough to call my daughters....who love me despite my shortcomings and are the best at extending forgiveness when i fail them.
thank your friends for giving all of us a chance to win!
Posted by: taniawillis | April 13, 2011 at 08:57 PM
Totally loving the beauty full spring weather we're finally getting. Also loving the giveaway- thanks.
Posted by: kimbrygc | April 13, 2011 at 08:59 PM
these sisters are amazing! today my life became a little extra beauty full when we found out that the bunny that lives in our yard had babies today! she built her nest right beside our front steps and this afternoon we saw five beautiful little still-wet bunnies in there!
Posted by: allison | April 13, 2011 at 09:14 PM
my life is Beauty Full because it includes my precious wee ones and this amazing earth.
Posted by: Ash | April 13, 2011 at 09:39 PM
wow such cool spaces. My life is beauty full cos of my kids and hubby, my garden and amazing blogs like these. They bring sunshine to my day.
Posted by: Di | April 13, 2011 at 09:59 PM
great giveaway :) my live is full of beauty because I am graduating school! excited, yet nervous about the upcoming graduate school. these would help me focus on the positive!
Posted by: Krista H | April 13, 2011 at 10:02 PM
my life is beauty FULL because of the wonderFULL people in it!!
Posted by: Vivian | April 13, 2011 at 10:13 PM
Beautiful studios they have! My life is "beauty full" because I am surrounded by people who love me; I love to create; and I try to live an honest, truthful life.
Posted by: KathleenB | April 13, 2011 at 10:30 PM
my life is beauty full because i am finally at a place in it where i know, and seek, all that i need. love looking at these cool studios and the talented women who inhabit them.
Posted by: laurie b | April 13, 2011 at 10:53 PM
My life is beauty full because of God's love and my sweet family!
Posted by: Rose | April 13, 2011 at 11:00 PM
My life is beauty full because through the physical eye-it is messy,disheveled,chaotic and interrupted.Through my soul's eye I see my life as peaceful,calming,rooted and flowing.It makes my heart sing.
Posted by: Angie Glaze | April 13, 2011 at 11:42 PM
My life is beauty FULL because I just celebrated my 8th wedding anniversary yesterday and 13 years in all together with my best friend. Everything truly happens for a reason and even the hardest things we go through can bring clarity in the most unbelievable ways. After a long, tough year my husband and I clawed through, held on and made it through. Now much stronger and there wholly for each other and for our 2 boys. Life, even when it's tough, truly is beauty full.
Posted by: Christy | April 13, 2011 at 11:49 PM
I've got two healthy, happy boys and an awesome husband. That makes my life beauty-full. :)
Posted by: Leslie | April 13, 2011 at 11:56 PM
I loved that sign so much I headed straight over to em's shop and bought one on persistence! But I would love to gift my bff who is leaving town with one! My life is beauty-full because it is filled with a hundred moments of love every day...xD
Posted by: Donna Heart | April 14, 2011 at 12:14 AM
thanks for introducing us to these lovelies!!!
My life is beautiful because I am living the life I want to live with my beautiful daughters an awesome husband.
Thanks for the chance!!!
Posted by: Funky Mommy | April 14, 2011 at 12:15 AM
my life is beauty full - everywhere I look spring is bursting out.
So much inspiration here - thank you for sharing!
Posted by: Cyn | April 14, 2011 at 12:34 AM
My life at glance doesn't seem beauty filled right now, actually kind rough and dark....BUT there is always beauty, isn't there.
Sunny and 70 today, 2 beautiful kids, a husband who helps wash the dishes, a working vaccum, bean and cheese burritos, the color turquoise, new butterflies, laundry on the line.
there is ALWAYS beauty!!!
Posted by: amy souza | April 14, 2011 at 12:35 AM
Love their spaces for creating and their creations! I can find beauty in all it's fullness in my children's faces as we chat during lunch, in the smell of sunshine on their skin and in my husband's hands as he holds mine.
Posted by: Aimee | April 14, 2011 at 12:55 AM
Three beauty-full girls - a busy life, and everyone healthy and happy.
Posted by: Naomi | April 14, 2011 at 02:17 AM
Aww- Life is "Beauty Full" mostly because of the joy and chaos 3 little ones bring ; )
mIss you!
xoxo
Posted by: Morgan | April 14, 2011 at 02:37 AM
My life is beauty full because my dreams are slowly becoming realities and its a beauty full thing!
Posted by: michelle | April 14, 2011 at 04:52 AM