Welcome to behind the scenes with Sondra Lyn at Home!
…Or, as it turns out, an episode of True Confessions!!
Blogland can be a little like OZ, in that you see only what the kook behind the curtain lets you see. Today I’m going to invite you to go BEHIND the curtain with me!
But first I need to thank Jeanette at Country Design Style for bringing me in on this very fun tour. I’d say by now hundreds, if not thousands of blogs have participated. The Blogland Tour took off like an ice-bucket challenge!
Jeanette blogs at Country Design Style…
I love Jeanette’s blog! One of her most fun posts in my opinion is 10 Things to do with a Broken Spindle! How’s that for ingenuity?? Another favorite involves spindles, among other wood scraps, which she magically transformed into a mantle… well, an entire faux fireplace (pictured above)!
And look how she transformed a plain old chalkboard eraser with wood trim! I found this post months ago, before I even knew Jeanette, and wanted to do this. Most of us have a chalkboard of some kind in our homes, but we probably don’t have the pretty eraser to go with it!
I hope you’ll stop by and visit Jeanette at Country Design Style!
Now for the scary part!
I was assigned four questions to answer, sort of interview style, so here goes:
1. What am I working on?
The most important project I have going on right now is (drumroll, please)…. Taking care of my little baby grandson (not what you were expecting, huh?)! Since I am, in effect, ‘retired’ (i.e. no day job), I offered to keep him rather than my daughter and son-in-love putting him in daycare. And I just have to tell you that it’s the most rewarding, most fun thing I’ve ever done! He is the bomb! He is so cute that when I say that we ‘watch’ our grandbaby, that is exactly what I mean: we WATCH him! He provides a kind of entertainment that I’ve never had before. Everything they say about being a grandparent is absolutely true… wonderful doesn’t begin to describe it. Here is our little munchkin:
But, you say, what in the creative world are you working on?
I’ve always got more potential projects going in my head than I can reasonably implement! But at the moment, I am painting some thrift store steals (kitchen chairs), papering a wall with beadboard paper, and planning a master bedroom redo! Also in the works is an e-book! I’m not ready to divulge the topic just yet, but the outline and much of the content is complete.
2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Now that’s a hard one. I am one of many fish in the Design/Lifestyle ‘Blocean’! It IS a challenge to find your ‘niche’ and build a loyal following. I think I’m still working at that. One thing I know for sure is that I am learning much about myself!
Personally, I like many different décor styles. There are aspects of the wildly popular industrial style that I love, while I also love a great traditional bird print fabric! A long time ago one of my design mentors said ‘buy what you love and it will all work together!’
3. Why do I write/create what I do?
The short answer to this questions is a simple 3 words: I LOVE IT. The long answer has a lot to do with both losing my mom and with becoming a grandma!
4. How does your writing/ creating process work?
Because I love writing so much, I can write late into the night, and then when I lay down to go to sleep, I am still writing in my head! Is there a name for this condition??
Now for the true confessions part of this question. I am not the most organized person you know! Not even close!! There are times when I have way too much clutter in my house to get anything done. And, of course, now there are baby toys and paraphernalia…
As you can see in the photo above, there’s no telling what’s going on outside the view in the camera lens. Just beyond the fancy-ness of this tablescape lies all kinds of ‘stuff’!
And in the mantel shot, my candlesticks just weren’t quite right, so I used cans of food to give them a little boost (hey, I was in a hurry!).
Well, that about sums it up for me. I invite you to grab a cup of coffee and linger awhile!!
Honestly, God truly did make us in His image, because there are some insanely creative people in this world! It’s my privilege to introduce you to three supremely creative bloggers who will answer these same questions on September 8th! (We are taking a break from the tour next Monday as it is Labor Day and we hope you will be enjoying summer’s last hurrah with your family and friends!)
The first is my new Canadian friend, Thea from Time with Thea:
Thea is a Canadian blogger who recently retired from being a full time working mother as an elementary school teacher. She has always loved anything to do with home and garden whether it is craft and DIY projects, gardening, cooking and her absolute favourite organizing. Thea now has the time to pursue all of her interests and her blog ‘Time With Thea’ is a place where she shares these with her readers. Thea loves everything to do with blogging but mostly the connections and friends she has made with other bloggers. You will sometimes see a hint of her Canadian life woven throughout her blog!
Another good friend, Jeanie from Create and Babble (don’t you just LOVE her blog name?!)…
Hi all! I’m Jeanie from Create & Babble. I’m a recent empty-nester who loves to create and well, babble. I credit my love of all things DIY to my parents. My dad was a shop teacher and my mom was a home ec teacher, so as you can imagine most things in my growing-up home were handmade. I love seeing so many of us going back to those days: if you want it, you make it! And I love being a part of that movement by sharing my DIY home improvement projects, home decorating ideas and easy craft projects. Oh, and if you own a Silhouette we are going to be great friends! I’d love for you to follow along with me as I “make pretty things, and make things pretty”!
And finally, don’t you just love it when life throws some serendipity your way and you happen upon someone enchanting? Well, I have recently discovered Amy at A Cup Full of Sass:
Hi my name is Amy from A Cup Full of Sass. I am a stay at home mom to three kids who keep me pretty busy. I enjoy coming up with new recipes, doing DIY projects and sharing products I love. I am a firm believer that sharing is caring. So here you will find a variety of different things. I could never blog about just one subject. (wink) I love connecting with my readers, so stop by and say hello.
I truly hope you’ll visit each one of these talented bloggers and read all about what makes them tick!
Have an awesome week!