Have you heard the news about Green Door Studio opening in Brighton? No? Read on.

Can’t wait to get started! Rachel and I seem to think it is taking forever but in reality we didn’t make the decision all that long ago.

I’ve missed my friends and acquaintances from Scrap Tales since the store closed, and though I have been teaching regularly since then I wasn’t able to find a location to teach in my own stomping grounds. I was determined I was going to open a very small studio by the end of the year – just enough space for a class of 6-8 students. Since Rachel had left Staples after nearly 11 years, she knew she wanted to work for herself, but at what?

Since I’m into crafting and she’s into DIY we put our heads and talents together to offer up the Green Door Studio (Green has duo meaning here, since Rachel and I are both avid recyclers). We’re working on re-purposing and repainting furniture and home decor items and I have two beautiful classrooms for teaching. It’s actually been fun shopping estate sales and flea markets together and on our own. I never realized just how much I really do enjoy re-purposing a piece and making it look pretty; it’s actually quite relaxing. We both have different tastes and we can go head-to-head at times – she is so much like her mother (just ask her father) – but we’re also enjoying combining our knowledge and talents to create this business. We’re starting it on nothing more than dreams and a tight shoestring budget but are confident it will work.

Here’s what you’ll find at Green Door Studio: A creative environment with a friendly atmosphere. A place where you can pop in to see what’s new in the way of home decor furnishings as well as class offerings – lots of classes! At times you might even find some pieces to use in your art – how cool will that be! May Arts ribbons and a few other trinkets here and there.

Mingles are offered every Friday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. beginning Sept. 13. Bring a project – knit, crochet, cards, scrapbook, etc. – to work on in either of our classroom areas. Enjoy a snack, beverage and the wonderful company of others as you sit and mingle.

I’m moving my home studio to Green Door Studio so you’ll often find me there working away on some project, and we have a work cubby in the back where furniture pieces will be getting facelifts or for working on custom orders.

We’re opening at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 7 and will hang around till 6 p.m to meet and greet so come see us! We can’t wait to show you the shop. We’ve spent all of August trying to get everything cleaned, painted, carpeted and lit. Now we just need to move our stuff in there! That will be ongoing for a bit but we can’t wait any longer to get that door open.

Among the projects I’ve been working on is a beautiful retro mirror made by Illinois Moulding Company in the 60’s. I’ve researched it online and they were known as shadow box mirrors. In the 60’s everyone used them to hold their tiny collectibles.  Mine was in bad shape with the speckled glass trim strips being broken so i removed those.

I had to figure out how to tape the mirror off before painting because I intended to spray. I didn’t want to take it apart because it was still tightly sealed and I didn’t want to disturb that seal. I cut newspaper to fit about 1/2 inch in from the edges and was able to slide it gently under the shelves. When I was trying to tape off the edges the paper kept moving and I was getting frustrated. I went into my studio and grabbed my Xyron Adhesive Dots and used those to hold the paper in place. I know I’ll be able to remove them easily when finished and they worked great at holding that paper down so I could get it taped correctly! I love it when craft crosses over to furniture redos!

It took me days to settle on a color before going with this tropical breeze. I love the color! It will look fabulous when it’s done.

So, please stop in Sept. 7 to say ‘Hi’ and look the place over. We’re located at 8014 Grand River Ave., Brighton (near Hacker & Grand River; in the same building as the Dog House and Bob John’s Clocks). Phone is slated to be hooked up Friday along with internet but you can email us at: thegreendoorstudio@yahoo.com. Be sure to sign up to follow via email at our blog: Green Door Studio and like our Facebook page: Green Door Studio.