And the Winner is........

Bonjour all,

Yes, today is the day for my Paris shabby chic giveaway, and I have randomly picked a name out of my french toille box! I have major butterflies in my stomach because I am excited to see who the winner is.

So without further ado, here she is

SHERRY/CHERIE of Esprit * d' art

Congratulations Sherry, I hope you enjoy the collage as much as I enjoyed creating it. It was so exciting to be making something that I was going to give away to a fellow artist!

Sherry has a wonderful shop at Esprit d' art on etsy, so if you'd like to check out her creations go to http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5343810 and peruse her wonderful artwork.

Now, to those of you who didn't get chosen today, don't be discouraged because there are five more giveaways in celebration of my Paris trip, so stay tuned for the May giveaway sneek peek

in a couple of weeks. You don't have to sign in to my blog again to be on the list, I will use your past comments for the remaining giveaways, of course I would love for you to still visit my blog and see what I have going on or what I have to say for the day!!!!

All of you just put such joy into my heart with your comments and thank you so much for sharing the places that you would love to visit. I hope and pray that each one of you will get the opportunity to travel to your dream destinations and when you do, I expect photos!!! lol

talk to you soon,

deborah

The mirror doesn't show our true beauty

Hi all,
I just finished reading an article in the May issue of More magazine. I love this mag because it focuses on women over 40. The ads and articles for the most part show women (and sometimes men) who have experience written on their faces as well as in their hearts and souls.
Don't get me wrong, I also love the "young" mags too, like Allure and such, but More mag just gives me alot more "aha" (as Oprah would say) moments!
Which brings me back to the article that I just finished. It has to do with the spark in our faces that shows to others our unique energy. Here's the first few paragraphs, written by the author Kathryn Harrison that really made me rethink about how I perceive my own image in the mirror.
----------------------------------------------------------
"I'm 20 when my father looks at me and says, "You know, you've never seen your real self. I have, but all you've seen is your reflection in the mirror. An image that looks very much like you but isn't the same as you. Not really, not exactly."
"Why wouldn't it be exactly the same?" I ask, irritated because my father is always doing this: telling me why I belong to him and not to myself.
He explains that light is lost inside a mirror; a reflected image lacks the illuminous property of the object itself. As an experienced photographer, he conveys authority about such things. "Try it," he says, and he pulls me next to him before the mirror. "Look at me," he says. "Look at the real me here beside you, and then look at my reflection. They aren't the same. You'll see they aren't the same."
I don't want my father to be right. I don't want him to own what he says he does, the way I really look, leaving me with what sounds like an approximation of myself, inexact and indistinct, no better than a Xerox. But when I compare the actual man with his image, I see he's right-they aren't the same. The mirror father is dimmer, duller, not quite alive.
So it's true, what he says: I have never seen and will never see the real me."
---------------------------------------------------------------
Okay, so this author, seems to have "issues" regarding her father, but looking past that issue, something just changed in my thinking, when I read those previous paragraphs. My natural personality is to have a very positive outlook on my appearance and my aging, but for some reason when I look in that darn mirror all that positiveness just flys out the bathroom window!
And this article caused me to realize why that is, it's the spark, the energy, the spirit, that God places within each one of us, that makes us truly beautiful. It cannot be seen in a reflection of a mirror. The mirror only shows the ravages of time, or the contours of our jaw line etc. but what really makes us who we are is the spark, the light!!

Believe me or not, but this revelation has freed me from the mirror woes. Of course, I will have days, I'm sure, where I will think "you old hag, you" lol, but my mind has now changed it's perspective and I won't let myself think that what I see in the mirrors reflection is really me.

I'll talk to you soon,
deborah

Sneak Peek of Paris Shabby Chic giveaway!!

Bonjour all,

I just wanted to give you a little sneak peek of the Paris giveaway. It's still a work in progress but will be finished in a couple of days.

So, on April 30th I will randomly pull one name from all your lovely comments on my posts and that person will be Aprils Paris giveaway winner. I wish I had something to give to all of you because I am loving reading all your fav places to visit.

But don't be discouraged if you don't win this time, because I am doing the giveaway for May, June, July, August and Sept. too and if you already have left me a comment on previous posts then you are still in the loop for the next giveaways.

talk to you soon,

deborah

Sneak peek of wedding banner and check out my swap surprise!

Hi all,
I recently was in a swap and the theme was spring. My partner was thepinktulip. And I just had to show you what she sent me. I am sooo in love with this little fairy girl. She's saying a blessing over the roses so they will bloom this season. Isn't she darling? I find myself carrying her around from room to room so I can glance up at her every once in a while and giggle.
And I couldn't resist photographing her amongst my flowers where I'm sure she just felt so at home, and check out http://thepinktulip.etsy.com/ to see more little creations.

I've never been involved in a swap before online and it was really fun. I was a little nervous about what I would make for my swap partner but she said she really loved it, so I'm glad.
I am in the midst of doing another swap centered around Marie Antionette and we are to decorate a box and then fill it with goodies.
Talk about crafting like mad!!! I think maybe I'm in a little bit over my head. Two swaps, and making things for etsy and doing another collage for another auction benefit. I think when my swap box is finished then I'm going to totally concentrate on my etsy shop. I've decided to start a line of wedding banners, and collages that would be perfect for wedding showers and receptions so that will definetely keep me busy creating.

Hope you enjoy the photos of the swap and the sneak peek of the wedding banner.
I'll talk to you soon,
deborah

PS. don't forget to sign up for the Paris shabby chic giveaway on the previous post.

My second sale!

Hi all, I promise this will be the last time I showcase one of my sales (okay, maybe not the last time, lol ). But I just had to tell someone! I finished this frenchy style love banner on a Sunday night and the next morning it sold!!! I had so much fun making this because it is in the french style and that is my favorite thing to create. I almost kept it to hang in my Paris room but then reprimanded myself and listed it on my etsy shop, and I am so glad I did.

There's just something about a banner that says fun and whimsy. You can put them out for a party or hang them up to add to your decor, either way I think they bring a little joy to the day.And who doesn't need more joy in their everyday life?!

I kind of messed up on the shipping though, it turned out to be more than I thought it would be to mail it so I lost out a little on that end of it, but I'm still learning when it comes to this whole selling thing so hopefully I'll get it all figured out soon.

I'm starting to work on my Paris shabby chic giveaway creation, so will give you all a little sneak peek of it in a couple of days. If you still haven't signed up for the giveaway just post a comment here or on the post with the photo of the bonjour door and let me know where in the world you would like to visit and I'll put you in the drawing.

Hope you have a wonderful day and will talk with you soon,

deborah

My first sale!!

Hello all,

Yes, I had my first sale last week! I knew it would happen eventually or at least I had hoped It would.
I was on my way to retire for the night and before turning off the computer decided to check my e-mail first and lo and behold there was a message from paypal saying they had a payment for me.
So in the midst of my excitement I checked it out and sure enough, someone had bought my little yellow box!
There is something so amazing about a complete stranger purchasing something that you have made. For me, it encourages me to keep on creating and it puts an extra spark of imagination into my designs.
I hope that my little yellow box brings its new owner a little bit of sunshine in their life and sparks their own creativeness and imagination.

talk to you soon,
deborah

PS. The Paris shabby chic giveaway is still going on so if you'd like to be a part of it just click on the comment in the previous post and tell me where in this wonderful world you would like to travel to.

Paris inspired give away!

Bonjour mon ami,

In anticipation of my art trip to Paris in October I am having my first give away. It will be a french shabby chic creation and it will be a monthly give away starting April 1st and ending on October 1st. So if you would like to be included in the April giveaway just leave me a comment, s'il vous plait (if you please) here on my blog, telling me where you would like to visit, and at the end of the month I will randomly draw a name and that person will be the winner for April.

I will be giving little hints and maybe a few pics soon of what the April giveaway will be.

I'm so looking forward to reading about what your dream trip is.

Au revoir,

deborah

"My Favorite Things" experience

Hi to you,

I finally have the photos to show you of my collage showing at the "My Favorite Things" shop.

This little cozy store in my local town is without a doubt my favorite shop. So their name is the

perfect fit for them. I was in the store one day perusing all the lovely things and got to talking with the store owner, Tina,(that's her and I in the photo, I'm the one with the curly hair) and in the course of the conversation my collages came into the

discussion. Before I knew it, Tina was asking me if I'd like to be her featured artist at her open

house in March and of course I jumped at the offer! The stores focus is on all things Paris and France and of course lot's of glitter, so I created 5 new collages to go along with a few of my already created collages and had quite a repitoire to show.

I didn't sell any collages that evening but I received tons of positive comments and gave out my business cards so my work and name is getting "out there".

Tina is going to do another open house on Memorial day weekend and asked me if I would like to

come and be a part of it again, so I am thrilled.

For me the hardest part of being an artist is the self promotion part which I know many of you artists out there can relate too. But it is a part of the business that has to be done, unless of course you have your own agent. lol. Someday I hope to be successful enough to have one but for now it is just me and myself doing the promoting.

Hope you enjoyed reading about my art adventure, stay tuned because there will be many more!

talk to you soon,

deborah

P.S. check out Tinas website at: http://www.myfavoritethingsnc.com/ or go to her etsy site at: http://www.glittercrowns.etsy.com/ to see her wonderful creations.

Life just flys by

Hello all,

My goodness, how time flys! I have been so into creating my collages for the open house last week that my blogging and other sites just sat in cyber space all alone. lol

I wanted to show a few photos of the open house but my dear hubby has the memory card for the camera, so the photos of the collage showing will have to wait til tomorrow. But here is my latest mini collage, which I just had so much fun creating. There's something about the colors black and cream that just make me think of romance. So I added the image of an embracing couple to the back of a piece of vintage sheet music using a rubber stamp and added a bunch of embellishments.

I wonder what colors bring a feeling of romance to your artsy creations? Maybe, Victorian Red or Tiffany blue?

I'll leave you with that question to ponder and will talk to you all soon,

deborah

Hi all,

Just wanted to show you a photo of my estate treasures that I had talked about the other day.

I'm not trying to make anyone jealous, lol. No, really I'm not, I'm just excited about it and want you to share it too. I have already started using some of the lace in my newest collages. I'm in the midst of creating a few frenchy style collages for the open house I am a part of for the shop "My favorite things". Next thursday is approaching quickly, so I'm trying not to procrastinate, which is a really hard habit for me to break. Especially when I log on to the Cottage Style Street Team forum! The ladies in this group are so super sweet and funny and even though we have never met in person, I feel like we all are friends. And they find the best crafts to look at, and buy!! But that's a whole other topic we could get into. Shopping on Etsy!

Hope you like the photo, now back to collaging,

talk to you soon,

deborah

Guest artist

Hi, I got some great news today, I am going to be the guest artist at a local shop in my town.


A few months back I had gone into this little shop to browse the wonderful treasures on their shelves and the owner was in there and somehow we got onto the subject of my making collages. So next time I was in town I brought a few by for the shop owner to look at and she asked me if I would like to be her featured artist at her spring open house. Of course I said yes and now it's almost here. I have two weeks to create a new line of french inspired vintage collages. So I started today in preparing the canvases with my background colors and now on to the really creative part, the design.

Just yesterday someone told me of an estate sale going on down the street in an old victorian house so of course I hurried right on over there and it was wonderful.I got there at the end of the day but the kind of stuff that I look for doesn't usually sell that fast, so I got the best deals!! All kinds of old vintage lace and crocheted potholders(sold for 25cents each!) a few old photos, and a pile of vintage crocheted doilies. So now I have plenty of inspiration for my new collages.
The old victorian house was/is an inspiration all by it self. Tin paneled ceilings and detailed dental molding, I was just so awed by this lovely old house, it even made me a little emotional to be walking through it with all it's memories. The couple who had owned it were a husband and wife and the husband had been a stuntman for hollywood movies and in between that they had traveled the world together. So romantic!
I felt privileged to have walked through their doors and now to have a few of their treasures and to be able to use them in a new way is just a wonderful feeling.
The people giving the sale said there would be another sale soon of the downstairs rooms as soon as they could organize and price everything. So I will be back.
Let me tell you I was so tempted to buy one of the many victorian mirrors that were on display. There was one particular mirror with carving on the top and a mini painting of a victorian couple dancing that just made me swoon when I saw it. But they were asking 350$ for it so I passed it by.
As you can see from my collage photo of my victorian lady, that I truly love the victorian style. I really think I was born in the wrong era. Oh, but then I wouldn't be here talking with you all and I would miss that.
I'll talk to you soon,
deborah

Spring is coming!!

Hello to you all,

Just thought I'd write up a current post here, and tell you all that I am feeling the spring fever that I've been hearing a rumor about. I know it's coming because when I was out shopping the other day I couldn't resist getting a few of the beautiful potted flowers that were out on the stores patio. These are two of my most fav flowers and they only are around pretty much in the cool weather, ranoculus and stock! When that wonderful aroma of the stock floats by on the breeze it is just heaven.

Oops, I don't have a photo of the stock yet, but here's the ranoc and sweet little pansies. I'm already daydreaming about how I am going to arrange my garden this year. Flowers and veggies, it seems like the flowers always win out over the veggies. I must confess I am a flower addict, I guess that is because as an artist I am truly drawn to color. But it is also so satisfying to be able to pick green beans or squash fresh from the garden for your dinner guests or even just for yourself as you wander around the garden. There's nothing like opening up a sweet pea and popping one into your mouth, yummmm. Even my little doggie sits beside me waiting for his garden treat. Who knew that a dog would love green beans? But he does.
So for all of those of you out there with so many feet of snow, I'm just giving you a little head's up, that spring really is on it's way and it's going to be lovely.
talk to you later,
deborah

Art to be Auctioned

Hello out there,
I had a fun experience yesterday. I had a woman call me the day before asking if I would like to donate any of my art pieces to their auction with all the proceeds to benefit the local school of the arts in our town. They had seen my name in the brochure that had been published for the studio art tour that I had participated in last fall. I thought it would be a really fun thing to do and hopefully would help their school. So I proceeded to look through all of my collages and I decided on this one. It's a pretty large canvas and I had wondered recently how would I ever ship it to someone through the mail as part of it is really fragile. So this was a wonderful way to give it a home and at the same time help a worthy cause.
So I jumped in my car picked up my mom(thought she'd like the country drive) and headed out.
I had never been to their school before and was so wonderfully surprised.
The woman who greeted us in the lobby was so friendly and she loved my collage (thought it was way underpriced, so that was a nice compliment). And she asked us if we'd like to have a quick tour.
It was so exciting!!! I wish, wish, wish that when I had been growing up that there had been a school like this one that I could of gone to. Every subject is centered around art! It was on the school hall walls, and in all their projects. We got to go into the main art studio and I was just in awe! Everything looked so organized in an artsy sort of way and fun. The woman taking us on the tour told us that the childrens grades are on track with the public schools and even above in some instances. But being a charter school means that only the government funds the schooling part but not the building, so that was why they were having an auction fund raiser to help pay the huge rental fees.
I can't wait to go to the auction, enjoy the art, listen to the music, and eat the hor'dourves but most of all I will be so honored to know I am contributing to this wonderful art school. Hope my collage finds a good home and is enjoyed.
talk to you soon,
deborah

Women Entrepreneurs

Hi out there,
I just bought this new book called "crafting a business, make money doing what you love" and it's really wonderful! It is made up of a group of women who have all started their own business.
Some of them are quilters, some are doll makers, some are cake designers. The list goes on and on. And they also each give out a trade secret, for example, advice like: take the time to get away from your business, travel somewhere to revive your creative spirit, or it's drive, not luck, that fuels a successful career. Also at the end of each artists section they write what their dream is for their business.
The photos are great in this book and we get to see the artists creations as well as their work environment. Also at the end of the book are all the artists web sites so you can find out more about their work.
The book also includes a section on "your business plan", financing, presenting your vision and more.
I'm really enjoying this book because it really inspires me to not give up and just keep on doing what I love. For me, it really helps to see how other women started out and what keeps them going.
talk to you soon,
deborah

Women Entrepreneurs

I just read the most wonderful article in Country Living magazine regarding women entrepreneurs. There's a whole section on women artists and it is really inspiring.

There's also an article on vintage jewelry further along in the mag. and one of the artists is also on etsy. Her shop is t8designs.etsy.com. Check it out, her creations are really beautiful.



I am so excited about my etsy shop because I now have a starrydeborah banner. My daughter has been working on it for me and I just think it is so beautiful. It's a close up shot of one of my collages and it really has a 3-d look. I now feel totally official as an etsy artist.

I've been working on a few new creations, one is a round hat size box that I am giving a vintage aged look to and another is a small cylinder container with a yellow cream color theme and when I'm finished with these two items I am going to focus in on making a few all occasion cards. Actually, making cards is what I totally love to do. Every christmas I make over 40 handmade cards for family and friends. It can be kind of stressful because I tend to procrastinate and wait until the last minute to make them, but otherwise I really love it.

All my creating lately is done at my family room table. I have a trailer studio on our property but it is not heated so in the winter I have to bring all my supplies inside where it's warm.

My hubby is going to build me a cozy artists studio this summer so eventually all my creating will be away from the main house. But for now, as you can see in the above photo, it's in the house for all to see when they come to visit.

Okay, it's to my creating I must go now, talk to you soon,
deborah

Hello, Hope you all haven't given up on me! I've just been trying to get all my other
sites up and running. I now am a part of the group cottage style too. It's http://etsycottagestyle.ning.com/?xgsi=1 . When you get a chance check out all the wonderful artists, it is just mind boggling.

Hey, I just read the most wonderful article on women entrepreneurs. It's in the March issue of Country Living magazine and it is so inspiring. And then further on in the mag. is an article about vintage jewelry. I was drooling over the charm bracelets. And one of the designers is an etsy member, t8designs.etsy. Isn't that cool!?!

I don't know about you but I am so excited about all of this creativeness! It just gives me this high that I can't explain. It reinforces my belief that anything can happen if you go with your passion. Love what you are doing and everything else falls into place. I'm not saying it will all be easy, but you'll be able to endure because it's what you love and you believe in it.
Sometimes it's difficult to really know what your passion is, but if you just step out and start doing something towards what you love, that's all you need. One way or another you will narrow it down to what it is you are meant to do. But you can't just sit around daydreaming forever about it, you have got to take a chance. Oh, yes and those chances can be soooo scary. But it's up to you! No one else will or can do it for you! Start small or start big, you know what's right for you and jump in!

Speaking about France....

Hi,

Since I was talking about Paris France alot on my last post I thought I'd continue on that thought. Here are a couple more photos of my Paris bedroom.I try to keep a balance on how I decorate the area. There are so many pieces I could use to fill up the room but I want it to have a calming feel so I tend to not put out every Paris collectable I have at one time. Some of my treasures are stashed away waiting for the day when I decide that I need to freshen up the look. I really don't want the room to have a cluttered store appearance. This is a difficult task because I have many beautiful pieces that I want to display but if I put them all out at once..... chaos!

I find that for me, decorating with less is better. I'm not saying this is true for everyone. I was perusing another artists blog the other day and her home was filled with art! On the walls, on the furniture, it was amazing. If I can get her permission I'll put it up on my next blog so you can see it too. It will astound you! When I see artists homes that have taken a chance and let their inner creativity outside the box, it really inspires me to not be afraid with my own creative process.

Here's my thought for the day, whatever your style of decorating is, whether it's sparse or eclectic, or super artsy etc. don't be afraid to just take the leap and go with what makes you happy. Our homes should bring us a sigh of relief when we walk through the front door not a sense of dread. Make your decorating a statement of who you are, not of what the world thinks it should be. And most of all, have fun, remember it's only paint!

deborah

Hello,
I just want to say there is so much talent in the artist community that sometimes it boggles my mind.

I recently placed an order from lynetteaprilarts one of the artists on etsy and when it came in the mail I was so excited! Inside the box were three french inspired tags and a sweet artsy valentine. I was so thrilled that I couldn't help myself and had to let out a squeal of delight. Now, for those of you who don't personally know me I must tell you that I am a total France fanatic and these paris tags just made my day. So hope you enjoy the photo and seeing what I was and am so excited about.

Speaking of France, a couple of my artists friends and I are going to go to Paris in October of this year and we are so full of anticipation that we almost can't take it. I've been to France twice already but this time I'm specifically going as an artist. The first time was to celebrate my husbands and my wedding anniversary and the second time was with my daughter and neice. I really wanted to go back sometime as a painter and spend many hours in the museums etc. so that's what my friends and I are going to do. We will bring our sketch books and paints with us and visit the Louvre and the Orsay and just absorb the art vibes and hang out with the art.

We really don't plan to take any trips (except maybe to Monets garden) but to just stay in the city of Paris. We hope to get an apartment really close to the hub of it all and that way we can walk everywhere and not have to depend on transportation. The walking is a great thing because then we can eat all the chocolate croissants we want!!

One last thought. The other day I was reading from the etsy forum of past comments and one of the shops artists,SadieAndLeo, had the most touching words. The conversation was regarding sales and how many items were shops selling everyday and SadieAndLeos words struck me so strongly that I have to share them with you, they said"goals are good to have but at the same time some goals can actually detract from the main goal and that is being creative and expressing ourselves." Isn't that wonderful. It really put things back into perspective for me. It's so easy to always focus on the sales and forget that I am doing this because I love to create and I love using my talents and sharing them with others. Sure, I want to make an income with my art but that's not what should drive me because then it seems it's too easy to get off the track of what my passion really is, and that is to be an artist.

Anyway, that's what I've been thinking about lately and hope you enjoyed my words as much as I enjoyed writing them.
deborah

Hello,
I'm am so excited! My son showed me how to add photos to my blog and I tried it and it worked. Whew, that was scary! Anyway, here's a photo of a corner vignette in my home. It's best when you have a collection of items to display them all together and not randomly scattered around the room. Because when they are all over the place it tends to look like clutter but when they are all collected in one place they look like a collection. This is my collection of old and new perfume bottles.

The vase of flowers is an arrangement that was given to me as a thankyou from a tea where I gave a talk and demonstration on my vintage collages. Actually there wasn't a lot of talk because that is definetely not my forte but I loved demonstrating how I put my collages together. I also met my etsy friend sadie at this event. She has been a total inspiration to me in how she juggles family and art all together. Check out her site sadielouwho on etsy.

talk with you soon,

deborah

what is my art worth?

Hey,
Just thinking about pricing my art creations,and
I always find this the most difficult of all the aspects
of being an artist.
I know that I need to get back what I put in for materials
etc. but how much do I charge for my time and creativity?
I was showing my artsy daughter-in-law, Kate, something
on etsy yesterday. It's a beautiful fabric, yarn bracelet cuff.
I just am in love with the design and the colors but it's pretty
pricey. I'm not saying it's not worth it, it's just a bit too much
for me right now to spend.
And that is the dilemma I have with my own creations when
I am pricing them. What I've been doing is asking myself if
I were to see this art piece in the store, what price would
I personnally pay for it? I don't know if this is the best way
to price my creations but I just don't have any ideas on how
to do it other than this for now.
I just know that I love creating things and I hope others
will like them too.
If you have any suggestions for me, I would love to hear from you.
Go to starrydeborah.etsy.com and leave a message. or just blog
me.
By the way, the sight with the fabric cuffs is " greavesdesign" on etsy.