Exciting News!

Bonjour Mes Amis!

Hope you are having a great week so far!

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by the Creative Marketing Director of DecoArt.  She found me thru my Etsy shop, and wondered if I would like to be a part of their Design Team.  DecoArt would send me products to try (they produce some amazing decorative paints, specialty finishes, and more), and I would create pieces for them.  Some I could keep or sell in my shop if I chose, other pieces would end up as sample work in craft stores such as Michael's or Hobby Lobby, as well as appear at their trade shows.  

Hmmmm, let me think about it............

  Let's see, receive a bunch of products to play with, and get paid for my creations????

Yes, Yes, Yes!!!

At first I thought that this was just too good to be true, maybe this was just someone's idea of a joke??

When I discovered that it was indeed true, I let myself get excited!

I honestly thought that I would be receiving just a small bottle or jar of paint for starters.

Well, look what the UPS man delivered to me yesterday!

 Wow!  I could hardly believe my eyes!  I was literally squealing with excitement as I opened box after box of paint.  Over 3 dozen jars of their Chalky Finish Paint, decorative finishes, waxes, and more!

 And dozens of little bottles of their craft paint, in a rainbow of colors!

 It felt like an early Christmas here at the Chateau!

 And, if that weren't enough, a huge stack of gorgeous stencils.  I am in love with their amazing Frenchy stencils, I can hardly wait to try them out!

 So, I am super excited, not only for all of the wonderful products, but for the chance to create for DecoArt.

 To say that I am thrilled and flattered is putting it mildly!

Can't wait for my first "assignment"!

I'll be sure to share with you my creations:)

 Have a great day!

More Inspiration from the Retreat Vintage Market, and a Fun Day Trip

Hello ladies!  Bet you are all gearing up for a fun filled long Fourth of July weekend!  It's not feeling very summery here at the Chateau, with temps in the 60's!  Hopefully the weather man was right in his forecast of a warmer weekend!

Today I wanted to share with you a few more photos of the Retreat Vintage Market.  There were so many wonderful displays and so much talent!  Barn House had an amazing display!!! I just loved these wicker bee skeps.

Poppyseeds, a neat home decor shop in our town, had this gorgeous pair or burlap upholstered chairs.  Love!

And I am totally in love with the vintage French bottle drying rack!  It would be perfect for our house!!!

These photo holders are so neat, and were really popular!  And of course I love keys, I thought these bracelets below were so fun!

Ok, I am also totally in love with vintage silver anything! I thought this was such a fun display in the vintage suitcase!

These little vintage jello molds, repurposed into photo holders (below) are such a terrific idea, don't you think?!

The day after the show, hubby and I took a much needed break and took a road trip exploring our new little slice of the world!  When we first moved out here this spring, I had no idea that Washington State was not only so diverse, but so beautiful!  The bridge below is called "Deception Pass", and crosses over to Whidbey Island.  The bridge is just amazing!

Of course these photos don't do it justice!  There are lots of islands here, rocky shoreline, and  huge pine trees.  It truly is an amazing state!

We walked this beach (below), which was very popular the day we were there!

On the way back, we were able to walk across the bridge, as there is a pedestrian path on either side. This was the view when I looked down!  I am not so crazy about heights, either! 

If you look very closely in the photo below, there is a huge bald eagle perched on a tree branch!  I guess he was feeling a bit camera shy, as he wouldn't turn and look our way!  We see bald eagles nearly every day!  They are incredible!

And here are a few more views from beneath the bridge.

There are so many more places on our list that we want to visit out here.  The San Juan Islands aren't far from here, so they are a must see. We also want to get to the rain forest on the Olympic Peninsula, and visit Mt. Ranier, too!  Sounds like we had better get busy!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Retreat Vintage Market

Bon Jour, Mon Amis!

After weeks of planning, painting, stressing and distressing, the Vintage Retreat Market has come and gone!  It was a fun day, full of gorgeous displays and talented vendors.  And, I am exhausted!

The day began rather chilly and quite gloomy, so I was hoping and praying for no rain!  Thankfully, the clouds finally parted, it became warm and sunny, and a large crowd showed up for the show.  

In the photo above you will see my antique Queen Anne dresser, which hubby and I spent many, many hours sanding, painting, distressing and sealing.  I thought she turned out gorgeous!  But, we ended up having to take her home, phooey!  She is very heavy, not an easy dresser to load in the back of hubbies car.  And I have the bruises to prove it!!

Everyone said they loved my color scheme of whites, creams, turquoise and aqua.  It's not showing up well in the photo, but I took an old galvanized bucket, filled it with gravel, and plopped a big tree branch in it.  I hung from the branches my "petite Parisian pails", little metal pails that I decoupaged and glittered.  I think they looked so cute swaying on the branches in the breeze!  I also hung my decoupaged one of a kind collages from the branches, too.

I really was expecting to have more sale, alot more sales!  So while I am very happy with what did sell, I must admit that I am disappointed.  I thought I would go home almost empty handed!!  After working for weeks non stop creating and planning, I had hoped for much more.  But, I am glad that I gave it a try, I really learned alot!  I also met lots of people, and made some connections as well.

I was really happy with how my displays turned out!

My baker's rack came in handy, and I really loved my white and aqua display on it!

So, would I do it again?  Yes!  And I learned what I would and wouldn't do next time!  So, I am glad that as nervous as I was about the whole thing, I pursed it, and faced my fears (ha, ha!!).

The next photos show some of the other vendors and their amazing displays!

Lots of funky industrial chic!

Don't you just love this repurposed headboard?  This was the booth of the show hosts, Deb and Bob. They not only are super talented, they are super warm and inviting people!  It was a pleasure meeting them, and being a part of the event on their beautiful farm!

Here is their amazing tent!

I loved the vintage crocheted lace wrapped vases. So pretty!

And this wine riddling rack, made by Bob, was super cool!

My neighbor at the booth, Julie, was super sweet, and had the best display!  She loves all things Shabby Chic too, so she and I had a blast!  I really love her gorgeous pink tea cart!

Here is another glimpse of her booth.

I'll share with you more photos from the show later this week.  Now I think I am ready for a nap!  

Have a great week!

The View From My Back Yard

Palm trees swaying softly in the breeze, the sound of gentle ocean waves, me hanging out in a hammock almost ready for a refill of my pina colada.....................

Ok, where was I?  Well, that day dream was nice while it lasted.  The above shot is of St. Croix, where we were  2 years ago about this time.  And that is where we should be now!

Instead, this is our view:

 Yikes!  A couple of hours ago, I bundled up and ventured out to take this shots.  This is what crazy bloggers like me do for the sake of a good photograph!  I'm not sure how much snow we've gotten so far, suffice to say:  alot!  Thankfully the wind from last night finally died down a bit , and we didn't receive the freezing rain that many did.  But, they have been calling this storm "historic", and it is still coming down!

 There are steps under here somewhere!  The drifts were nearly to my knees in some spots!

 And yes, I had to take a picture of my foot in the snow.  My neighbors must think I have lost it by now!

 A shot of our backyard.  I could barely get the backdoor open this morning so that our doggy could go out and do her business.  I have since shoveled a pathway for her.  I think our shovel and snowblower are going to get a good workout over the next day or so!!

And this is a view inside, looking out.  Lots and lots of snow!  Did I say that I am so ready for spring?!

Isn't this blue bird sweet? I took these next photos while safe and snug indoors.  We have a heated birdbath, that the birds just love!  When I awoke this morning to discover all of the huge icicles hanging from it, I thought maybe the heater stopped working.  Well, it's still working, thankfully!  I guess all of that wild wind we had last night blew some of the water out, to produce all of those icicles! 

 This is one of the most popular spots in our yard!  We love watching all of the birds here and at our many feeders, and get especially excited when we spot "our" bluebirds!

 I bet they are wishing that they had flown south for the winter!

 I know that I do!

 Isn't he gorgeous?

 We have several peanut feeders, this one is right up by our window, so it's so fun to watch them at work!

And a cardinal is posing in our Christmas tree, that we have propped up in the backyard.

I am so glad that I don't have to be anywhere today.  The snowplow hasn't even made it thru, and I have a feeling they won't for awhile!  So, we are staying nice and snug indoors.  I hope that you are, too, whatever the weather is like where you are!

And, after all of these snowy views, I leave you with this parting shot: