I wanted to pop in to say "hi" and invite anyone the Nashville/Franklin area to the show tomorrow.
I will be showing with the Mamamade group at Lillie Belle's Teahouse in Franklin Saturday April 26th starting at 9:00 am until at least 2:00 pm. The area is about a block form the Main Street event and I have some new goods to offer! White Cottage, The Creative Jar and Par Deux Meres will be under one roof....and if you sign up for our mailing list you will get 10% off your entire purchase!

For our Par Deux Meres launch we are offering the one of a kind "arm art" for the price of $100! Not only is this a substantial savings but you have the chance to get one of the first in the series.

Come by and say hello and check out some of the cool new items.

New sitter for Boris

If you have been reading my blog then you already know Boris. If not I will catch you up...Boris is our 125 lb. baby, actually he's a 16 month old American Bulldog. Well Boris has been the "problem child" unlike his other 3 siblings that are almost perfect. He doesn't mean to be a problem it's just that he is big (125 lbs) and he thinks he is small and he is still in the puppy phase (it's all about him). Some days he drives me crazy!!! It seems like when I schedule creating time Boris has other plans....pillow fight, pull out the rugs, empty all the trash cans and pull all the towels off the racks in the bathroom and kitchen oh and just for good measure attack mom's feet.

Yesterday as I was preparing lunch I turned on the TV to catch up on what I had recorded, suddenly Boris runs in the living room jumps on the ottoman and plants himself a foot from the TV.
Boris has discovered "The Dog Whisperer"! He sat there watching TV! He looked so cute turning his head and intently involved. He sat there until about 10 minutes after the show and then started following me again with the foot attack game, it was nice while it lasted. Just in case you're wondering, yes I did record the show :) As a matter of fact "The Dog Whisperer" is going to be recored a lot!

My only question....is it okay to let Boris watch TV? What should be the limit? Do I use "The Dog Whisperer" as punishment if he doesn't behave? Let me know your thoughts on this.

CRAFT a creative community this Sunday

CRAFT: A Creative Community will hold its monthly "Sunday CRAFT Fair" on Sunday, April 6, from 11 am to 5 pm in the rear parking lot of the Lipstick Lounge in East Nashville. Local artisans will present and sell original hand-crafted items and artwork at affordable prices. In the advent of rain, the fair will be held the following Sunday, April 13, at the same time and location (11 am - 5 pm, 1400 Woodland Street).





For 2008, CRAFT has begun a new feature on its weblog, http://craftacreativecommunity. blogspot. com/.


Each month, featured artisans explain their craft in their own words, giving insight into what, how, and why they create. This month's featured artists, Salithia Buchanan of Crystal Garden, Sarah Tams of Route Thirteen, and Stephanie Powers of Higher Vibes, all create jewelry, each with a distinct style and perspective.





Crystal Garden's Salithia Buchanan began her journey as a wire jewelry artist in 2005. Her fluid, organic designs meld semi-precious stones, crystals and wire to create one-of-a-kind pieces that are at once ethereal and earthy. Buchanan finds inspiration for her wire-wrapped crystal and stone pieces everywhere -- organic shapes, tribal art, nature. Many times her inspiration comes from within, motivated in part by the realization that we are all made from the same earth -- the same elements and minerals -- that make up the stones, crystals, and metals she works with.





Sarah Tams, of Route Thirteen, sees jewelry making as the final destination along a long road of creativity that has led her through drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics, and graphic design. Her graphic background is evident in the classic, clean-lined sterling silver, copper, and gold designs she forms, hammers, and molds by hand in her studio. Tams' work, simple and elegant, is versatile enough to be worn night or day.





Stephanie Powers is sometimes known as "The Rock Lady" – a nickname that has roots as early as her kindergarten years, when, as she remembers, she searched for eye-catching stones instead of playing games. Her love of stones and crystals, and her desire to help heal others and herself, led to her creation of Higher Vibe, an online store featuring jewelry handcrafted with healing stones.





In addition to jewelry, CRAFT's April event will showcase functional pottery, fiber art, clothing, and home furnishings, soaps and candles, and much more.


CRAFT's website, http://craftacreativecommunity. com/, provides more information about upcoming events and their ever-growing roster of participating artisans.





CRAFT is a network of artists and crafts people in the Middle Tennessee area who have banded together to show and sell their work in an atmosphere of fun and friendship, celebrating creativity. Drawing their operating ethic from the simple maxim "Life is too short for ugly stuff", the artisans of CRAFT: A Creative Community have established the monthly Sunday Fair in order to promote and support local craft, local artisans, and the spirit of community that nurtures such creativity. With its Sunday Fair, CRAFT aims to establish craft events that become part of the fabric of the community and that serve as a "home base" for artisans to share original, handcrafted things of beauty and functionality with the general public.





For additional information on the Sunday Fair, or on CRAFT: A Creative Community, please visit http://craftacreativecommunity. com/.

Working and playdate

Have you ever planned a day and the weather just had other plans? Yesterday we (Jodi and I) had big plans to do our craft set up before the show this weekend. We have obtained some new displays and such and wanted to do a test run. The big plan was to set up in the front yard but it was raining and nasty so on to plan "B". What no plan "B"? We have been looking forward to this and very excited so we never thought of anything else. Well we're not ones to let a day spent together go to waste....so PLAY DATE! What do two grown women do on a play date? Let me tell you...HAVE FUN! So we painted (more on that later), played with the dogs (Jodi couldn't stop laughing), cut out Par Deux Meres sacs, ate caramel kisses and drank Chi tea. The only thing we didn't squeeze in was a thrift store visit. But we were having so much fun at the house.

Okay back to the painting. I am the designer, fabric, needle and thread behind the scenes. Jodi is the incredible artist. Yesterday Jodi made me sketch and paint a bag, no excuses she brought the paints and tricked me into cutting the panels. So there we were....well I doodle...the kind of thing kids do. So soon I will premier the first Par Deux Meres sac hand painted by me?!?
I'm so sure you will be able to get it for a very good price, maybe one of my family members will save me the embarrassment of the sac sitting there and purchase it. Before I can finish I need to get some paint and note I did enjoy it! You guys will be the first to see I promise. Just remember to be kind.

I'll leave you with some of the pictures of our play date, note Boris was not in the crate the whole time just when Jodi was taking the pictures. Gracie is the Boston Terrier, Dixie Bell is the Jack Russell (very hard to get a shot, she keeps moving) and Sir Thomas is the fat cat.

Come on out to the show this Sunday, we will be in East Nashville on Woodland street behind the Lipstick Lounge in the parking lot.

Note all pictures taken by Jodi Reeves of The Creative Jar.

Fabric Love

Don't you just love it when the Fed Ex truck stops in front of your house? I know I do especially after I've been shopping on line at Hancock's of Paducah. Yep my package came today and I wanted to share my fabric love with you guys. Take a look at some old friends Anna Marie Horners Chocolate Lollipop fabric to be used for my sister's ruffled apron and some other craft aprons.Then some new friends Michael Miller's Ginger Blossom, I've seen some beautiful creations on flickr recently. Then we have Tula Pink's Flutterby....hmmm the possibilities.

I just love new fabric! Holding it, looking at it and letting it tell me what it wants to become.....a handbag, an apron or maybe something else. I'm still finishing the Par Deux Meres bags and need to make table cloths before I can cut into these, but come back and see what this pile of loveliness becomes.

New Camera and Fun

My wonderful husband Todd brought me a present, I have a new camera! It's a Canon Rebel XT.
I have never had a "nice" camera before and it has more bells and whistles than I know what to do with. But I have a friend that had a similar camera and since she was coming over to work on the Par Deux Meres bags....well. Jodi (my bud) tested my new baby and worked her magic. Here are some of the random pictures she took around my house, please ignore the dust and such.

Oh and go over to our Par Deux Meres site and take a peek at the works in progress.

First Spring Show

Hello to all, so sorry for the delay in between posts. As most of you know I have been busy creating for the first show of the year with very little computer time. But the creating certainly paid off with one of the best shows ever! The best part was meeting several wonderful ladies that knew my work and had visited the blog. Ann and Betty if you're reading this yes I'm talking about you, you guys really made my day. The Nashville bag is a big hit and will be a large part of Spring/Summer events, yep more to come. The weather was also a plus bringing the community out to visit, it was a mini festival.

I'm happy that I can now share a secret, I have been in collaboration with my good friend Jodi Reeves of The Creative Jar and together we have created Par Deux Meres hand painted handbags for you. We are in the baby stages right now but already sold our first bag "The Woman bag". We are currently working on our site but let me assure you that more is to come. We will have more Par Deux Meres bags at the April 6th CRAFT event in East Nashville. You must see these works of art in person, so come out and take a peek and say "hi".