Time, Tenants, and Transformation

My "Woodland Cottage" April 2006

Wow, as I type the date "April 2006" it's hard to believe that it was almost 6 years ago that I bought my first home on my own as a newly single woman. It was a scary but wonderful experience, and there were a lot of great God-stories in how it all came about. I was blessed by the Lord with a lovely little home to start my new life...

It was a nice, safe place at the end of a cul-de-sac, next door to my parent's home (long cool story). And although it was not a perfect house, it was perfect for me...

But, because the previous owners went to great effort to completely redo the house with new everything from flooring to paint to roof and then some, I had no need to do anything to move in...no painting, nothing. It was all done - easy-peasy, which was really what I needed at that time in my life...

(Entry 2006)

It was just a clean, blank slate...

(Master BR 2006)

...sunny and nice...

(Kitchen 2006)

...to which I added a handful of new purchases...

(Livingroom 2006)

...and threw in a few favorites from my "old" life...

(Dining Room 2006)

But as I stand here, in these same rooms today, 6 years later, I am amazed at the changes...in the home, and in me...

I realize that I had to go on a journey of discovery to find....me. I had a clean house that was someone else's neutral vision, filled mostly by old things from my old me. It was fine, nice, and functional, but it had no life or personality. And where it had a touch of whimsy or glimmer of fun or color, it was whispered as if in a prayer...

...waiting by faith to be given full voice....once I knew how to find it...

After I began to heal and then got remarried to my sweet John who helped me to begin to feel free to be me, I began to discover more of my "style". But because the house was still perfectly new and pristine, I did not paint any of the rooms with new colors, I just added touches here and there through thrifted accessories and a bit of hand painting like the mini transformation of the guest bath in 2007...

(Guest Bath 2006)

 (Guest Bath 2007)

I was just beginning to get to know the new me and try my decorating wings...

But when we moved John's paid-for mobile home after my layoff in 2009, we leased the house to a good friend who was a Godsend of a tenant - 60, single, fastidious, perfectionist. He took great care of our house and was planning to buy it, which at the time seemed like the best answer for our situation. But his life went in another direction and he moved out of state and that left us with few options - either sell or lease again. We tried to sell, but got nowhere - the market was soft, and we were running out of time, money, and answers. But then, just when it seemed like nothing was ever going to happen, we got a call from our Realtor that a couple was interested in leasing the house - what a relief... They were a young couple with no children and one small dog - sounded OK...

OK, fast forward to today, one year later from leasing to them, and they are finally out of the house - and boy were we wrong about them sounding OK! One dog became 2 plus a cat, apparently none of which were house trained...yuk!! These kids and their animals absolutely trashed the house (and the yard too), particularly the carpets in all the bedrooms and some of the laminate in the livingroom - it was so sad to see. They did manage to "clean" but it is a far cry from the pristine fresh home from 6 years ago, or even from the somewhat lived in but very clean home from just one year ago...

But, a rather wonderful thing is happening as a result of this unpleasant development - I am forced to redo the paint and flooring in each bedroom and the paint in all the other rooms, which means I am ready to actually add color to my previous neutral environment. If everything was still clean and pristine, I might not have taken the time and effort and expense to paint and put laminate instead of carpet in the bedrooms, which is what I was really wanting to do...

So, that is what we are doing now - re-cleaning, re-painting, ripping up what's left of the carpet, and re-flooring. It's what we will be doing for a couple of weeks or so at least. But it is good, therapeutic work. And I can honestly say I am glad to be forced to do this. I love picking out paint, I love it that I will have fresh pretty color on every wall. I love it that it will be a better reflection of the new more colorful me... (oh and thanks sweet hubby for encouraging me to express myself in the house however I want, florals and colors and girly cottage touches and all!!)

I'll share the before and after photos as we continue to progress - it's sure to be quite a transformation....

Where do I start...?

(click any image to enlarge)

Don't worry - everything is fine here, but there's just been several things going on that I haven't had time to write about. So let me catch you up a bit on what's happening in my neck of the woods...

The image above is just a little taste of the design work I have been doing since I got back from the CHA show in early February. I am so happy to announce that I have received my first new art licensing contract from a manufacturer I met at the show!! I wish I could show you the design(s) and tell you all about it, but I just can't right now (it's a 2013 thing). Suffice to say the deal has pretty great potential and the products may show up in quite a few large retailers around the country! We'll see...  

I'm so excited, and very grateful to God for all the opportunities He's provided! One of the best outcomes of all this work I've been doing, and one of the things I am most grateful for is how much I have been stretched. I have been making some changes to my style that will make for better for product printing and more style diversity (and hopefully more cuteness!). Growing is great...learning new techniques is great...and the growth in confidence that comes from that is...priceless.

(our "Woodland Cottage")

In other important developments, my hubby and I and Maddie our dog are moving...back! We are moving back to the house we had to leave 3 years ago when my corporate job was outsourced (I can't believe it's been 3 years already!). For those of you new to the blog, hubby owned a paid-for mobile home on a paid-for acre before we got married in 2007, and it was there waiting for us when the need arose. We rented out our house in The Woodlands (north of Houston) and remodeled the old mobile home and moved in. Our little mobile "country cottage" has served us well these past three years, but it is so very far from hubby's job in Houston, and the gasoline costs are high and growing higher. The Woodlands house is half the distance to his job, so that right there will be a significant savings. Combined with refinancing and new income prospects from my art licensing and this move is now in the realm of do-able - Thank You Lord! It's still a pretty big faith step, but we know the Lord will provide every resource we need...

(we will keep the mobile home as a weekend place, and it's possible that we may rent it out at some point, but that's not on the radar at the moment)

 So, the next step after our current tenants are out of the house on March 19th is to assess the condition of the house, put new flooring in the bedrooms (probably just carpet at this point), paint where necessary, and begin the process of moving/decorating! The advantage we have now is that we can move at out leisure since we will remain at the country house during the make ready. That way we can go room by room and get it the way we want it before moving all our stuff in. And, for perhaps the first time in my life, I am going to go all out with my decorating style which I call "Colorful Cottage". You can take a look at my Pinterest board called "My Colorful Cottage Style" to get an idea of what I mean...

When I look at the board, I see a few common themes - color as well as black and white basics, painted furniture, lots of gingham, lots of florals, vintage goodies, lots of quilts, mis-matched china, a dose of whimsy, a touch of kitsch, and a ton of casual comfort. I can't wait take my inspiration and make it reality...on a budget...should be a LOT of fun!!

As I wrap up a lot of the design work that has had me working 7 days a week for a month or more, I will welcome the change of pace that will come with moving and redecorating.  I am planning to blog much more during the whole process of making out little "Woodland Cottage" come to life - lots of befores and afters, lots of thrifting finds (most of which will be from my own massive stash from my antique store days), and lots of fun DIY decorating projects...I can't wait!!

Thanks to all of you my dear friends for your support and encouragement to me in the various seasons of my life that have played out here on the blog! I treasure you all and can never thank you enough for the prayers, well wishes, and kind words! I am seeing my dreams come true and it is amazing and humbling and wonderful!! I am so very blessed...

CHA 2012 Show Report - Part 2: Amazing!

(My table at the Designer Showcase - CHA 2012)

I'm finally back for part two of my CHA 2012 report. The first half of the first day of the show, as I said in the part 1 report was a bit of a mixed bag what with my various health issues and such, but it ended on a very high note after a very promising meeting with an art director from a large home decor company.

I was very excited about the other art director meetings I had coming up in the next two days, but the first order of business before those was to put my Designer Showcase table together. The Designer Showcase, a venue for individual industry artists, crafters, instructors and more to display their products and designs primarily for manufacturers and the press, was slated to run Monday and Tuesday in parallel with the show. We had about an hour to put our tables together before the show opened Monday morning. I was SO grateful to have the help of my niece and sister-in-law and brother who flew into town Saturday. And of course my sweet hubby John who was so incredibly helpful every step of the way!

The table turned out pretty well, but the process was not without some heartburn. I did not finalize many of the display items before we flew in - I simply packed all the needed supplies in a huge suitcase and counted on being able to work on them in the hotel before Monday. Well, that is exactly what I did, but I WAY underestimated how long it would take to get it all done. I was up until 2:30 AM finalizing it all - not a smart idea. But all in all, I was happy with it. Here are some of the details...

(combo chalkboard and magnetic memo board made from a baking pan)

(cutouts of some of the images from my new collections)

(cutout flowers with pipe cleaner stems)

(some current and past collections from my work with Universal Designs)

(Cupcake Cowgirl and Cowboy designs made into magnets for display)

We had a Designer Showcase reception from 6-8 PM Monday night which allowed us to stand near our tables and meet and chat with art directors, manufacturers and other attendees, as well as the other designers. I had a wonderful time at the reception and met a lot of wonderful people and even got some solid leads for possible licensing work. The best part to me however was meeting the other designers and artists - what a TALENTED and SWEET bunch of folks!!

Late Monday afternoon, on the exhibit floor before the reception, I had a meeting with art directors from a large fabric company, and it went really well. Also met with another fabric company and a partyware company on Tuesday - all great meetings with promising feedback and requests to send samples!! I just couldn't be happier with the way it all shaped up!!

By the way, I bought a pair of tennis shoes at Walmart early Tuesday morning and wore them on Tuesday and Wednesday, and I was like a new woman!! I really didn't care if it was stylish, it made me more comfortable and relaxed which really helped me have a better time. Anyway, I spent a lot of my time sitting behind my table across from clients who looked at my book, so the shoes were rarely even seen. I didn't care either way though - I was just so happy to be comfy! Live and learn...

I can't possibly name all the fabulous people I met and got to know because I would surely forget someone and I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Suffice to say that the people were the highlight of the trip for me - from passers- by who said the nicest things, to my talented booth and Designer Showcase neighbors, and the wonderful new clients, and the CHA staff, and manufacturers and retailers - so many sweet souls who enriched my life in so many ways - what a blessing!!

And business-wise, I couldn't have asked for more!! I have a pile of work to do to get samples out and I am cranking through as fast as I can. The follow-up with these wonderful clients and new contacts is my full time job now and it's going great so far. I hope to have good news for you a little later in the Spring as *hopefully* new contracts come my way! We'll see, but even if nothing quite works out this time, I already have my foot in the door with a number of large and small companies and the benefit of face-to-face contact with their decision makers, so that is a very good thing indeed...  

Here's a tiny sneak peek montage of some of the designs I'm working on for the partyware manufacturer...just to give you a taste of what I've been up to...

Thanks to all of you as you have encouraged me in the various creative ventures I have undertaken. I am so blessed to have your love and support, and I am so excited to share this exciting new chapter with you!

______________________________

One final note - thank you folks for your prayers for my family as we lost my Aunt Judy last week and attended her funeral on Monday. The family is grieving but doing really pretty well. My Aunt was loved by SO many people and they showed up in droves for the viewing and funeral. We are a very blessed family and I am so blessed for having her in my life...

CHA 2012 Show Report - Part 1: Wow!

(me at my CHA 2012 booth)

Hello friends! I'm finally ready to do a CHA 2012 wrap up complete with photos and some reflections on the whole experience. In a word: WOW!!  It was an AMAZING experience from start to finish! Here are just a few of the highlights and details...

Setting up the booth on Friday and Saturday went pretty much without a hitch, except for the fact that we had nothing to stand on to hang the banners (the convention folks had not passes out our chairs yet). But our friendly veteran-exhibitor neighbors helped us with some ingenuity, namely stacking up wood palettes to stand on - not an OSHA approved method I assure you, but it worked. Here are a few photos of the booth all set up...

We gussied-up the plain sign just a bit with these cutout flowers, pipe cleaners and pom-poms...

the view looking in from the middle...

...and the left side...

...then the right...

I couldn't have been happier with how the banners worked out. We got a lot of great feedback on them! Once again, we got them from Empire Banners, about whom I cannot say enough good things!! Best online order experience I have ever had, start to finish! And we were easily able to check them as baggage on the plane in the same box they were shipped in. And for those of you who may be planning a similar booth in the future, we bought shower curtain hooks for the tops of the banners, added a strip of velcro to smooth the middle part at the top between the hooks where it tended to gap, and used 3M Command Strips with small hooks to secure the grommets at the bottom. Worked pretty well.

Sunday was the first official day of the show. Although I didn't have any set appointments that day with the VIP Art Directors that CHA invited to our Licensing/Design section, I knew that some of them might drop in at any time. I was a bit nervous, but mostly just excited. But there were couple of problems right off the bat. I got sick. Not a horrible flu kind of sick, but more of an allergy, upper respiratory thing. But the worst part was I woke up with NO voice on Sunday - couldn't talk at all. Not good. But after several cups of hot coffee and a hot shower, I was a little better, but my voice was iffy pretty much the entire show. Oh, and one more thing - DO NOT wear new shoes on the first day, or any day of a trade show. At 50 years old, I should know better. I wore a new pair of black shoes which were actually quite comfortable, which is why I bought them, but the sides of shoes were a little high and rubbed the most horrible blisters all along the back of my heel and the sides of my ankles. Yikes. My sweet hubby had to go to the first aid station to get me some band-aids, which helped a little, but by this time the damage was done. Lesson learned...

As Sunday progressed into the afternoon, I began to get a bit anxious. I hadn't had but a couple of passers by stop by and I was beginning to worry that the whole show was going to be a bust. And you know how your mind works when you start thinking that way - you think about ALL the money you just spent (which by the way was probably about double what I expected), and you begin to get insecure about your work, especially when you're surrounded by so many very talented artists and licensing companies. It's stinkin-thinkin, and if you let it, it can really wreck your whole attitude. But, I was so blessed to have the encouragement and reassurance of my sweet booth neighbors who told me that the first day is always slow and not to worry, and that our booth looked great and it was sure to be a hit. That helped a lot and I was grateful for the kind words. But then, one of the VIP Art Directors from a large home decor/gift manufacturer stopped by and we had the most wonderful meeting! They looked at the banners and then my bound portfolio and began to tell me to send them this sample and that art and that collection and those images - wow, I couldn't believe it! If any of the work I sent them pans out, it could be a MAJOR boon to my little fledgling company! I hope to have news to share on that later this Spring...we'll see...

The best part of that meeting was the great advice that this art director gave. It was wonderful to hear such helpful suggestions from someone who themselves had been an illustrator for over 20 years. They really took the time to share insights as well as encouragement to me. It was just the pick-me-up I needed. And as it turned out, it was just the first of several such meeting that I was to have in the coming days of the show. I will tell you more about that in my next report (which I will try to post early tomorrow morning).

But meanwhile, here is a sneak-peek photo of my Designer Showcase table that I had in addition to my show floor booth. I'll tell you more about the Designer Showcase experience in my next report too - it was a lot of fun/a lot of work to do, but I think is was a real success...

I will also tell you about the BEST part of the whole show for me - the LOVELY people I met - what an incredible collection of kind, creative souls! they were the highlight for sure!

I want to thank all of you for your prayers and support since I first announced that I was going to do this show. I know I wouldn't have made it without it! Looking forward to sharing more tomorrow if possible...thanks for your patience as I continue to work through all the post-show follow up.

______________________________

Oh, and one more thing, on a completely different topic. My wonderful Aunt Judy, one of my Mom's younger sisters, passed away late this week after a brave 3+ year battle with brain cancer. She was a very youthful 69 years old, a delight to everyone who knew her, and she will be greatly missed. The funeral is this coming Monday. I would certainly welcome your prayers for our family. Though we know she is whole and free and in the arms of Jesus, the loss is still hard on all of us...thank you...

CHA 2012 Show Preparations: Part 2

Banners; check

(click any image to enlarge)

I am BEYOND THRILLED at how the banners for my booth turned out!!  The colors are PERFECT and the details are crisp...yay!!!! I have 9 of these wonderful things to line my booth with - I hope they will be a hit! 

This is Annie, by the way, my Summer Just Bee 'n Me girl. Annie LOVES to sew and embroider and stays busy keeping her Etsy shop filled with her sweet handmade totes and pillows. She loves the outdoors and sunshine, meadows and butterflies, and denim is her go-to fabric no matter the occasion...

...and this is Sadie, my Autumn Just Bee 'n Me girl...

Sadie is most a home in the kitchen, her cute retro kitchen that is, filled with vintage Pyrex and other great flea market finds. An avid couponer, she can feed two or twenty on a shoestring while always managing to make them feel pampered, honored and loved. She's always sweet, but adds just the right amount of spice to keep things interesting...

I would be remiss if I did not mention the banner company I used to print these jewels...it is Empire Banners, and I am not in any way paid for recommending them, I just can't say enough good things about them. Their online interface was so easy to use and the price is clearly displayed as you enter the size and specifications of your banner. These banners are 3' wide and 6' long, hemmed with 4 grommets, and only cost $40.50 each! (they would have been almost 3 times as expensive at my local FedEx just for a little perspective) Plus, I uploaded the designs in the afternoon, OK'd the proofs by late afternoon, and the banners were printed and shipped that very same day! Now I did pay a bit extra for 2 day shipping, but it was well worth it to get these into my hands so fast. And the quality is superior...the color, fabulous...  Thank You Lord for leading me to just the right printer - You are so faithful!!

Oh yeah, I also completely revamped my portfolio website: http://beckyschultea.com  It's not perfect or 100% complete, but it is a good start and most of all has all my new art displayed gallery-style...or you can run it as a slideshow. Go check it out if you have a moment - I'd love to hear your thoughts...

So much is happening all at once now and I am documenting it all and will continue to share as I can. We are just under a week until we leave for the show...yikes!  But really, things are going well so far and I am not too overwhelmed... Next on my to do list is working on a few craft samples using my new designs - should be fun! My postcards and new business cards are on the way and should arrive Monday - when they come in I'll take pictures for sure...

Thanks for sharing this leg of my art licensing journey with me...I'm grateful as always for your support and encouragement!  Have a glorious weekend...I got some crafting to do...

CHA 2012 Show Preparations: Part 1

(click images to enlarge)

Hello friends! Wow, I have been working non-stop for weeks to prepare for exhibiting in the Licensing and Design section of the Craft & Hobby Association Winter 2012 show and there is finally a little light at the end of the tunnel! The largest job I had was to create several new design collections and then create the artwork for the corresponding banners that I will use to decorate the booth. I thought over the next few days and weeks that I would show you several sneak peeks at the new art collections as well as a look at the various marketing and display pieces I am working on....

The image above is a mock up of the 3' x 6' banner I created for my new Cupcake Cowgirl collection. I had a lot of fun with this set of girly images. I can see these on a variety of cute products...I just hope the art buyers that will be at the show will see the same thing!!

I also did a related collection called Cupcake Cowboy - here's a sample of one of the patterns I created for that collection:

I also developed a new series I have called "Just Bee 'n Me - a celebration of individuality and creativity". (you've only seen bits of their faces so far). I designed a girl for each of the four seasons and created a coordinated set of "accessories" and patterns to go with each. The girls have a slightly vintage 60's and 70's vibe to them in their color combinations and accessories, and they *hopefully* will appeal to women of all ages.

For Spring, I created "Kate", a girly-girl romantic all the way who loves growing and arranging flowers, writing poetry, and making handmade greeting cards. Here's the banner mock-up I did for her:

(click images to enlarge)

...and here's a close-up of one of her patterns:

I have so much more to share, but I had better get back to work. The banners are being shipped (yay!) but there are still a LOT of things on my to do list. We leave for the show 2 weeks from this Friday (yikes!). I will follow up in the next day or so with more sneak peeks and hopefully a photo of the banners when they arrive... Meanwhile, thank you SO much for your continued understanding as I have been designing non-stop and posting very little. Y'all are the best!

Hugs all around!!