~Next Saturday the 21st is the 3rd Launch Your Creativity~

Held at the most beautiful tea room in Southern California, Paris In A Cup.

I want to thank all of my generous sponsors for their beautiful donations and the hours they have spent preparing gifts and door prizes.

Visit these ladies for beautiful gifts, Blogland inspiration and encouragement!

Black Rooster Cottage

The Beautiful Life

DesignHer Brands

Eclectic Anthology 

JoDee's Inc. 

Mammabellarte

Paris In A Cup

Pansy Cottage Garden

Truly Tattered

Whimsical Musings 

There are just a few tickets left, make your reservation here:

LaunchYourCreativity

Are you ready to be inspired?

These amazing women are ready to

 Inspire You

Encourage You

Teach You

Join Launch Your Creativity on April 21, 2012 at 

Paris In A Cup 

for a day of inspiration!

Guest Speakers include:

Jickie Torres Editor at Cottages & Bungalows Magazine and 

Romantic Homes Magazine

Jane Button Professional Business Coach, Owner of Design 2 Market Success

Karen Valentine Creator of "Where Women Blog" & owner of Valentine Designs

Kay Ellen Hammar Designer, Photographer and Stylist

Tara Wilson Entrepreneur and Business Lawyer

Cheryl Turner Owner of Paris In A Cup

Sharon Hughes Creator of Launch Your Creativity and Pansy Cottage & Garden.

Registration & Tickets are available HERE.

Meet a Fiber Artist!

 Meet Author and Fiber Artist, Nan Loncharich

Since the 18th century, people have cut long, narrow strips from tattered wool clothing, and looped them through heavy burlap from coffee and grain bags to make hooked rugs. It's part of this country's heritage.

Nan's parents grew up during the Depression and the family continued this tradition by re-purposing clothing for rags and braided rugs. Rolling fabric strips into balls kept Nan busy and happy during evenings before the invention of television. Later, she learned how to crochet and knit with the sound of the TV in the background.

Now, her favorite pastime continues to be making something with her hands. Rather than using a tiny quilting needle for hand-stitched quilts, she feels her hands are better suited to grasping a thick rug hook. And, since hooked rugs are regarded as primitive, Nan loves that she can create informal designs without getting corners perfectly straight!

Nan started creating flowers five years ago shortly after joining a group of rug hookers in southwestern PA. You can hook a flower in 15 minutes -- compared to a rug which may take years! She enjoys adapting various techniques in creative ways, and loves using frayed edges, selecting contrasting colors, spontaneously cutting shapes.

Nan even dyes her own wool, which she buys as old clothing from resale shops and repurposes in wonderful new ways.

Nan shares her marvelous techniques in her very first book, Making Flowers from Wool, published in 2011 by Stackpole Books. It is available, along with a variety of her flowers and hand-dyed wool strips for your own flower-making, at www.spoonwoodgallery.com.

You can also view Nan's video, “Making a Simple Flower Pin”, on her blog, Fancy Wool Flowers.
 Written by Cia Williford; Artist and Author. Briarwood Studio - The Art of Cia Williford www.briarwoodstudio.com

Follow Your Rainbow

Its been a rainy day here in So Cal., the perfect weather for curling up with

 a good book and hot chocolate.

This is the hillside across from my house, I love the way the 

evening sunset casts is golden glow on it.

So I was driving home from shuttling the kids around and saw this beautiful rainbow. I was driving straight towards it and for one magical moment I was lost in childhood memories of chasing rainbows. I can remember riding my bicycle and really believing that somehow I could catch it. 

I remembered the joy and excitement of the chase.

And then there was dissapoinment

until the next time it rained and I would try all over again.

My friends, as you know I want my blog to encourage you and 

inspire you to chase your dreams.

DREAMS unlike rainbows can be chased and can be caught.

As you start on that journey of pursuing your dreams stop and ask yourself, "What am I chasing? Is it worth catching? Will I be satisfied once I have it or longing for something else? What do I need to let go of in order to catch my rainbow?"

Only You can answer those questions. Only You can define what your dream 

looks like when attained.

My sweet friends I wish you days filled with magical rainbows.

Tara Wilson of LuluMax

Launch Your Creativity is proud to welcome Tara Wilson to our guest speaker lineup at the April 21st event! Tara will be covering  your "Small Business Legal Checklist" a must

if you are considering starting a business.

The love of art has been a constant in the life of Tara Wilson. As a young girl she frequented the bead shops in Laguna Beach and often spent her allowance on something sparkly and shiny she found there. Her early jewelry pieces were simple strung necklaces and head-pin earrings. College introduced her to the world of 3 dimensional design, sculpture and painting. Tara could not quite figure out how to pay the bills creating crazy sculptures out of found objects so she earned her degree in business. Art took a back burner as she continued on to graduate school for business and finally law school. After 12 years as an attorney her creative side was badly neglected.

Tara was shopping for that perfect necklace for an outfit and just couldn't find the one that spoke to her. After deciding to make one she popped into Garden of Beaden in Upland and was inspired by Irene Sanchez to make something more elaborate than she usually did. A love of jewelry was reborn and the hunt for cool beads and vintage jewelry was on! After taking an amazing soldering class with Robin Dudley Howes, the creative side was back with a vengeance. With the new techniques learned, Tara was able to combine her love of all things rhinestone and vintage with mixed media art jewelry. With a nod to her two Chihuahuas, Lulu and Max, the brand Lulu Max was born! Tara now works in jewelry full time and is teaching several classes. Tara has been published in Belle Armoire Jewelry and her jewelry is carried in several boutiques around the country.

Her web site is  lulumax.com and her Etsy store is www.etsy.com/shop/lulumaxjewelry

Courtney of French Country Cottage

Hi~ I'm Courtney and I am the girl behind the curtain at French Country Cottage

I am a stay at home mom of 3 inspiring kids and I am an interior stylist and  blogger.  I started blogging  when I found myself needing a little place to call my own and wanted an outlet to feed my passion for creating beautiful rooms.

What I didn't know when I started blogging was just how much I would enjoy it and how many wonderful people I would meet because of it. Blogging has become a much larger part of my passion than I originally thought that it would. I do work in social media with brands and companies but the main focus of my blog is home &  lifestyle.

One of my favorite things to do is to find a way to achieve that high end design book look for very little cost- to have beautiful rooms you don't need to spend a lot. Another favorite is taking something and transforming it with paint or with a different purpose.  I used burlap from the garden department that I made into a tablecloth. Or the newly purchased bistro chairs that were painted and stenciled to look antique.  I also enjoy renovating and redesigning spaces and am a big time DIY girl- so you will see before and afters at my blog as well.

I find inspiration everywhere. A forgotten treasure at the flea market that is instantly transformed in my mind, an elegant antique chair dressed in burlap  or even a simple bouquet of  flowers on a weathered tabletop are some examples.

French cottage and shabby style rooms are my favorite spaces. Filled with gorgeous antiques, old  patina and crystal chandeliers - they are just  beautiful and at the same time- they are welcoming, warm and comfortable. Perfect for everyday elegance.

You can visit Courtney's beautiful blog here:

 

My blog~  French Country Cottage 

On Facebook~ French Country Cottage

On Twitter~ French Country Cottage

email:  thefrenchcountrycottage@gmail.com

Building Your Brand

Apronology Spring '12

In my little corner of the world the new year has started with a bang with 2 magazine features that surpassed any expectations or even dreams. When I heard from Beth Livesay Editor of Apronology that one of my designs was going to be featured I was thrilled but to hear I got the cover made my heart sing.

And there was this amazing gift, to be featured as one of Romantic Home's Magazines "The Romantics". There aren't words to describe how blessed I am. 

Working hard and having your efforts validated is priceless. 

As a business owner I have found it is of utmost importance that you lay your ground work so you are always prepared, like a good Girl Scout, for what is around the corner. Dont wait for the phone to ring to whip your website, products, etc. into shape. You never know who may be looking at your product or service and wanting to promote you in some manner but thinks you are not quite ready. Those missed opportunities can be lost forever.

Another thing Ive learned is PR doesn't necessarily translate into sales. It does heighten awareness about your business which does ultimately bring in more sales but even more importantly is serves as establishing credibility. Credibility in business is everything! When you hear about a person, product or service and want to know more you will undoubtedly Google the name. What happens if you cant find any information, you move on. So be absolutely sure you have laid your ground work so when an opportunity comes along you can be found and have a credible reputation.

Paula of Castle & Cottage

Like many entrepreneurs my business started as a hobby, just painting signs for friends and family. It seemed the more I painted & created, the more I wanted to paint & create. Soon selling my signs became inevitable and I've never looked back!

I suppose my success can be attributed in large part because I never allowed myself to doubt what I was doing. I've always had my heart in this which has been the one thing that made all the difference. Of course the support of my loving husband and family was a huge part, but once they realized where my heart was, (and itwas staying there!)...they began rallying around me and supported me all the way.

I took a lot of chances and gambles along the way- almost always 'wearing my heart on my sleeve' so to speak but I truly never allowed myself to do anything but look forward. If something didn't work, it simply meant I had to find a better way to do it; it never meant 'give up'!

Today I can honestly say that I've reached a place in my business that I've been dreaming of and working towards for almost twenty years. That may seem like a long time but when I look back I realize that every moment was worth it. I wake up each day more anxious than the last and ready to 'work' creating more and creating anew.

Visit Paula at her blog: Castle and Cottage 

To order her fabulous signs:  Castle & Cottage Signs

My Special Guest~Karen Valentine

 Guess Who is speaking at Launch Your Creativity?

 

Karen Valentine of Valentine Design and "Where Bloggers Create"

Did I tell you that this amazing, creative lady will be one of my guest speakers

at Launch Your Creativity in April?

Visit Karen's blog, My Desert Cottage,  for cottage inspiration, tutorials and blingy eye candy galore. She is an amazing photographer and has been published  in Somerset Studio & Where Women Create.

I'm so excited to have Karen speak and I know you will love hearing from her. 

Don't miss the event!

Free Tutorial for Business Blogging!

Cindy Adkins of Whimsical Musings has a fabulous new tutorial to help you navigate your way to more successful blogging. She is a very talented artist, author and motivator. Cindy's recent books, "Blogging: Its a 'Woman' Thing" and

"Blog From the Heart, a Woman's Guide to Blogging" are holding the #1 & #2 

spots on Amazon.

 

Visit HERE to read her guidebook.

~Follow Your Creative BLISS~ 

Sharon