Nordic French Calm Tucked In The Corner

Burlap Luxe kitchen photos by Dore

A relaxed atmosphere
A quiet place for a single place setting atop a
sawhorse table I created for these moments.

The comforts of a French chair wrapped in linen.

Where Nordic greets relaxed French elegance.

Wild birds are welcome to sing.

Nest in comfort of old.

A room alive with morning light, and a French cupboard beginning
to fill up with earthware, ironstone and china.
The cabinet turned into a cupboard was an out dated TV unit filled
with doors and side drawers that pulled out for VHS movies. I cut
this 27" inch deep cabinet down the middle making it 13" in depth; added
shelving and exterior siding with a coat of whiteness making this a focal piece
tucked in the corner.
Inspiring the next useless piece to become something.

Whats Important in a Rustic Rural Cottage

Burlap Luxe Home Photos

When you are there for them, they are there for you...
Friends

French Pottery by Laura Venosa
Verbena Nested Treasures

She is my friend, late night talking buddy, and a creative force to reckon with, and
I adore her.

If you want to know about this tray I will tell you more in a bit, but more about a
designing friend first.

I know Laura's art well, and she wanted to gift me some of her pottery (Mugs)
not being much of a mug kind of person I said, "Can you make me some plates?"
"How many?" she replied.
Not to look greedy, I just replied, "umm! 4"
Of course I wanted to say enough to fill my whole cupboard my friend!

Then I asked, "could you make them so very imperfect?"
She replied, "that's what i'm good at."
I think she is so much better then she knows herself.

Look at the ripples, shapely design with a rustic French attitude.
I am in love with their authentic feel, and rustic rural charm as if a
road side potter is selling their prized pieces.

The bottom of some of the plates have her finger prints; not expected, and
not intended.

I love that the weight of Laura's plates, weighted heavy in the hands of her love; enough so,
that she leaves her marks behind.
Laura's D.N.A is all over her designs, and I am charmed.

Generous dessert sized plate, or for special little somethings.

I have already ordered more, and a platter in hopes to use a cupboard full for
my daughter Hannah's wedding someday (only dreaming for now).
We have a rustic French prairie style wedding in her future works, and
can you see yourself invited to then dine on these delicious plates
of perfection, for a perfect day.



French Plates Laura Venosa
http://VerbenaNestedTreasures.blogspot.com

Now for the rustic tray!
Smith & Hawken
Target
I surprise myself with these finds of mass. I rarely buy new on accessories, but I
will make exceptions when I see potential of making it that much better; this is what I did.
Now on sale! lucky you I paid $34.99 so worth it, but now on sale for $24.99
I was not happy with the wax like finish making the piece feel, and look a bit to new.
So I took and sanded it down with a 60 grit sandpaper on a palm sander: it took
just minutes to remove.
The results were amazingly old looking, almost like an old dough bowl, but a tray.
Another piece for our home to love, and it's made like nothing else.
perfectly, perfect.

I invite all to relish in Laura's pottery.
"Celebrate her passion"

Thank you Laura, my sweet friend.
xox

February 1st Artful Blogging...And Me!




Artful Blogging Magazine February 1st 2014

I am so grateful, and feel so honored to have been asked if I would like to be featured in,
Artful Blogging magazine.
Would there have been any other answer then yes, yes, yes!

Sincerely thanking,
Jennifer Jackson Taylor
Assistant Senior Managing Editor
and
Christine Stephens
Managing Editor
Artful Blogging Magazine

I received an early copy in the mail of this beautiful magazine that
reads like a book, and life in this magazine is very much about now!

I was so excited to turn the pages seeing my name in the table of contents.
Page 6-13

Thank you Artful Blogging, for recognizing the atmosphere I have created in blogging with words I gather soulfully. Creating a place to rest in it's calm where I gather, and create, collect, reimage, and write about. A place that gently moves me in the direction I am heading with like bloggers; the beauty, and life they too share.

Being a
Gatherer of
WORDS

by Dore Callaway

For the LOVE of blogging.

Artful Blogging magazine will be on your book store magazine stands, and
local retailing newsstands February 1st 2014

Subscribe, or purchase here...
stampington.com/artful-blogging

Excited to share the beauty Artful Blogging magazine added to my life; a magazine that visually inspires.

French Inspired Home...French Wirework

Photos BurlapLuxe Home

I strive to design with forgotten pieces of salvage pale in color that echo the
grey skies, and the naturals of earthenware putty clay's.

This French dressing chest made its way to my sitting room after I stripped off it's
painted finish of bright apple green. To then restore it's Frenchness to a finish of desire,
aging it to feel like chalk to the touch.

I alway's look for pieces then paint them allowing them to give back
a harmonious, restful, calm, rustic in style.

I have been creating in some way my whole life. As for the paint finish,
"de la conception a la finition" The design finish, I make and create my own paints.
using old world techniques as is in most modern time chalk paints.

French in designs whites are sometimes creamy and often touched with grey's, using layers,
and wiped off aging. I am comfortable creating around weathered and beaten up pieces, it's
what inspires my soul in what I gather and create.

A weathered beaten down porch post, adds the right kind of rightness,
layered with French serving trays of old.

Iron, pewters, zincs, and galvanized scattered about my home.

It's not uncommon to find a bit of unusual,
like these rocks that look like wild bird eggs ready to hatch.
Found when my daughter was enjoying nature when she was age 4.
Her small hand offering me rocks saying don't they look like bird eggs mommy?
How could I dare toss them.

She is now 3rd year college.

200 year plus door I salvaged from my grandparents home when all there
was left but memories. The key in a box of old skeleton keys passed around for
the taking, and would you believe me, in the dividing up of old keys when I got home
I noticed that the one of a few keys I took home with me fit our family's home door un-locking
beautiful memories of the home that built us.

French wirework is a passion I have been bending and twisting for years.
I love that something common can be artistically re-created into artful play with a
story of it's own.

I love seeing the art of French wirework in an old rustic French villa or cottage.
It's here where I create just that. Wire bits are often found and snipped off pieces in the strangest
places. The open coiled craft of wirework was a technique popular during the first half of
the 19th century. Artisans crafted each piece of handwoven wires, and metals turned, and formed
into forms of French wire-craft. A fine art of today as well.

Here is a piece I have been creating for a performance in one of my crafted
French theatre's. I was inspired by this piece when we added a family member to our home
( Puppy) her name is Pia Bleu, and she is an Italian Greyhound, we adore her.
We sometimes call her dancing Pia!

Here you will see her long legs dancing about.

She wears a dog collar of grey tattered linen and a wire pendant.

Like all ballerina's she wears a wire bun wrapped in a wire crown I had to create for her.
I add something that has become a trademark to my art, a technique of crusty, white
touched with grey, adding that mystery of old.



My hand twisted, and bent wire crowns will soon be filling up my shop, and can
be found in my etsy.

www.etsy.com/shop/BurlapLuxe



Vintage sea pearls embellish with tagged Ocean, and Sea on the back side.
Royal crown is to the right.

Take note of the French wire Chandelier on the book jacket of French Home,
I am in love with this art.

Our Pia Bleu, now 5 months old who inspired my wirework art piece, The
Dancing Pia, wearing her grey tattered collar.

Salvaging Time With Creating It

Burlap Luxe Home... 2014

Burlap Luxe is bringing in the New Year, and leaving the Old Year lost to all.

Time brings all things to pass, a minute in time.

I am altering time, creating with salvage parts from old clock boxes
where I take the old and create.

It is a beautiful reminder in stopping time.

How time flies, 2013-2014



Packing up last year, and making room for this year.
Inspiring a guest to every heart's desire in all its newness.