Retreat To Your Sanctuary

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Sanctuary Sign is offered on my sites "Peaceful Etsy"
Hand painted on reclaimed salvaged mahogany by myself. Aged wood has never felt so peacefully tranquil. A sign that is not only soul soothing but one that is coaxing you to relax, as well as reflect.

Retreat to your sanctuary refuge, be it a nostalgic place in your home filled with flea market piece's, or an art studio transformed from a rustic garden shed creating a sanctuary hideaway in a quiet corner of your quintessential country life. With coats of whites, washed with gray's, and some reclaimed salvaged wood inspiring you to create your own sanctuary.

I would love to thank "Rita" a beautiful blogger Beachhouseliving.blogspot.com for the purchase of her 2 signs, "Sanctuary" and "Nest" from my hand painted peaceful etsy. Along with "Marlene" jujubescoastal.blogspot.com for your custom ordered sign "Seaside Cottage" thanking "Jo" Secretgardencottage.blogspot.com for another of my signs, thanking "Laura" Verbenanestedtreasures.blogspot.com for your art orders for your beautiful shop. Thanks ladies for supporting my passion and art. Don't forget to go visit these ladies beautiful blogs they will inspire a Sanctuary place.

Inspiring you to create one, or this sign offered on my peaceful "Etsy"

Bohemian Spirit

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To find such brocante gems as the little vintage bottles contained in this glass lid canister. You must travel your flea markets, second hand stores, tag and estate sales with a bohemian spirit.

Bohemian is a radical outlook on a collective flea market style in art and life. A bohemian steps over the rules of all things above and beyond conventional treasure seeking the next European flea market find. Designing around an easy, graceful, joyous unconsciousness guided by the principles of a feeling. Bohemian style is not narrow minded on a mix in designs to create your own environment, developing originality is a big part of your finds. A person of bohemian has a "devotion to one or more of the seven arts... and once known to live in poverty." I would guess the reasoning would be the gypsy like passion for old world flea market style with art, and designs in a poetic life.


French European imported cabinet in boho chic style, our perfect place to contain extra china pieces and entertaining needs. As you notice my latest sign i've painted..."Brocante" French for flea market gems, is temporarily placed waiting for a perfect place to rest.

The French are known for there baskets, in addition to there use and storage style. The square rusty one is from Anthropologie there found objects, and the round egg basket was a great ebay find, both baskets adding charm and function.

Designing around bohemian French flea market style, is irresistible to the eye of one who seeks it. I love things to surprise me with its neutral palette, and how the simplist piece adds to its presentation; resulting in a magical setting.

This slipcovered man tailored white button down old dress shirt is so bohemian chic, gypsy in style. I took and fitted the chairs with old white dress shirts for bohemain entertaining. You can see the face of the shirt up to the table ( back a few pictures) where it was buttoned down the front, the arms are wrapped to the backside tied and tagged with a special greeting or name place.

I hope this inspires, and brings the European boho chic out in all of you.

Altered Life

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The decorating of a home becomes an imagination of our life and the life journey we are on. This antique desk is a piece that I acquired from a wonderful aged old rustic antique mall, with all the perfect charm of inspiring you to buy kind of place. The desk was so perfect in every way except for the dark wood stained finish with a gloss to it that spoke in volumes that it dated a look that made this a hard selling piece. With that being said I was able to talk the price down a bit with the dealer. This was my treasured find, and I was taking it on my special hands on journey. It was in much need of added euro flea market chic-ness, with a little work and no fear of making it my own, it became a piece to love.


As I embraced each step in making this desk over, it needed to reflect my passion for all things chippy along with personality that added to its age without to much added new-ness. I stripped off the old stained finish to then add the new old painted finish to it. Taking the steps of priming it, layering of paints, and special techniques that sanding adds to it, as well as aged effects giving the piece a voice, and a place of belonging. The desk had to have a look of a well worn piece that evolved over time, with the appearance of water stained marks, and bubbled areas of pealed off paint to it.


One may say in the design and illustrating of ones home that it is a reflection of our life, and the journey we are on. As a young girl with a clam spirit and a passion to create, there was not a thing that I did not look at differently then my family of close would see. I would alter everything I laid my hands to, and I was enamored with paper, paint, and a necessary art to translate from what it was, to what it had become. I cannot resist great bones in a piece, this desk being not quite junk not quite valued for some, I saw much more in it, I saw a piece I can sit and be inspired to create.

Pictured here is my works of art, altered original pieces leaving nothing undone to the altered pieces while adding new life to them. I have been collecting those old brass wall pieces from the 70's that made there ways into our homes for years. Those brass villages, and cafes along with musical planes, you will now find them popping up everywhere with out someone to love them. I will take and alter there history with vintage paper book ephemera, covering the pieces of them giving them a new story to tell, giving me an intimate connection to each piece I alter. The elements of art for me is a critical mesh, a balance of what I love and the findings of great junk to add to each piece.

Inspiring junk and altered art to find its way into our homes, giving the pieces a voice, and a place.