The Art Of Thank-You

This old stationery box was given to me by a dear artist friend "Judy Rael" who's creative arts never stop amazing me. Judy gave me this box knowing that I would come up with something that would alter it's dated look. It had a crackled paint finish in golden yellow's and creams, at first I was worried that too much time had gotten by without creating something and worrying about what next would I create. I was worried that my dear blogging buddies would bore of me and never visit again. This is when I took the stationery box and began to give it a bit of a new art style to it.


I painted a clean fresh primer finish in white to it so I could see vision for it. This is when it hit me that it needed to be covered with vintage book pages of seven centuries of love letter writings written in affection to win the hand, and heart of their true love. I papered the stationery box on all the important place's, poetically using the pages along with trimming the edges with hand painted paper. By adding paint to the book pages this gave it a faded aged paper look, and feel to it.
The artful paint, as well as sanding and major distressing with coat after coat of hand rubbed sealer finished it for timeless lasting use.

I love adding decorative piece's embellishing it's charm with tattered cottons in soft whites, and pinning a dictionary meaning (stationery) to it with a rusted safety pin, or just adding artful piece's with history. This stationery box will beckon you to fill it with your favorite thank-you note cards, while placed as part of your Euro chic flea market decor it will remind you daily to sit and write out a thank-you to someone dear. One thing that still remains and holds value is the old-fashioned thank-you note, it is a personal form of communication in hand written form that may be read and re-read years to come with lasting memories, where words in writing stand still.

Thank-you notes are authentic, personal, and show the recipient that you truly appreciate their act of kindness, support, endearing love or just thanking them for who they are. A personal note helps everyone reconnect in a world of technology where we are beginning to see a trend where postal snail mail is slowly fading away. We are relying on e-mail, fax, ipod, instant messaging, the link to keeping in contact.

Writing thank-you notes not only expresses your appreciation for the received gift or simply thanking them for a good reason personal to you, it also helps raise the note recipient's opinion of you. Taking the time to write a thank-you note shows consideration, care, and appreciation for who you are thanking.

I wish I could sit and write a thank-you note to each and everyone of you for graciously excepting me into the world of blogging. Not to mention all of your support, friendships and personal comments that have all tugged at my heart, It truly is a place "where women create... friendships."
For this I thank-you.

It Was A Sign... To Paint

"Your wings already exist. All you have to do is fly."
"Painting on the things I love"... After watching one sweet guy come to the glass door for a peek in, my daughter Hannah went for her shelled sunflower seeds to give him a treat, calling all his friends she began to feed her birds, and I began to paint. As a bohemian artist with a wistful style and a passion for art with meaning, I paint memories on walls and on interesting scarps of wood, furniture pieces, and just about anything that moves me.

My many years of painting signs and "Trompe L'oeil" on the walls of many model homes as well as the homes of clients who seek out my work so they too can express their style in their own homes. All of this and a number of garden walls, cafes and reatil business have had a lasting effect on me. I love when I have been requested to transform their ordinary walls to walls filled with my art. Be it faux finishes, plaster techniques and hand painted art, it is always new and exciting for me to see the finished project.





I create art in my mind because it is so much a part of me. Painting runs a close first to my passion in interior design work. Painting - is a tool in telling my story, expressing the things in my imagination and realizing what I see with my heart and eyes.

I also will seek out designs that inspire me, I look to sources that move me finding things in our homes and gardens, also inspiring photographs all in which to create a particular setting and story to a wall mural or a delightful simple sign. Painting peaceful nature onto a piece of wood allows others to share in a piece of nature's messages painted and brought to life.




If the garden is not filled with life I will build a birdhouse for them, and I will paint a sign for it. A meaningful sign can remind us daily of the joy we find in it.
Inspiring you to paint words with meaning, hmm!! now what will I paint on this one.

Love Letters From The Sea

Sea shells and book page letters from seven centuries of love, this wreath beckons a fair ocean breeze. Created by myself, "Dore Callaway" These natural wonders, strewn along beaches like jewels from the sea along with rolled book pages from seven centuries of love, these pages promising eternal devotion are in good company mixed with the sea and the love of it.

I am inspired by many of you dear friends, one of them being an INSPIRING blog site
"Jujubes Coastal Cottage Life"... http://jujubescoastal.blogspot.com
Visit "Marlene's" inspired beach trail and the view of her ocean...
Marlene lives in a beautiful small rural California coastal town with rolling green hills full of pine and oak trees, best of all her ocean...what else is there.

All the shells are attached to twigs on a grapevine wreath, the rolled book pages are tied and tucked in clusters with cotton string underneath the white shells, leaving you feeling as if they were washed up onto the beach in a magical way. A paper bird created by me, then printed on paper that has been glued to a thin heavy duty cardboard adding a small pin hole on the top side of it's back enables it to pin to a tattered strip of aged white cotton fabric that has been woven through the twigs and shells, this way the paper bird will endure handling.

The tattered trim was created by tearing strips of fabric from an old cotton ruffled blouse then woven into the wreath, also by adding the small crocheted threads this was the perfect touch to simulating seaweed washed ashore. A great touch was the braided string that tied to the back side by making a tied loop to hang your wreath, This keeps it all natural, recycled from the land and sea.

My daughter Hannah and her girl friend Elizabeth, while they were working on their senior portfolio I was finishing up on the details of this wreath, Elizabeth then commented with such passion that the wreath was spiritual and had meaning...I loved that the wreath gave her an aww!! moment and I just wanted her to know her comment was worth mentioning.

"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see."
I hope you have a few shells in your pocket from your long walk on the beach...
The sea shells and book page love letters wreath is now hanging off an old weathered rusted white iron gate in my shop, waiting for someone to take it on it's next journey.