OPEN HOUSE HAS BEEN POSTPONED.

Farewell to Southern Living at Home

On Monday, July 26, Southern Living at Home will go away forever; however, August 1, a brand new company, Willow House, will launch! It is a unique, forward thinking company that has MANY changes coming through over the next year. I describe Willow House as a cross between Southern Living and Pottery Barn (2 of my favorites)!



So, what is the buzz about Willow House? It is a new type of business that has never existed before. It is a 4th generation business model. Social media company with direct selling, e-boutique online selling, and still a party planned company. There will be 8 different streams of income for design consultants. Entrepreneurs will love this. For me, as a designer, it gives me a resource when people want me to help them with their houses. The most compelling reason to get involved, is you will own your own business. For people interested in design, Willow House is also offering training in design for their consultants. If you are interested, let me know...you can begin in August for $99.

I will be placing my last order for the July sale on Sunday, July 25. If you want anything, please let me know today (Saturday). Must haves for the July sale...







Estate Canister $11.96 (Reg. $34.96)
I plan on keeping M&M's in mine! Also a great gift!













Jackson Square Candlesticks $16.96 (Reg. price $49.96)
GREAT price (set of 2)









Olive Jar Red $12.48 (Reg. price $24.96)
great accent for bookcases









Bountiful Iron stand $9.96 - Reg. price ($21.96)
great to display a bowl on a bookcase or mantle










I promise, I am working on Design Tip #3...Total home makeover (dedicated to my sweet friend, Amanda)

Follow-up to Traditions Post

I have two more things to add to the Traditions Post. As I said I earlier, I love traditions, and I also love books and reading. My dear friend Megan has told me about a book written by Noel Piper (wife of John Piper) called Treasuring God in our Traditions. It is next on my reading list. Leave a comment if you have a GREAT book on Traditions. I am always trying to begin new traditions with my kids (and I have found it makes holidays easier to plan when we do the same thing over and over again!).

The other idea I wanted to share was the are portfolio. I first need to give a shout-out to my most favorite preschool, First United Methodist Church. I have worked there the past two years, and one of the things we did was make our own Art Portfolios. And they do have an Art Portfolio in the Southern Living at Home July sale, but the FUMC is better, and here is how you make it. You take two pieces of poster board (any color), and you take colored duck tape and wrap it around 3 sides, and you are done! It it big enough for just about any artwork!

I am posting a picture from FUMC Art Show 2010 of my favorite works of art my precious 5 year olds did. You should be impressed! These are definitely frame worthy. It is a self-portrait with their best friend (which included anything from lizards to brothers)! And done completely by themselves! Precious, precious 5 year olds!

Willow House Fall 2010 catalog

www.willowhouse.com/sneakpeek

Looking for a Photographer

I meant to post this with the last post on oil paintings in case you are in need a photograher. Our dear friends, Justin and Meredith, are in the process of adopting a baby girl, Mia Grace, from Rwanda, Africa. To help raise money to bring her home, they are taking photographs for $100. With this you get all the photographs that Justin takes on a cd. Check out their website http://www.onedaycloseradoption.blogspot.com/.

Design Tip #2 - Traditions

Okay, so traditions aren't really a design tip, but the purpose of our company is to make your home a safe haven and without GOOD relationships, people will never see your home as a safe place to fall.

So, on with traditions...kind of...Southern Living at Home is currently having their semi-annual sale. Items are 50-70% off. So, one of my favorite items in this sale happens to work perfectly with a Thanksgiving tradition at my mom's house that I want to share.

We have a "formal" Thanksgiving table. China, different courses, etc. In our family, one of the important things is everyone knowing where their seat is. This is the case because everyone likes a VERY, SPECIFIC drink. Some SWEET tea, some UNSWEET tea, some half/half. You get the picture. So one of the things we started doing was assigning the BORED children the task of making "nameplates," and putting them where everyone's drink was. This was twofold. One it gave the kids an activity (and got them out of the kitchen), and the kids of all ages could participate. And two, everyone knew where their drink/seat was.


So, when I saw these napkin rings in the Southern Living at Home catalog, I knew they were a perfect fit for our Thanksgiving tradition. And you couldn't beat the price of 4 for $3.96! And "Fun Rara" (that is me) is going to step the nameplates up a notch. Now that the kids are bigger, I thought I would buy scrapbooking supplies to make the nameplates. And since the kids are older now, they may be "prettier" than they have been in the past!

My next tradition is for every kitchen to have a COOKIE JAR. My mom has ALWAYS had a cookie jar, and there are always cookies in there. I want to create a home where no matter what has happened in the world, mommy is always waiting at home with cookies and a listening ear. There is a Gail Pittman cookie jar on sale for $31.48. Being from Mississippi, I believe EVERY southerner should have at least one piece of Gail Pittman in her kitchen.





My last two "traditions" from the Southern Living at Home July sale are the My Birthday Memories Book and My School Memories Book. One of my best friends, Susan, little girl turned 8 the other day. She posted a photo album on facebook about each birthday. Such sweet memories, and such a good idea, I wanted to copy it for my kids. When I saw this in the sale and saw that it had questions for you (or the child) to answer each year, I knew it was a must for me to add to my baby book, scrapbook, photo album, etc. obsession, I mean collection. Taken from p. 38 of the Southern Living at Home Spring 2010 catalog, "My Birthday Memories scrapbook has deep pockets and a yearly questionnaire spanning 12 years." On sale for $5.96. A great 1st birthday gift!

I had a My School Memories Book growing up, so I need to continue the tradition with my own kids. Plus it gives you a place to keep ALL of the school junk, I mean stuff that you just can't throw in the trash can, and the kids LOVE to go back and look at it. In fact, the next time I am at my mom's I might pull mine out and take a stroll down memory lane. Taken from p. 38 of the Southern Living at Home Spring catalog, "My School Memories is the gold standard in K-8th grade keepsake albums, including space for class pictures and questionnaires, plus pockets for extras." On sale for $6.96.



If you are interested in any of the above products, let me know. My email is dbeatty207@comcast.net . The last day to order will be July 25.

Design Tip #3...Total Home Make-over...

Design Tip #1 - Oil Paintings

I LOVE photography, especially of my babies. But I mean I really LOVE pictures. So I was super excited to see that Southern Living at Home was doing Signature Portraits where they take your photograph and do an oil painting of it. I was devastated to learn that as of July 25, they will no longer be offering this service! So, I have been trying to figure out WHAT I want my oil painting to be, and the cheapest way I can get it (because I also LOVE bargains)! In the picture to the above, you will see the oil paintings. I want one for each of my children.

These are featured on page 17 of the Southern Living at Home Spring 2010 catalog. You do have to be a "host" to get this product.

So, here is how I have figured the cheapest way to get these oil paintings...

Southern Living at Home is having a HUGE July sale to get rid of discontinued items before rolling out the new company, Willow House, Aug. 1. Start your Christmas shopping now. Spend $125 on Christmas gifts for mothers, sisters, in-laws, teachers, etc. That will qualify you as a "host," to be eligible for the oil portraits. That will also get you a 50% off item (your oil portrait), plus shipping and tax.

You may ask why an oil portrait? First of all it is unique, elegant, and classic and secondly, every southerner should have an oil painting in their home.

But most importantly because it gives you options. For example, if you have a photograph you LOVE but it is a snapshot, or before the age of digital cameras, or it has another person you want cropped out, you can do all this in a beautiful oil painting. I have an 8x1o photograph of my son that I adore, and I want it bigger, but I can't get in touch with the photographer. So I plan to get it for my oil painting. The one of my daughter I want is a terrible photo of my son, so I want to crop him out! My sister has a 4x6 photo of her son that she needs to have done to match the already 16x20 photograph she had made of her daughter. If there is a family homeplace, they can do an oil painting of that for a gift. The possibilities are endless.

So back to spending the original $125 to be eligible to get the oil painting, I would begin my search for Christmas presents in the 4 page July sale. Items are 50-70% off.

So, if you are interested, remember you only have until July 25. Leave me a comment or email me at dbeatty207@comcast.net.

Thanks for stopping by. Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think, and if there are any design tips you would like me to address on the blog!