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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

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July 15, 2012

Talking Shop with…Vicki of Curly Willow Collections!



Today we are shining the spotlight on a super talented woman and friend! We have been so honored to have Vicki of the Etsy Shop Curly Willow Collections


and of the blog Vicki Designer Joyful Expressions!

Vicki creates some of the most gorgeous digital items, prints and one of a kind graphics.  Items like these: 

Kitchen, Art Collection, Print, Coffee, Fruit, Stock pot, red, brown, green, yellow
Kitchen Art Collection

and these

Keep Calm and Carry On Art Print Poster Collection
Keep Calm Collection

and gorgeous note cards like this darling one:

Modern Stationery Greeting card Pink Hot Pink Abstract Quotes
Modern Stationary

and our most favorite design of Vicki’s…are gorgeous At The Picket Fence business cards!



We were so thrilled with the design Vicki created for us, and we got so many compliments on them! People actually said, “oooh you all are the ones with the mason jar cards!” So, we know they were getting noticed…and rightly so!  We thought it would be fun to find out a little more about Vicki, the woman behind this fabulous shop! Welcome to the SPOTLIGHT Vicki! 

1. What led to your decision to start your own small business?

I was creating a lot of custom work for bloggers through a blog I shared with my best friend. It was more of a home and garden blog with room re-dos and decorating, but I wasn’t really great at that so I wanted to move my art, card and pattern designs into a more creative arena. So, I decided to open an Etsy shop. After I investigated other Etsy shops I loved, most shop owners had a blog, a facebook and twitter accounts. So, I moved away from the shared blog and opened shop to see what I could do.

2. From where do you draw inspiration for your products?

I love creating. I think I enjoy creating images that speak to people, whether it’s custom work, like when I designed your business cards, or working with someone to design a blog brand that takes their ideas, words, and colors represent them completely. Plus, my bonus creating time is designing for myself. Taking inspiration and making some sort of art print/poster that embellishes someone’s space. And when someone buys that, well that’s just the icing on the cake. I recently sold one of my new kitchen prints to a gal in Germany. This was a very sweet sale for me, because that is where I was born. So, I felt like a little piece of me was going home.


Retro Art Print Poster Coffee Cake Geometric Turquoise

3. What do you feel has been your greatest accomplishment as a small business owner? 

My biggest accomplishment is that people like what I do. The heart of every artist is the ability to create. We must be able to do that or a little piece of us dies. The bonus is having someone like what you do. I don’t love everything I create… But, I do love everything I put in my etsy shop and my only hope is that someone else likes it too.

4. What is one of the challenges you face as a small business owner?

For me, since I am working full time now, the time to creative is so minimal. I miss being able to do it daily. 

5. What advice would you give to someone interested in starting their own business?

My biggest advice is just START! As you move forward, you will evolve, your shop will evolve. I try not to worry about making the money. I’m not the best business person. I’d love to improve that, but there’s only so many hours in the day, and it’s not a priority for me yet.

Spring Art Print Poster Ball Jar Floral Robins Egg Blue Bloom

THANK YOU SO MUCH VICKI for sharing this invaluable advise and insight into owning your own shop!
We are honored to have you as a sponsor and a friend! 

We hope you’ll take a moment to pay Vicki a visit at her blog and her shop! We know you’ll find something that catches your eye!
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Susan (My Place to Yours) says

    July 14, 2012 at 11:23 PM

    So glad you ladies featured Vicki! You may recall that she’s the sweetheart who — unsolicited — created the Bloggers for Hope button I keep on my sidebar … and some printable Valentines, too. She’s such a giving person, and it’s nice to see her creativity well-received.

    Reply
  2. Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions says

    July 15, 2012 at 12:04 AM

    Vicki’s got some great pieces! I won one of her Keep Calm prints and picked the “create” one. I’m actually showing it off in my most recent post about my craft/sewing room! It’s a great piece to have right outside the door.

    Reply
  3. Dawn says

    July 15, 2012 at 8:55 PM

    Vicki does beautiful work! I especially love that last piece “bloom. . .fill up daily for optimal growth”

    Reply
  4. Karena says

    July 16, 2012 at 1:01 AM

    I love to hear about the small business entrepreneur making their dreams come true! yay Vicki!

    I think you will like my new Giveaway from Royal Design Stencils..

    xoxo
    Karena
    Art by Karena

    Reply
  5. carol says

    October 19, 2012 at 10:03 AM

    thank you for taking the time to share
    cheers carol

    Reply
  6. philips coffee maker says

    December 14, 2013 at 12:03 PM

    Since the benefit of the single-serve Keurig K-Cup coffee machine, coffee lovers have been appreciating just-brewed coffee one cup at a time.
    Instantly, your counselor instincts begin to shout for you to climb to her and ask her just what the problem is.
    cooking, air treatment, cooling and cleaning products.

    Reply

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“Those who know your name trust in you, for you, “Those who know your name trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.” Psalm 9:10
This is one of my most favorite projects from my b This is one of my most favorite projects from my book Life in Season! 

Because, if heaven has a fragrance, I’m fairly certain it smells like lilacs.

I think that somewhere along the way the verse in the Bible that said, ‘heaven will smell like lilacs’ just got lost in translation. But it HAD to have been in there at some point, right?

When I bury my head in the blossoms (which I absolutely MUST do every single time I walk past them), I immediately feel a stirring in my soul.

It seems like I wait forever for my lilac tree to bloom. Every year I anxiously watch as the buds begin to form on the branches and then when the blossoms finally burst forth I begin that agonizing process of deciding the absolute perfect moment to snip them and bring them inside.

And then, after all of that waiting and watching it’s just over…done. Because, unlike heaven, lilacs don’t last for an eternity. So, making my own lilac room spray seemed like the perfect way to enjoy their fragrance long after the blossoms have faded.

Here’s how to make it! Ingredients: Water, Vodka, Lilac fragrance oil. Directions: Fill spray bottle with 50/50 ratio of water to vodka. Add 12 drops of lilac oil. Give it a shake, spray and if the scent isn’t strong enough, simply add a few more drops of lilac oil.

Once you’ve made this lilac scented room spray you will be very tempted to spray it in every room in your house. And someone may want to use it in the bathroom to cover up other less…ummmm….pleasing aromas.

But, do not, I repeat do NOT, let them.

You’ve captured the fragrance of heaven in a bottle and you wouldn’t want to go and tarnish it now would you? 😉
We had two back to back days of sunshine (the most We had two back to back days of sunshine (the most we’ve had in a LONG time) and now we are back to pouring rain. This has officially confirmed what I’ve know to be true for awhile now.

I’m a MUCH better version of myself when the sun is shining! 🤪 So I’ll just be over here today plotting and planning how my husband and I can be snowbirds someday when the kids are out of the house.

If you could spend your winters (and apparently most of spring too!) in any part of the country, where would it be?
Happy weekend sweet friends!! We’ve had a LOT of Happy weekend sweet friends!! We’ve had a LOT of rain lately (which is saying something when you live in Oregon) and I’ll admit that it’s affecting my moods a bit. I feel like I’m dragging and struggling to find the energy to get stuff done. So don’t mind me if I’m over here looking at photos of my garden in the summertime and finding that it keeps me hopeful about those days to come. They will come, right?! 🤪. 

What are your favorite plants that you look forward to seeing in the summer?
We’re going to be giving our laundry room a make We’re going to be giving our laundry room a makeover soon. It’s LONG overdue! In fact, the folks from the counter company were just here taking measurements. While we have made some simple, inexpensive updates over the years, it still has many of the original elements from when the house was built in 1992.

Two of our bathrooms are also in need of major makeovers. And we’ve saved up enough money over the years to tackle those projects. But, for the most part, we made the decision to use the bulk of that money in another way. While we knew that it was financially wise to invest in our house, we also knew that the greatest investment we could make was in our children. 

I’ll admit, there are times where I see other people doing massive overhauls of their entire home in a matter of months and I feel a prick of envy. But, we decided that if our choice was between waiting a bit longer to enjoy a renovated bathroom or going on adventures as a family, we would choose adventures every time. And we don’t regret that decision for a single second. It’s not that we haven’t tackled home projects (we’ve done a lot!). It’s just that it’s been a slow and steady process. 

Most recently, we let our son pick where we would travel for spring break since this is his senior year of high school and we are trying to make up for lost time. With so much of life ‘paused’ for two years, we have appreciated these moments more than ever. And, since he’ll be heading to college in the fall, we are very aware of how important it is to spend this time together while we still have a modicum of control over everyone’s schedules.

We have many years left to remodel our home but only so much time left to make memories with our children.

And, while I’m always happy to look around my home and see rooms that are updated and more reflecting of our style, it doesn’t compare to the joy I feel when I look around my home and see the people I love the most who have been shaped by the many adventures we’ve experienced together.
Happy Saturday!! After endless days of rain (and h Happy Saturday!! After endless days of rain (and hail and snow) we are finally getting some sunshine and warmer temperatures. I’ll be honest, it’s really affected my spirits having one gloomy day after the next. So this is a much needed reprieve. Our cherry trees are showing off outside my kitchen window and we plan to get outside and make the most of these days while we have them.

What’s the weather like where you are?
“The devil, darkness, and death may swagger and “The devil, darkness, and death may swagger and boast, the pangs of life will sting for a while longer, but don’t worry; the forces of evil are breathing their last. Not to worry…HE’S RISEN!” (Charles R. Swindoll).

Happy Easter! He is risen indeed!
Who has believed our message? And to whom has the Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

For he grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; he has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to him.

He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face, he was despised, and we did not esteem him. Surely our griefs he himself bore, and our sorrows he carried; yet we ourselves esteemed him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 

But he was pierced through for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon him, and by his scourging we are healed.

All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on him. (Isaiah 53)
I try to always remember to put a water bottle in I try to always remember to put a water bottle in my car before I go to pick up my daughter from school. She didn't ask me to do this, but a few months ago I began to notice that she was often thirsty when she would get in the car. Her water bottle filled up at the beginning of the day was empty by the time school got out and she would ask if she could have some water from my hydroflask. So I make sure to have one waiting for her. It's just a simple thing, really. But, I want her to know that I'm paying attention, that I see her.

Isn't it amazing how small gestures can make us feel less invisible? Knowing that someone is thinking of us and takes the time to meet a need that we might not have even realized we had? These little acts can have big impacts. What is something that someone has done for you recently that made you feel valued and seen?

What have you done for someone else to remind them that you are paying attention to their needs?

“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”
― Charles Dickens
“The next day the large crowd that had come to t “The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!’ – John 12:9-19
#palmsunday
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