A glimpse of Renee…

Hi, it’s Renee and I’m going to share a few things about me you may not know.

First of all, I’m not fancy! I’m more the “girl next door”.  I love white shirts, one of a kind items and I have a quirky, funky side to me fighting to get out.

Me with 3 friends at Thanksgiving Point.  Ingrid, Renee Diane, Shawna

I’ve been blessed with many incredible, wonderful friends!

I love my family of four energetic, active boys – ages 28-18 and my great husband. My oldest son is married to a wonderful wife and has three children.

My beautiful grandchildren are the best!  They live to far away (while my son is in medical school) but I go see them a couple of times a year and we talk on SKYPE every week so they won’t forget me and I can see them growing up during the time I’m not there.

 

2 yrs old,  2 months, and 4yrs

Advice moment…

I’m a late bloomer - so all of you who think you’re too old to start something new, go for it. I came up with the idea of the Clip it Up when I was 49 and started the business at 50. So I’m not sure if that’s a mid-life crisis or not (I really don’t think I want to live to be 100). I can’t believe I just told everyone how “young” I am!

My creative BFF is Diane Schultz who is the owner, designer of Graphic 45. We met in Chicago a couple of years ago at her first show. We’ve bonded for life and could spend every day shopping for old treasures! We are so dangerous together! We love to go digging through “old, rusty, dirty things” for treasures, creating together, laughing and sharing ideas and projects. It’s been so good for me to have someone in the business so we can vent to one another.

Here’s Diane relaxing in my new craft room working on her new designs while I’m working on some fun projects for her booth for CHA Summer. We’ll post pictures of what I made after CHA starts! Don’t want to spoil the surprise!

I’m going to be an empty nester next month. Now don’t take this wrong – I LOVE my four boys, but I have been a very involved SAHM helping with soccer, football, paintball, cooking, cleaning, Student Gov’t (when my sons were officers for multiple years), PTA, girls, etc. I will miss them, but I’m thrilled to finally have the house alone with my husband again, less cooking and cleaning and hopefully getting to bed earlier! I can’t fall asleep until they come home so I start projects and then I stay up even later! I have friends who are going to be empty nesters and say, “What am I going to do with my kids gone?” and I’m saying, “I can’t believe I’m finally going to get to do all these fun projects I’ve put off!”

                                    Graduation of my baby!

With everyone gone…I’m taking over one of the largest room in the house and making my “dream” creative room. It’s over the garage and this room has served a lot of purposes for our family, but now it’s going to serve the purpose of making me very happy and hopefully very creative! My husband jokes that I’ll never want to leave the room and he could be right! It’s a work in progress (hence the hanging electrical wire coming down from the ceiling) and I still have a long ways to go, but here’s a sneak peek. I promise we’ll post more when it’s done. Now for all of you that may be jealous of the size of the room – trust me, I’ve waited a LONG time and I feel I’ve earned it!

I love to alter jewelry, clothes, hats and whatever I can get my hands on. I could spend all day creating.  Here’s a picture of one of the many corsage I made for my son’s date for a prom.  For two years I’ve made his, and most of his friends corsages to match the dresses of the girls. I always disliked the flower ones, so I take antique jewelry and make more of a bracelet so they can use it again.

I’m into rusted metal. I love the search for fun unique pieces that I can make into something else. I love antiques (since I’m starting to become one myself!) I’m not into the fine fancy ones – I love the chippy shabby chic look. I could totally spend my time being a “picker”. In case you haven’t seen American Pickers you may not know what a picker is. It’s someone who goes around finding treasures looking through others junk. I love the workmanship of the old pieces because  they took pride in their design and work.

I’m a Christmas person! Everything on the main floor of my house comes down and x-mas goes up. It is really organized and it only takes me two days (if I have a good helper). It’s a ton of work, but it makes me so happy especially when things get so crazy, it’s my place to retreat and remember what Christmas is all about! I love my home at x-mas! It’s hard to only pick a few pics since there is so much to see. 

Not the best photos, but at least you can get a feel for it.

  

I re-did my garlands last year and I only do it when I have to because I have so many, but I thought they turned out fun! 

                         Even the chandelier gets some x-mas cheer!

I love to take photos. My favorite ones are candid shots when people aren’t looking and action shots at Lake Powell. 

I love the scrapbooking and quilting markets we go to because of all the fun, extremely nice and creative people. It makes all the hard work worthwhile!

I’ve loved working with two of my five sisters so I’ve included a couple of shots of our New York Trip to the National Stationery Show where the Ribbon Organizer won Best New Product Award. We stayed a few extra days and saw the sights, went to plays, laughed and enjoyed ourselves!

 

      Me, Dianna and Carolyn

Our family has been going to Lake Powell for 24 years and we love it. If you don’t know where or about Lake Powell, you should find out!  It is beautiful, relaxing, and a slice of heaven on earth. You can’t believe the beautiful narrow canyons that just keep going and going.

This picture is at sunrise from our last trip.  The houseboat makes roughing it just my style! Isn’t it a beautiful spot to park?

We had a great sandy beach with shade in the afternoon for horse shoes, going down the slide and playing in the water.

We wakeboard, Sky-Ski (even I do it) and have a great time as a family with our friends!  This is one of the guys from our trip doing a jump on the Sky Ski.  I wish I could say it’s me who can jump that high, but I’m afraid of heights!  Good excuse huh!  Plus, who would take the pictures that make them look so good!

Well, thanks for letting me share some of my personal life with you! Nothing too exciting! I’m happy with the many gifts, talents, friends, God and family that bless my life.  I’m truly grateful for all I have!

Please leave a comment on what you love to do with your favorite best friend, your favorite holiday that you decorate for, or your favorite vacation spot with your family, or all of the above!

We will be drawing a lucky winner  on Monday July 26 from those who comment for a free Swinging Wall Arm, Under the Shelf Rod and a Wall Mount!  I love these products because they can be used in so many ways and in so many different rooms in your home. 

Good luck and I look forward to reading your comments!

Renee