I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE TO YOU............BARBARA OF SHABBY COWGIRL!
Barbara and I met on Facebook, I saw her Tattered Laundry Collection pieces and I was hooked. I mean I just sat there and drooled. We started messaging and posting back and forth and realized that we had a lot in common. A love for red & turquoise and unhealtly snacks! lol
The passion to make what we do at our kitchen & dining room tables our dream job come true. I support her daily and she does the same for me....so when celebrating this 1 year of blogging I just had to ask her so I could share her talent with all of you! She is the sweetest, supportive shabby sista you will meet!
I asked Barbara to tell me how she started making these beautiful creations and the process...so you all can see that it's never to late to make your dream happen. I also love that her daughter told her mom to jump in that saddle and make it happen.
Here is how Barbara tells her story....
Okay here is my story. I started cutting up curtains and finding fabric to repurpose when I was in Jr. High. I rarely used a pattern and if I did, it was just one part to mix in with some other design element. My mom let me go to school in skirts with crooked zippers and hems that swooped to one side but allowed me to find my own way and teach myself to sew. I learned my crazy design style from my grandmother who would take me to the bargain basement of her favorite department store, buy some type of upholstery or random fabric and we'd go home, cut patterns out of paper bags and she would sew me whatever the latest fashion might be.
I discovered vintage sheets as a fun source for fabric, the prints are fun, the fabric is easy to work with and inexpensive to purchase.I use repurposed fabrics and thrift store finds in almost all of my work. Buttons, trims, burlap, lace, and tulle are used in most of my creations.
I have been working to get my Shabby Cowgirl dream off the ground for 8 years but not having any success and not sure how to market my creations. I believed in my dream and have so many ideas of where I would love to take my little company but it was frustrating to say the least.
Last December, my job fell apart, my husband is out of work and I was at a crossroads. My wise daughter Becky sat me down and told me that I either needed to go all in and treat it like a job or let it go and move on. I knew she was right and with her wonderful marketing advice I began treating each day like I was at work. I got my boys off to school,cleaned the kitchen, started the laundry and then I pulled out the sewing machine.
With Becky's guidance I started working my Shabby Cowgirl Facebook page and set up an Etsy shop. Things turned around almost immediately and there has been an amazing and steady growth in my page visits and the attention Shabby Cowgirl has received. I have been so fortunate to have made some really wonderful connections and been given opportunities for new horizons and what I know for sure is this is what it feels like to have your dreams come true. I get to do what I love and I LOVE what I do. I am hoping to get to some shows this year and meet the insanely creative people I know through Facebook and email and above all I am grateful for every single day at the Shabby Cowgirl World Headquarters..aka my kitchen table.
I have 5 children, three are grown and have fabulous lives and I even have two adorable grandsons, with two last sons still at home. I am the biggest sports loving mom ever and even though we live in town right now, my heart and soul is aching for life at the end of a dirt road with a horse outside my sewing room window and a coop full of chickens. A place where there is room to breathe, where an any problem can be solved with a sunset ride.
I love jeans and ts, sundresses, barefeet,cowboy boots, a stack of silver bangles and my ever present hoop earrings. I'd love to lose 30 pounds and I really want to go to Cowgirl Camp and I want another tattoo of a bluebird in honor of my dad. My favorite colors are red and turquoise, I wish I had been a country singer and I am married to my best friend , the oh so patient husband who has learned to tolerate my sewing machine and fabric on the table, computer time and the ever present thread on the back of his shirt.
He offers design help like this..husband "Honey, that doesn't match"...Me "It's not supposed to" Husband "Then you did a good job" . Both of my daughters are creative and we are working on a super fun collaberation that is in the works right now. I cannot wait to see where this adventure takes me..My favorite cowgirl quote...Always saddle your own horse...
Here is some of her amazing pieces...get ready to drool!
HERE IS WHAT BARBARA IS SO GENEROUSLY GIVING TO ONE LUCKY 7 DESIGN FOLLOWER!
Yes....all 3 of those headbands and her fabulous half-apron too!
This giveaway is only open to you if you are a follower
********PLEASE COMMENT SEPARATELY FOR EACH ACTION YOU COMPLETE....SO EACH COMMENT WILL COUNT AS ANOTHER ENTRY FOR YOU********
Must be/become a follower of LUCKY 7 DESIGN and it will be verified.
Share this giveaway on your Facebook page
Share this giveaway on your Twitter page
(HEART) Lucky 7 Design on Etsy
(HEART) Shabby Cowgirl on Etsy
Tell Barbara and I if you own a pair of cowboy boots and if so what color?
Enter once or do them all..it's up to you! Im giving you as many entries I can to win this fabulous giveaway. (just make sure you do the mandatory one...wink wink)
Make sure to check back tomorrow so I can introduce you to my next fabulous guest and what she is bringing to the party for you!
EACH GIVEAWAY WILL RUN FOR (2 DAYS) 48 HOURS!
Thank you all for coming!
-MJ
Don't forget I'm offering a discount in both my Etsy shops throughout this celebration.
Use coupon code 1YEARBLOGGIN
Hahahahaha SJ is hosting a linky party promoting giveaways....im so there right now!
THE WINNER OF THE CROWN OF BOWS GIVEAWAY IS:
# 2
SMILEY :)
THE WINNER OF THE I HEART ROCK N ROLL GIVEAWAY IS:
# 3
SMILEY :)
She was the 1st one to enter on both giveaways.....I guess the early bird does get the worm. Or in this case some fabulous stuff! Im so jealous!
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