Rachel Returns...a Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic Giveaway

Tattered Elegance

Time-Worn Beauty

Faded Grandeur

and, of course...

Shabby Chic

All words that describe the timeless style of the one and only
Rachel Ashwell.

 

She pioneered the classic look we all know and love,
and now the style icon is back and better than ever!

Ms. Ashwell has long been known
as the arbiter of all things effortlessly elegant.
Her influence has been felt far and wide...
often imitated, but never, ever duplicated.
The lady is truly one of a kind.

Today, you can acquire a taste of timeless grandeur
of your very own at one of Rachel's three
Shabby Chic Couture shops
in either California, New York or London.

And did you also know that you can stay plugged in
to all the latest news from Rachel via her fabulous blog?

Speaking of blogs and bloggers, the truly exciting news
is that my friend Lu Tapp, from the wonderful blog DustyLu,
was contacted by Rachel's organization to photograph and style her latest project!

Many of the product photos you will see on Rachel's
incredible new site and the entire bedding line were taken by our very own Lu!
Apparently Rachel saw Lu's work, loved it, and the rest is history.

Who says dreams don't come true?

Behold just a few of  the amazing images my friend Lu
contributed to Rachel's new project...

Incredible stuff, but would you expect anything less from the grande dame of 

perfect imperfection?

Now, thanks to the fine folks at

Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic Couture

and my friend Lu of

DustyLu

I am pleased to announce HUGE giveaway news!!!

One lucky winner will have the choice of receiving one of the following:

Her latest book, 

Rachel Ashwell

Shabby Chic Interiors

My Rooms, Treasures, and Trinkets

*** AUTOGRAPHED BY RACHEL HERSELF! ***

or

a copy of Rachel's best-selling book,

Rachel Ashwell

Shabby Chic

Sumptuous Settings & Other Lovely Things

 As per Lu, here's what you need to do to enter and win:

Visit Lu's post HERE to enter!

1. Post about this giveaway
2.  Add the giveaway to your sidebar
3.  Follow Rachel's blog
4. Follow Lu's blog
5. Visit Rachel's site, Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic Couture

Giveaway ends June 30th, 12 noon, PST. 

Don't miss this fabulous opportunity to rediscover
everything that made you fall in love with the
Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic style all those years ago!

She's back, and she's better than ever!

White Wednesday From the Archives

 Still feeling under the weather, so I reached back into the dusty, musty Fiona & Twig vaults and cleaned off this Wednesday post from August of 2009.

 I had a whopping 8 comments on this post, and 4 of them were my own!

Enjoy!

I do tend to anthropomorphize my belongings, I believe I mentioned that in an earlier entry.

My divine Carol Hicks Bolton couch is named Babette.
And even though I most certainly do not consider my cat Winnie a belonging (she is my daughter, after all ), I do have the odd moment every now and again when I feel certain she's a tiny little human inside a cat suit.

But it goes beyond that.....look closely at my small vase above.
Where the crackling is on the glaze, the slight darkening resembles nothing so much as veins and arteries.
"It's Alive" she exclaimed!

After all, I'm positive that she spoke to the very core of who I am and what I love when she came home with me 12 years ago. And she's been speaking to and inspiring me ever since.

They speak to you too though, don't they?

That whispery yet persistent voice which tells you that home for them
is whichever way and wherever place you're heading.

I mean, how else to explain the absolute "right-ness"
of that one very special piece we all own?
The one we were sure we couldn't afford
yet could not imagine leaving the market without?
It's their fault....they speak to us.

They can be pesky and strident little boogers
when they find their mark....even so far as haunting our thoughts
and dreams in the days and months to follow should we
not heed their supplications and invite them back to our domicile.

Armed with regret and hopeful anticipation,
we invariably head back to the marketplace and find, to our utter dismay, that they spoke a bit more loudly to someone else....who listened.

Shhhhhh, I think I hear Babette.....back for my next post
after I learn what's on her mind this fine Wednesday.

Visit Kathleen at Faded Charm to see
all the bloggers posting whites this Wednesday!

Winning Streak

I'm a bit embarrassed to 'fess up to how many blog giveaways
I've won the past couple of months.

I mean, seriously...I've made out like a bandit, a
nd this past week was no exception!

My latest win came courtesy of
my sweet and beautiful friend Kate of Salvage Dior.

I entered her thankfulness giveaway a couple of weeks back,
and look what arrived on my front door...

Firstly, this gorgeous burlap pillow, which was handmade
by one of the dealers at Kate's antique mall, Country Roads.

I don't know that I've ever shared
my gorgeous Carol Hicks Bolton couch with y'all! 

Bought from Mr. Tim Bolton himself
at the iconic Fredericksburg store, Homestead...

And Kate also tucked in a couple of these
fabulous glass candlesticks, complete with darling wine cork candles...

Thank you, Kate!

Having you as a friend is the best prize of all!

Off now to play in my booth for the afternoon!

Have a wonderful Memorial Day!

Puppy Love

Doggie baths!
What better activity for a lazy Summer day?

Especially if you're the one wielding the camera
and not doing any of the actual dirty work?  ; - )

Ladies first!

~Belle~

Husky Fact Number One: Most Siberian Huskies don't like water.

Our two are no exception.

 

Still, when a little lands on your tongue, it ain't all  bad!

"Don't forget the rear bumper, dad!"

And always be prepared for a photo-op for mom...

One down, one to go.

Havoks's turn!

Typical boy, he isn't sure a bath is such a good idea...

Still...

who knew?

that doggie shampoo

caused such intense bonding?

Enjoy your families, honor our heroes.

Happy Memorial Day!

Sublime Beauty

It's no secret to regular readers of this blog
that I am seriously enamored with photography these days.

I am crazy, head-over-heels, can't get enough of it, in love with my camera!

But I'm not so sure the feeling is mutual.

My Nikon D5000 taunts me, daring me
to take the training wheels off and see just what he can do given the chance.

I'm getting there, slowly but surely.

And there's no better incentive to get better behind the lens
than to gaze upon the sublime beauty that awaits you at my friend Denise's blog,

My Vintage Gardens

On her glorious BLOG and in her equally glorious Flickr Photostream,
Denise effortlessly takes our collective breath away
with image after image, each one more ethereal than the last.

I'm just going to let Denise's other worldly images do the talking.

Sit back, relax, prepare to swoon...

Well, was I right or was I right?

If you haven't met Denise or visited her gorgeous
BLOG or Flickr Photostream yet, head on over and say hello!
Not only is she incredibly talented, but she's also one of the nicest gals you'll ever meet!

My Vintage Gardens

Let her know I sent you over....Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Just a Little Photoshop Fun

Happy Early Memorial Day Weekend!

Still feeling a bit under the weather, and itching to do something creative,
I decided to work a little digital magic on one of my existing photos.

You'll recall the post I did a few days ago
featuring my wonderful bentwood chair?

Well, I thought it would be fun to play a bit more with that image,
and brush up on my Photoshopping skills.

Now mind you, I use the term Photoshop somewhat loosely,
when in reality I alternate between at least half a dozen photo editing programs. 

I just think it's a tremendous amount of fun to play
and tweak and let my imagination take over!

So....let's get started!

Do you think that I printed out a copy
of my photo and then created this flowery vignette?

Think again!

All digital. Isn't that amazing?

Here's the original image...

But where else can I take this?

Hmmmm....

But wait!

Let's stick my boy Havok in the same book!

Original image...

and voila!

 

The Literary Husky, First Edition.

How about my watch face, then?

Original image...

And through the magic of digital wizardry...

Cool beans, right?

You want to have the same fun?

Go HERE and play!

Happy Friday!