Le Bon Vivant...from the Heirloom Collection!

Bienvenue!

Welcome to The Heirloom Collection, Series II! 

Several months ago, I had the privilege of introducing a new type of project kit- one that featured products that were unique and not readily found in scrapbooking stores, one that took some time to put together, one that focused on pages with layers and details, one that would be passed down in the family and one that was available in very limited quantities.  Your response was simply amazing and the kits sold out in less than two hours.  Because I had never done anything like this before, there was no way for me to anticipate that this was going to happen.  It was an exhilarating and enlightening experience and it definitely cemented in my mind that you really want and need kits like these.

Just about a week after the first Heirloom Collection kit sold out, I began visualizing the second project.  During the almost two years I’ve been doing kits, you have been telling me what you like through your comments and emails, as well as your purchases of creatologie kits.  I know that many of you LOVE textiles.  Metal is a popular embellishment, but just here and there because too much of it takes away from a soft and shabby look.  You love details and just can’t get enough of layers and textures.  “Vintage- Shabby” could be your middle name.   You really get into learning new things.   And, finally, you adore all things French, n’est pas?

With that framework in mind, I began making lists of possibilities.  The elements would be French in style and the theme would be something to focus on the positive aspects of life—celebrations, traditions, friends and family, good food, travel, and your passions and collections—all good things. 

Enter “Le Bon Vivant”…The Good Life.

A book with such a grand theme certainly deserves the best of materials and embellishments, doesn’t it?  With a sense of excitement and anticipation, I began the next step of this journey-- hunting and gathering, searching and rescuing—finding and combining unique pieces and materials that aren’t readily available to make the project different from anything else out there.

I grew up in a home surrounded by textiles.  My dad was a men’s clothing designer, my grandmother loved old lace, notions and buttons, and my mom was an accomplished seamstress, so I guess I come by my love of fabrics and notions quite honestly.  Just like the first project, this book was going to have a lot of textures and fabrics.  For starters, I had my eye on a line of vintage style French fabrics from French General which was scheduled to be released in October.   Think linen and hemp, think Turkish red and faded, washed red, think stripes, think small vine and floral patterns, think ticking – is it any wonder that I was calling my local quilt shop several times a week starting October 1^st?  I think they got tired of my calls—do you think they were giving me a hint when they said that the owner would send an email blast as soon as the fabrics arrived? 

When the email hit my inbox, I was out of the house and in my truck in a flash.  I couldn’t wait to see these fabrics up close and personal and guess what, I wasn’t disappointed at all.  They were exactly what I was looking for and they set the tone for the book.  You will find some of the fabrics on the book cover and spine—aren’t they totally gorgeous?

Next in this grand adventure was finding actual vintage or antique French linens—from France, of course!  You know all about supply and demand—well, antique French linens are in fairly high demand and the supplies are beginning to dwindle, which means you may need to sell your firstborn to purchase one hand made sheet.  After weeks of searching online, I came across a sheet that fit the bill (and the budget).  It was handmade linen, from the late 1800’s, and was advertised to be in near perfect condition.  I purchased the sheet and stalked the mail guy until the package arrived.  When I opened it up, I was so excited—actually overwhelmed with emotion would be a better way to put it.  First, it was better than promised, which was good in that the seller had not misrepresented the goods, but bad in that there was no way in the world I could cut up that piece of history.  I love to repurpose and give new life to old things, but this piece had to stay intact.  Just a bit of the story behind these sheets—they were primarily woven by women in their homes, and they could do about 24” during one evening.  Isn’t that amazing—and all the more reason why scissors wouldn’t touch that piece!

OK, what to do?  I contacted the seller and asked if she might have some other goods—something in less than perfect condition.  She emailed me her phone number and asked me to call, which resulted in a conversation pretty close to 2 hours in length.  She is the owner of a Bed & Breakfast in the Deep South, is from England (where she still has a home), and she is an antiques dealer—quite an interesting and eclectic mix—we definitely hit it off!  She told me that she had several trunks filled with old linens (be still my oh so pounding heart, you can’t have a heart attack before the book is done!) and that she would check to see what she had.  Her next email just made my heart sing.  She found two mended sheets that she thought would fit the bill—and they did!  What’s so funny is that the sheets were mended in beautiful blocks and if you didn’t know that they were mended, you would have thought that it was part of a design.  Gotta love the French!  Anyway, each kit has a piece of history—a handmade linen sheet, soft from use and washes and just perfect for the book.

With the fabrics setting the tone for the book, I set out to incorporate bits of metal, exquisite pieces of French lace and trim, unique papers and fun baubles to light up every page. 

Here’s some of what you will find in this kit:

• Metal accents including a funky spoon handle, hand made fleur-de-lis accent, vintage style and antique keys, fabulous metal charms and trinkets, a rusted metal bird and old fashioned hanger
• Unique art papers that you won’t find in most scrapbooking or craft stores—some are made out of old papers and illustrations from my personal collection
• Vintage mother of pearl buttons, antique china buttons and an amazing crocheted fringed button trim
• Vintage millinery flowers
• Hand made fabric flowers
• Exquisite vintage French trims (many made with linen and cotton)—I had been saving these for just such an occasion
• French inspired fabrics such as hemp, jacquard, matelasse, and homespun cotton
• Antique chandelier crystals in a hard to find square shape, plus antique French dimpled cranberry glass

Is your heart pounding yet?  This is just part of what you will find in this book.  The structure is a 14” x 9 3/4” landscape profile chipboard 3 ring binder (which you won’t recognize by the time you finish the book), filled to the brim with beautifully appointed pages, pages where no detail has been left undone.  Through the years, I’ve been studying French décor and something that consistently comes up in books and articles that I’ve read is that the French decorate and accessorize a room (or themselves) and then remove one item.  They believe that there is an art to having things “just right” and you know what?  I think they are on to something!  I tried it in this book and on most of the pages, it really worked.  As a result, there are actually more things in your kit than you will use in this book—wouldn’t it be fun to use some of them to create a smaller version as a gift for someone?  Oh, the possibilities!

I thought you might want to see a little of the interior pages so my daughter, Ashley, shot a little video of me going through the book, page by page.  Check it out...but don't be too tough on me...I'm really an amateur at this but love the opportunity to share the contents of the book with you!

 

 

Thanks for looking!

 

Because of the limited nature of this book, and your requests, I decided to give some advance notice of when it would become available in my PayPal storefront. 

 

Look for it to appear on Thursday morning, November 19^th, at 7:00 a.m., Arizona time (which is Mountain Time Zone right now).  So set your clock, program your iPhone, Blackberry, or PDA; after all, Thursday morning is just around the corner!

Somewhere along the line of building the interior pages, I began calling the book “an event in a box”.  Like many of you, I love events (and love teaching at events), but, for various and sundry reasons, can’t always attend each and every one that appeals to me.  Many of you can probably relate—circumstances such as previous commitments, the need to take care of family, the job, disabilities or difficulty in travel to get there, and finances to pay for the total package of food, hotel and travel often stand in the way of being at one of the coveted events.  Consider this book as a substitute for an event.  It’s delivered to your door (so no travel), it’s comprehensive enough to fill all the creative time at an event (plus you know what you are getting ahead of time so there are no surprises-like making something you’ll never use), it is unique and filled with products that take time to search out, AND, you get to create in the comfort of your home or in the friendly company of your cropping buddies (in your jammies if you want--woo hoo).

And, bottom line, you are paying far less than you would for an event.

This unique, limited edition Heirloom Collection kit will be available for pre-order on Thursday morning for just $187.  Shipping, at the cost of $12, is limited to within the US.  If you are outside of the US, and this is a MUST HAVE kit, please contact me by email at carolwingertaz@msn.com.  Because of the size and weight of the kit, it is in a different category than most of the creatologie kits and shipping costs are increased significantly.

Imagine, for less than $200, you will have a beautifully appointed, wonderfully touchable, and often looked at project that will satisfy your creative and artistic side, will focus on the good and positive aspects of your life and will become an heirloom to pass down to future generations.  What more could you ask for...well, maybe a Caribbean crop vacation in January so you could build your kit...a girl can dream, right? 

This is really a once in a lifetime opportunity because once the kits are gone, they are really and truly gone, not to be repeated again.

To pre-order your kit, simply head over to left sidebar of this blog, look for the PayPal storefront and click on the box with the picture of the Heirloom book.   PayPal will walk you through the steps and will notify me of your order.

Kits will begin shipping on December 1st, just in time for it to be a gift from hubby to you, or a much deserved gift to yourself, or a fabulous “event” that you schedule whenever it suits you!  Pull out the munchies, make some hot chocolate, load up your favorite CD’s and get prepared for a creative adventure and an appreciation for “le bon vivant”! 

As always, thanks for your orders and your referrals to family and friends.

From my studio to yours, celebrating the good life,

 
 

P.S.  I keep opening up the book and touching—does that make me obsessive? J

P.P.S.  Here’s what Kathie O. wrote to me after receiving the first Heirloom Collections kit:  “I can't say enough, it’s all so beautiful. I want to leave it just like you packaged it.  Thank you.”

 

SOLD OUT

 

 

 

Comments

[Cricket]

oh my heavens!!! How will I ever sleep Wednesday night! LOL!!

Carol, this is stunning!! I have to have a kit....okay, setting my alarm NOW!!!

Blessings,

[judy in carefree]

Outstanding, Carol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jacquellyn Bremer]

It's beautiful Carol and I love putting your kits together. I have loads of fun creating the books but have found it hard to match my photos or to insert them. Do you have any hints - resizing photos, obviously more journaling. I would love to see a completed project with the photos in place. I am really glad you put it up on your RSS feed prior to the date. I have a feeling your kits will be sold out in a flash!

[debe]

I have not ordered for awhile but this is pure SeDucTion! Now....this!! I missed seeing you at Silver Bella this year but I guess this will make up for it. W-O-W!!!

[Theresa Grdina]

This heirloom book is absolutely stunning. I am off to count my pennies.......

[Karen Dodson]

WOW!!! I'll be at work at that time on Thursday, but I hope I can steal away for a few minutes to order! Love it!!

[LenaS]

I spent a summer in England, Scotland, and Wales and i would love to go back...let me know if that tour ever becomes a reality!

[LenaS]

PS--both of my sons have been to France. I would love to see that as well and go antiquing.

[Penny]

So gorgeous, Carol! Great idea to send out an email to let everyone know about this one - hope I can get one this time!!

[Flowers]

Nice blog with a nice video. it was nice going through your Heirloom Collection. Love your samples. Keep up the good work.

[Franshel]

Just got back from a trip to France with my teenage daughter & saw your email. It must be fate, and I must have the book!! I ordered mine this morning. I have just one question, and maybe this will be answered when I get the book, but how do you put your photos down on fabric? Never done that before. But I had never transferred photos to glass before, or played with glass beads, or painted metal, etc. and because of your kits, now I have and I LOVE it!! You're wonderful!

[lise]

I am from Canada and just love your projects especially the heirloom collection. Unfortunately I was too late to place an order. When will you be posting another project? Hopefully it is soon.

[Jen Crossley]

Thats awesome news But I missed out :{ Im too slow
Jen