Hey Friends I recently installed some new art in the Chalet and I’m super excited to share it with you. Thank you so much to Great Big Canvas for partnering with me and supporting me on Instagram and here on my blog. *All opinions are my own!

Everyone knows how much I love art and filling the walls of the Chalet with all different kinds. This is exactly why my hashtag is #saynotoemptywalls! Over a little more than a year the Livingroom has gone through a transformation - with a new couch, coffee table and rugs. Originally we had a large scale clock on the wall - I tried to find just the right piece of art for this spot; some of you may recall the cow I had for a bit and sure Bessie was fun but, she was not the design aesthetic I wanted to live with permanently.

So - I was beyond thrilled when Great Big Canvas reached out to me with an invitation to partner with them on some wonderful Artwork for the Chalet!

Immediately I started looking at art by Vincent van Gogh - above are a few of the amazing works I thought about.

Ultimately, I settled on Acacia in Flower - I loved how the greens and blues of the canvas would interact with our vintage mid-century lamp and the rugs. Also, its not a work I was familiar with by Vincent van Gogh and I loved finding something different. My son a huge van Gogh fan chose The Starry Night and Self Portrait With Grey Felt Hat for his room.

Both of these works are a 1.25” deep canvas print with a hard sealed finished back and came pre-installed with hanging hardware. It couldn’t have been easier to hang these up and Liam is overjoyed at having real art in his space.

In prepping to hang Acacia in Flower - I touched up the wall paint and reviewed the hanging instructions - the larger canvases are stretched over wood frames and are shipped with mounting hardware and a hanger system for drywall. I utilized the mounting hardware and added picture hanging wire to secure it onto our plaster walls.

It has never been easier to bring museum quality art into your space. These pieces are all Artist-Grade Canvas - Fade-Resistant Archival Inks Patented - Warp-Resistant Construction and Made in the USA.

Just in time to spruce up your home for the holidays or find a unique gift for that special someone. Great Big Canvas is offering my readers and followers a discount. Use the code CHALET to receive 50% off of all products site wide.

Til next time - Happy Shopping!

I am so excited to share my friend Lindsey with you. She’s a wonderful creative who has her own business Lindsey Crafter. She’s a DIY expert who offers Branding, Merchandising, Interior Design, Hosting, Event Design and Workshops on top of her Shop filled with one of a kind earrings, necklaces and her wonderful Art!

I asked Lindsey to share some facts: “Ok well, Hey I’m 27 I live in Atlanta, Georgia in a house that is my labor of love - I’m redoing this casa from top to bottom!”

“I grew up in a very rural southern town on a farm. My father’s veterinary practice was a barbie-jeep ride across a sprawling lawn which led to a lot of interesting animal encounters for my entire childhood. I didn’t have any siblings until I was 9 so I spent a lot of time outdoors with our animals. I attended a Montessori school until I was in the 4th grade - I attribute a lot of my creativity to that style of early education.”

She told me: “I’d spend most of my afternoons crafting at home or pulling into my self-appointed parking space and setting up a table of goods to sell. My entrepreneurial path began before the age of 9, peddling pecans I picked up out of the yard and brown lunch sacks full of gravel liberated from our driveway. My sales were so consistent my parents made me a wooden shop stand to pull out in front of the veterinary clinic - the fare always changed though. In my early teens I even had custom branded hangtags and earring cards for my jewelry I printed out of cardstock.”

This just goes to show you friends - Lindsey’s creativity and focus on her brand is a part of her - to have the presence of mind to sell items with her own logo as a teenager - WOW!

The one thing I ask all the creatives I interview is to tell me about their spaces growing up: “My Room was always decorated by my mother who was very into interior design but, as I aged I was definitely included in those choices. As a teen I implemented a lot more “DIY” and magazine collages on doors - and I’ve always been interested in collectibles, junk and art since I was little.”

“For my entire life you’ve been able to come into any space I’m living in and find a “nest” set up on the floor of my latest project or medium! I’ve never really been able to adjust to working on tables - I run out of room!”

Lindsey told me she went to school in New York. “I attended the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC and studied Fashion Design. I ended up teaching Intro to Fashion at a few different sewing studios around Manhattan which is how I got connected with my first boss Daphne Shirley. I was referred to her by a colleague to work an event at the last minute - we loved working together - so I became a permanent member of the Shirley Girl Events team. Even though I didn’t get a fashion related job - the skills I learned there were transferable into every other industry I’ve worked in. I continue to work with Daphne to this day - doing everything from wrapping presents to rigging coconuts in Christmas trees. I help figure out what type of engineering is required to get an installation done. I’ve worked on events for such brands as; Yes to Carrots, Ralph Lauren, L'Oreal and Target to name a few. In the fall of 2018 we were in Los Angles for a Garnier event with actress Mandy Moore, with the event about to kick-off Mandy’s reps were asking if anyone could sew - its seems the zipper in her dress was not cooperating; I stepped in and after attempting to fix the zipper - I decided the best course of action was to simply sew the side of the dress up with Mandy in it! This is something I will never forget - the rush of it - being able to step in - fix the problem and have the event kick off without a hitch!”

In 2013 Lindsey launched her brand and shop online, selling accessories and home goods. Over the last year Lindsey has incorporated a wonderful line of earrings (friends no joke I’ve bought a few as gifts and I currently own four pairs Ha!). Recently Lindsey was named a finalist in the Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day Hunt for the Next Home Maker, as well as one of the Top 10 DIY Profiles to follow on Instagram by Domino Magazine. In addition to crafting Lindsey offers a plethora of design, prop styling, web content and event planning services. See the images below from her site.

“Lindsey Crafter has always defined me at the most basic level as someone who can infuse creativity into anything.”

Lindsey told me how she got into design… what grabbed her about it: “It’s always been something I appreciated about spaces or environments, before I even understood what was involved in the design processes I wanted to recreate those feelings for myself. Like the first time I went into an Anthropologie store during high school - it felt like the expression of my personality and I wanted my space to emulate that. Also, my mom was always “styling it out”. Our family home had lots of planned out vignettes and highly designed spaces without feeling pretentious. That definitely set the stage for a life of designing for others."

In 2018 she contributed two projects to the book Loome Party: “It was such a blast!”

I asked Lindsey to share the moment she understood her career path: “Well, I mentioned I met Daphne because I was working in a few sewing studios in the City. She was my first boss and Daphne TOTALLY gets 100% credit for naming me Lindsey Crafter. It was how she introduced me to people - I was her crafting engineer for the most FANTASTIC events in NYC. Being on such a small production team handling such high visibility clients provided a wealth of knowledge you can’t pay for at school. It was high stakes, high stress and high style work. This job made me realize I could be a professional crafter and do creative work for corporate brands. Although whatever I’m working on is consistently changing, Lindsey Crafter has always defined me at the most basic level as someone who can infuse creativity into anything”

“I got bold a few weeks ago and started painting portraits in acrylic - it’s some of the work I’m most proud of and I’ve really surprised myself with how they’ve turned out. The support and response to this body of work has been really exciting and I can’t wait to see where these chicks take me!!!”

*Feta is Lindsey’s cute and crafty sidekick!*

I asked Lindsey what her goals are for the close of 2019 and what’s on tap for 2020.

“The list goes on and on. Short list: finish my home reno. I’d love to expand my retail offerings online - beyond statement earrings. Next year I’d love to write a crafting book or to contribute to one again, that was a lot of fun. I’ve had a lot of feedback about my Instagram stories so I might start doing longer tutorials and videos there too!”

Pop over to Lindsey’s website and check out her wonderful shop. Lindsey is offering my readers a discount off their items.

Use the code CHALET20 for 20% off your purchase.

You can follow Lindsey on Instagram: Lindsey McCord & her shop feed: Lindsey Crafter

I hope you have enjoyed getting a peek at this talented lady. I know she is definitely someone to be on the look-out for - she has a long successful career ahead of her.

Til next time friends!