Debi has recently premiered a new look on her website, YayaChique.com. The site is a compilation of Debi’s projects ~ a place where you can see pictures of her newest creations from debi lynn designs, read her Treasures Blog about the new Yaya Chique store opening soon, and also find showcased other up and coming designers that have that unique look “Mae West meets Stevie Nicks”.

Yaya Chique is first and foremost the home of debi lynn designs. Boutique owners who are interested in carrying the line can contact Debi directly for one-of-a-kinds and the limited editions that are found at market. Her reproduction work can be found at the Dallas and Atlanta markets with Donna at Virgins, Saints & Sinners.

The original Yaya Chique Store in Houston, Texas closed last spring so that Debi could move to a space closer to home and her core clientele. The store is re-opening soon and Debi is keeping her Treasures Blog readers updated daily with all it takes to open a retail store… The blog will showcase new products of both Debi’s work and other designers at least once a week.  Debi’s posts are fun to read and help you get into the heart and soul of Yaya Chique!!

With her busy schedule, unique spin on style, and infectious laugh, Debi and Yaya Chique are a brand that tugs on the heart strings and makes me want to be a part of the adventure every step of the way!!

thanks, debi!! xo,fancy

** Click HERE for more from Yaya Chique **

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Each of the designs from The Lucky Star Leather Collection is the brain child of Harriette Allison.  Harriette won the prestigious Best of Show award at the Western Design Conference in 2009 for the beautiful Painted Ponies Chair {below}.  Harriette first began creating leather designs in the late nineties when she was hobbying around at night trying new techniques with wood dying and sewing.  Her first large project was an upholstered set of 1950’s wagon wheel furniture.  It was showcased in a store window and after raving reviews Harriette knew she had found a new art about which she could become passionate.

Every single item that you see in The Lucky Star Leather Collection is hand made in their shop in Reno.  Harriette designs and hand cuts the finest leathers for both inside and outside of each piece, while a local saddle maker hand stitches each item.  The work is the same quality as that of a saddle ~ it will last you a lifetime.

Harriette and Missy recently teamed up with jewelry designer Nancy Anderson from Sweetbird Studio to produce an exclusive line of handmade leather belts {ABOVE}.  Harriette has also been working on a new line of guitar straps like one seen with Juni Fisher {BELOW}.  In addition to offering custom straps for any musical instrument Harriette is also working on another new line of Western-Retro inspired handbags.

READ MORE After the Break >>>>>>>>>>>

You will not find The Lucky Star in a production line overseas, everything is one of a kind and custom, it’s like a work of art that you get to carry with you every day instead of hanging on a wall.  Harriette and Missy Allison are 100% committed to keeping craftsmanship alive like it was in Western days gone by.  Every single thing about the pieces from The Lucky Star Leather Collection are Made in the USA.  It’s a standard that the Allisons live by are proud to share with their customers.

** Click HERE for an Interview **
with Lucky Star Gallery from Feb 2010

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I’ll post pics of the new goods as we unload them… Hope to see you this Labor Day 2010 weekend, it’s gonna be a good one.

** Click HERE for more about the **
Cactus Creek STORE

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Here are a few of my favorite artists from Poppytalk’s Aug ‘10 selection…

Horse Poncho from the Trendy Tot

Texas Wool Felt Pillow from Love, California
There are other states, too. All of them can be ordered.

Upcycled Sport Coat from Cleverscene

Madeleine Necklace from Nest Pretty Things
Sometimes a girl needs something PRETTY.

 
“Your Baby is Freaking Cute” Congrats Card from Colette Paperie

‘Timmy Goes Camping’ Re-usable Journal made with plywood and fabric from Time for Tea

 
Ruffled Handwarmers from Jill Lauren
’cause it’s going to be cold again. sooner than you think.

Saddle Tan Leather iPad Case from Julie Boyles
I don’t have an iPad {yet} but if I did then I’m pretty sure it would need a case like this one.

 
‘Livin in Sin’ Handprinted Letterpress Poster from Roll and Tumble Press
A gift for all occasions.

Toggle Wool Satchel from Wooly Bison
This is a no brainer for fall.

Hope you enjoy browsing throguh Poppptalk and picking out your own favorites.  Let’s make it spectacular weekend, folks!!  See ya’ Monday… lv,fancy

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ONLINE MERCHANDISE we LOVE!

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New goods now in stock over at SchaefDesigns.com!!  Schaef Designs owner, Bobby, just returned from New Mexico with tons of new jewelry that she’s posting daily.  Check it out!!

** Click HERE for more **
Rustic * Western * Vintage FASHION

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LOVE this new Sheriff Sign in the Cactus Creek STORE… It’s available for your Rustic * Western * Vintage look!!  Super cute in a little boys room or in a basement…

Only $36
25″ x 12″ ~~ Double sided, this side is the best!!

Call 816.386.4013 & we can ship it yer way…

** Click HERE for more **
Cactus Creek GOODS

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{Delivery basket designed for Shop Kid scooters for the purpose of delivering notes from one store owner to another.}

Some of my closest girlfriends in our little town are also store owners and have their kids in the store with them also.  It’s really the best of both worlds ~ we get to have jobs we love and we also get to have the kiddos get off the bus and be with us every afternoon.  It’s not all fun and games, of course… my boys have had to endure many hours of a whole lotta’ nothin’ while I was trying to get work done on the computer, and they all are under strict orders to be under the best of behavior when there are customers in the store, which means Mom can be a real killjoy.

 
{Early morning breakfast meeting this summer to plan the 10 Mile Trail Antique Show, Moms at one table, kids at the other, taking care of business.}

And then there is the issue of the Mom who sells everything we ever own.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve purchased something at a sale or resale shop and the boys have BEGGED me not to sell it in the Cactus Creek Store.  They have finally started to realize that {almost} nothing is off limits when it comes to me selling it.  They’ve even started getting in on the act asking if they can sell some of their toys & clothes when they’re finished with them.

 
{yet another antique mall out in the middle of nowhere… My mantra in antique malls, “boys, stay with me. boys, cross your arms ~ no touching. BOYS, I SAID NOOOOO TOUCHING!!!”}

Our days off usually consist of running errands, half things for our family, half for the store, and every trip for errands includes at least one detour to a garage sale, estate auction or resale shop.  The other day one of my shop-owner friends took her little boy to his FIRST-EVER day of preschool twenty minutes late because they were at an estate sale. {I’ll leave names out but you know who you are.}

At the Cactus Creek Store we are lucky because of the room we have for the boys… they have a sofa to rest on, a tv & an art station. Some stores have little to no room for the shop kids and you can find forts made under clothes racks and homework being done in the corner of the sales floor. I find all of this endearing because it’s the sweet spot of my life, sharing my days & my love for my store with my boys every day.

For Shop Kids, the front door of the store is where they learn kindness ~ the sales counter is where they learn math ~ the back room is where they learn to organize and plan ~ and the sales floor is where they have their first go ’round as entrepreneurs ~ and the alley way is where they get rowdy.

There are good days and bad days at the cash register, but in the end it’s about living a rich life which we are managing to do.  This Fall the middle child will be with me at the store more, he started last Friday.  The biggest job the boys have so far is to make sure that the OPEN & CLOSED signs are on the door ~ but before long they’ll be carrying furniture around and helping me work the floor ~ then I’m looking for a good business manager and accountant… you think they can fill in those departments by the fifth grade??  kidding of course.  kind of.

Hope you and your tots also got off to a great start at school!!!!  lvya,fancy

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CACTUS: What path led you to become an artist?

CATHY: When I was a child, I picked up a pencil, and was forever changed as I watched it leave its mark. I knew as early as middle school that I would be a commercial artist someday. But even before that it was my mom. She was always making something out of . . . something else. And her creativity has always been an inspiration to me. For instance, what she saw in our ping-pong table. It was not how she hacked it into bits, per se, that was so creative. Instead, it was how each one of those newly worthless pieces of ping-pong table fit together so perfectly to form a quite beautiful, and very functional shelf/desk combination. She painted the shelf white, and added lavender and blue flowers to the desk. I was very happy to have it, even though I had to share it with my sister. Ping-pong was not missed.

There have been so many people and experiences that have shepherded me towards art that to identify all of them would be maddening, and to name them, life-consuming. But one in particular is too influential to leave out. Her name is Pat Lierly.

Pat Lierly was my Blue Bird and Camp Fire Leader. Her creativity nearly rivaled my mothers. Pat was incredibly gifted and will always be an inspiration to me. Her daughter, (and my best friend) Elaine Lierly Jones, is a local artist as well.

Selling an oil portrait in high school only confirmed what I had believed all my life; that I wanted to be an artist. But any type of artistic career, commercial or otherwise, had to come second to four boys. When my youngest entered high school, I finally had the time to get serious about a career. So I began pouring a foundation in hopes that by the time Mark graduated I would have something on which to build.

‘Robin’s Eggs’ original painting Now Available at the Cactus Creek Store ~ call 816.386.4013 for price & details

CACTUS: And you also teach art?

CATHY: At that time in my life, I had painted a float and done some graphic design for one of my son’s football teams. This led to a portrait here or there, and a mural every once in a while, all through word of mouth. This provided exposure, but it was not enough to build a career on. Had I not read the book, The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brainby Betty Edwards and Jeremy P. Tarcher, I might still be lucking my way form portrait to portrait to sporadic mural, fifteen years later, with no source of consistent income whatsoever. That book helped me to wrangle a truth stuck deep within my soul, drag it through the forefront of my mind, and deposit it, almost gift-wrapped, on the tip of my tongue. When I put that book down, I discovered within myself the ability to teach. And not by photocopying the book’s pages or stealing its lessons, but by cultivating my newly found ability to articulate a truth of which I had long been simultaneously aware and ignorant. That book TAUGHT me what I already knew.

Even now, I am not what one might call super successful, and I do not expect to strike it rich as an artist. However, I have had my victories and to this point a surprisingly fulfilling career and it is doubtful that I would feel that way without the anchor that my weekly classes have become. I have had a class, in some form or another, for the last fifteen years, and I have no plans of stopping.

‘Cows’ original painting Now Available at the Cactus Creek Store ~ call 816.386.4013 for price & details

More from Cathy Kline after the break below…

CACTUS: What is your style and who influenced your perspective??

CATHY: I paint with color, have a fluid style and strongly emphasize motion. I range from photo-real to abstract. Some artists who have inspired me include: LeRoy Neiman (use of color), John Singer Sargent (portraiture) and Robert Henri (instruction). I shared a gallery and a couple mural commissions with Michael Young-or, he shared them with me-throughout 2001, and I have taken a portraiture class from Lee Hammond. I learned a great deal from both of them. Finally, there are the art camps my parents use to send me to. Other than that considerable instruction, I am self-taught.

CACTUS: How much is your work commissioned art??

CATHY: Aside from teaching, I stay busy with corporate and private commissions, portraits of many mediums, including graphite, oil and colored pencil, murals and much more. The bulk of my business comes from commissioned art. From 2002 to 2008 I did all of this out of my studio in Parkville, Missouri. But eventually decided it could be done just as effectively out of my home.

I have painted murals of all shapes and sizes. 17’x9’ for The Peach Tree (18th and Vine), 27’x9’ for the original Piropos and a 35’x10’ for the Piropos in Briarcliffe Village. There are many others including two for the Parkville Athletic Center (both 15’x15’), and many private murals as well, one of which was 100’x11’. Another was a 12’x12’ mural of The Appian Way.

I am currently working on two projects. One requires me to transform a propane tank into the Beatles’ yellow submarine. The other will be of The Plaza Lights and will be available in the Grant M. Tinsley Gallery, towards the end of the year.

CACTUS: What is your process in creating a new piece of art… how long does it usually take to create something new??

CATHY: My initial process in creating a new piece of art depends on whether it is personal or commissioned. But the difference is only in the inspiration for the piece. Once I have the idea, my process is usually quite simple and always the same. I close my eyes and visualize the finished project. Sometimes the vision is more complete than others. And there are always a million details to work out along the way. But it always starts with a vision.

CACTUS: What would be a dream project?

CATHY: One dream project would be a very large oil painting, preferably commissioned by someone of great importance…but do not let that intimidate YOU! You are perfectly important enough to commission a very large oil painting of yourself. In fact, you deserve it.

CACTUS: How can people sign up to take art classes with you?

CATHY: I teach classes every Monday. Kids from 3-4:30 and adults from 6-9. I also teach at Farmstead once a month. Contact me through Facebook, by email at cathyklineartgallery@yahoo.com, or call me at 913-449-4460 to get signed up.

CACTUS: If somebody wants to purchase art from you how would they find your work??

CATHY: My work is on display and available for purchase at the 2010 gallery {20th and Main in the Crossroads’ Art District in Kansas City}, The Great Frame Up  in Parkville, MO and in November, 2010 I will be showing at the Grant M. Tinsley Gallery on Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza.

CACTUS: What would be your advice to a young person who is interested in pursuing a career as an artist??

CATHY: I tell my students to diversify their skills. To paint as often as possible. To challenge themselves. But that the art is what matters, not the money. For art is not an occupation, it is a passion, which occasionally pays for dinner. Tailor what you know. Learn what you don’t. Paint what you feel.

Cathy… you are as talented at writing as you are at painting ~ I’m so proud to know you and to work with you!! BIG love, Fancy

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Forty years ago a little lady name Emma Lee Turney launched an event in Round Top, TEXAS selling antiques.  Round Top is located smack dab in the middle of Houston and Austin on Hwy 237 and Emma Lee’s Antique Show was widely attended by Houston’s socialites.  Over the last four decades it has grown to be one of the biggest and best Antique Shows in the country, if not the world.  Round Top Antique Week isn’t just one show, it is now comprised of hundreds of Antique Shows & Sales, all in a 20 mile {or so} area around Round Top, Texas, and takes place twice yearly in the spring and fall. 

One of our favorite shows to attend during Round Top Antique Week takes place at Marburger Farm.  In fact Marburger Farm was named one of the Top TEN by Country Living Magazine…

Sooo, here’s what’s happening at Marburger Farm this Fall 2010… If you are a BLOGGER then Marburger Farm has free tickets & a gift for YOU!!

Marburger Farm is the premiere shopping venue during Round Top Antique Week.  The event covers 43 acres and almost 400 antique vendors who bring everything from fine European Antiques to Industrial Country Antiques to Recycled Art.  The merchandising and ideas that come from Marburger Farm are on the forefront of trends you’ll be seeing in the Antique and Vintage Marketplace.  This is an event that you
SHOULD NOT MISS this Sept 28 ~ Oct 2!!

 If you plan to attend Round Top Antique Week ~ and blog all about your BIG adventures along the way ~ then Marburger Farm would like to know about it and comp your admission to the Marburger Farm Antique Show, plus offer you a few gifts before your arrival.

So here’s what you need to do to receive FREE ADMISSION to Marburger Farm for this Fall ‘10 Round Top Antique Week…

(1) Post about your upcoming trip to Round Top, and your plans to attend Marburger Farm Antique Show

(2) Leave your URL in the COMMENTS section below.

(3) I’ll contact you for your address & info, and voila ~ you’ll receive TWO TICKETS to Marburger Farm + a gift. 

Tickets are limited so y’all hurry.  THANKS!!!  Holler at me at cactus_creek@hotmail.com if you have any questions… fancy

** For more INFORMATION about **
Round Top Antique Week check out
Cactus Creek’s Round Top GUIDE

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Ladder Pot Rack ~ you could even hang a chandelier from the LADDER for a fun & funky lighting fixture!!  Image via WomansDay.com

In our Flea Market Shopping List we have a long list of objects you should never pass up, after finding all of these fantastic ideas wooden ladders are on the top of my list!!  Makes me want to run away to a million little towns this weekend and track down the perfect ladder specimen…

LOVE this Ladder Shoe Rack Idea from Country Living, Sept 2009

Sideways Ladder Shelf ~ Image via Ette Studios

Image via Country Living, June 2010

Re-Cycle * Re-Purpose * Re-LOVE

This idea will be featured this morning on the Junk in my Trunk Radio Show {JIMT} which airs every Monday, Thursday & Saturday from 10am till 11am on Kansas City’s 1140am KCXL & 1160am KCTO. You can also LISTEN LIVE on the Internet… visit JunkMafia.com and click on the Little Red Radio at the bottom of the page.

DIY Ladder Shelf… great idea via Poetic Home via Maya*Made

 
Ladder as ART ~ image via houzz

Another LADDER Shelf ~ with DIY directions!! Via Mother Earth News

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