Saturday Spotlight: Life Behind The Blogger



Susan from Must Love Junk, and myself wanted to do a regular feature on our blogs, something unique that hasn't been done before.   So we came up with an idea to 'spotlight the real life behind the blogger' in a more personal way.
There is so much talent and inspiration in blogland, and we thought it would be fun to bring you a closer look at the person behind the blog.

Every week on Saturday we will spotlight a blogger and have them tell us a little bit about themselves and their blogs.  You will be able to see and read about each of the bloggers on both Susan's and my blog. 
April 19
Theresa from The Old White House



I would love to introduce you this week to a lovely lady in blogland.  She shares my love of whites and chippy.  Please enjoy meeting and getting to know Theresa from The Old White House.




First of all I want to say thank you to Kris for inviting me to be featured for Saturday 
Spotlight  among many bloggers that I admire.  I am truly honored.  My name is Theresa 
and my blog is The Old White House.  

I have been married to my wonderful husband for 28 years and we have 5 awesome 
children with age ranges from 11 to 27.  

These people are my life.

...and we live in a very old white house.

I have spent what seems like my whole life making things.  I am the second oldest of a 
family of 12 children and we spent a lot of time creating our own fun. 
 My mom was a teacher and always had something up her sleeve to keep us busy. 
 Even when we went
camping she would bring along paints and we would paint on rocks
 or go on a tour of a factory to see how things were made.  
Which is most likely the reason that most of my 
brothers and sisters are also creative in one way or another. 

I started following a few blogs years ago and then one day in a moment of pure panic 
pressed the ‘publish’ button and well, here we are!  It gave me a place to share what I was 
creating besides at the dinner table with my family, who quite honestly was thinking, find art 
friends and share it with them!  
  
I am drawn to history. I see a garage sale with two old men standing in the garage and my 
heart goes pitter patter, it’s okay my husband understands.   It’s just that they have all the 
best old junk that I love to add to my work.   

After years of creating primitive dolls and other fabric creations I moved on to mixed media 
altered collage and assemblage pieces.   I felt a freedom of using more and more vintage 
treasures and letting my inhibitions go wild with the photos of strangers and their past that I 
love to use.   




This piece is a wax collage that I created a few years ago.   I had been saving the photo for 
just such a project.  The men in the photo were so intriguing to me, especially the one right 
up front with the bow tie.  I used him in a few creations before I finally used the original 
photo in this piece.  I have a thing for bow ties too.  


…. and birds.  Seriously, ‘put a bird on it’ was a theme that I ran with for a while!  I love
them, I think they are a combination of fragility and strength along with their resourcefulness 
that I connect with.   


(put a bird on a wreath too!)


I loved creating mixed media altered pieces and all of the history that I could use in them, 
but my life took another turn when I created our line of natural lavender laundry and cleaning 
products.  


I no longer had time to create large scale items (and clean up the mess that I made while 
creating them!)  because we started going to farmers markets and craft shows on a very 
regular basis.   

This is a labor of love for us.  

 It began with our laundry soap.  Like many,  I found a recipe on pinterest for laundry soap, 
and then I tweaked it to make it my own, one that did an amazing job cleaning the huge 
piles of laundry that a large family accumulates along with smelling beautiful.  I then made 
our organic lavender dryer sachets and lavender linen & room spray to go along with the 
soap.  We now have a full line of natural lavender cleaners with more on the horizon.  This is a family business, I no longer do it on my own.  'My husband, Duane, now makes many of our products and attends every Saturday market with me and is the salesman extraordinaire.'  Our children help with every aspect of it,
from the youngest two still at home helping to make and package the products and selling 
at shows with us, to the oldest three who live on their own and contribute by giving us 
marketing tips, finding stores that would carry our products, investing in the company, and 
sharing news of our products to people they meet in their new communities.   Their support, 
love and belief in this business fills my heart with joy beyond measure.  


Every week you can find us at a farmers market or two now, and the response from our 
customers has been overwhelming.  I feel blessed to have met so many wonderful people 
that are on the same path that we are on as a small business. At the farmers markets that 
we attend there are so many folks creating products that are good for the earth and healthy 
for your family’s well being, and even more that are looking to buy those products that 
embody that philosophy for their family.  The conversations that I am able to have with both 
sets of folks fuels my passion for our business more than ever.   

Along with making all of our products in our home, I still had the urge to fill that piece of me 
that NEEDS to create art.  I no longer had the time to create large pieces so I have scaled 
my artwork down and now make repurposed assemblage art jewelry.  Plus I wanted to add 
some art to our booth, and it seemed like a good way to do that. 


This way I can still use treasures of the past that I love, but on a smaller scale.  ( I do still 
however make a mess and I would like to say on a smaller scale as well, but my momma 
taught me to tell the truth, and I am pretty messy when I work!)
 I started with soldering, making tiny collage art and encasing them in nice thick glass 
wrapped in lead free silver solder. 



Once I started adding rosary style beading to them, I was hooked on becoming a jewelry 
maker.  I threw myself into it and it has become my go to ‘art therapy’!  
I find it relaxing as I work and exhilarating when I complete a piece,
 it’s a win­ win!   


(there's that bird again)

My days are long, and mostly consumed with getting products and jewelry ready for the next 
market, but I would not want it any other way.  I love what I do and I know that that in itself is a 
blessing.  I try to blog as often as I can, but after looking back through the blog for photos to 
use for this feature I realize how much I miss blogging like I use to be able to do.  As soon 
as I would get a project finished, waalaa it was on the blog.  I am going to make it my 
mission to do that again, I hope you will stop by for a visit and take a peak! 

Thank you again Kris, for inviting me here today!   
Theresa 
xoxo



Now that you have gotten to know Theresa please visit her blog and also hop over to Susan's blog today to learn about another wonderful blogger Christine from Little Brags.

19 comments

  1. Nice to get to know Theresa and her lovely family...it is so nice that making soap from Pinterest turned into a family business and a labor of love...love the "old white house"...so very charming...loved reading Theresa's story....thanks Kris!...Have a wonderful weekend and a blessed Easter!

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  2. What a fascinating gal! She is like Wonder Woman there. What a talented, talented lady, Kris! xo Diana

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  3. Such a great story. I love how a simple creative heart can lead to a family business! Thank you, Kris for sharing this bloggers (behind the blog) life!! It will be a place I visit often, I'm sure! Blessings, Cindy

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  4. I enjoyed getting to know a bit about Theresa! Heading over to her blog to see more.

    Jeanette

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  5. Thank you Kris for showcasing Theresa. Isn't amazing how she started her business. I enjoyed seeing her children, husband and the lovely home she lives in. Thanks so much and I will be heading over to Theresa's blog.
    Mary

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  6. Kris, I love Teresa old house. She has a talented family. I her art work very much. xoxo,Susie

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  7. What a great family story, Theresa! No wonder you can relate to the birds - you are such a resourceful soul yourself! Fly high, birdie, fly high!

    Kris, another great introduction. Thank you, and I hope you and your family are enjoying good news on your FIL's front.

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  8. Teresa's story is quite thrilling. The spirit to thrift and create is strong and I love it when I see it. Teresa, your family and house are lovely. Hello Kris and thank you for another terrific Saturday morning, Olive

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  9. Theresa, it's so nice to meet you and your family and learn about your passion for creating! So interesting-thanks for sharing! :)
    Susan

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  10. Theresa is incredibly talented and creative. It is so nice to meet her through your feature, Kris. I need to go check out her blog.
    Mary Alice

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  11. Oh, this is such a wonderful feature! I'm off to visit Theresa...
    Thanks so much for introducing her to those of us who haven't met yet!
    Hugs,
    Lin

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  12. Theresa I really am excited to meet you, thank you so much Kris for the introduction. Besides the farmers market where else is your lavender line sold? I only us all natural products and would love to buy yours. Your altered jewelry is amazing too. Are you considering selling on etsy? Loved your story and what a sweet family you have.
    Happy Easter wishes,
    Vera

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  13. So nice to meet you Theresa. What an interesting life you have. I love your altered art using vintage pieces. And your jewelry is amazing. I'm heading over to visit your blog.

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  14. A lot of talent she has. So nice that the family is all involved. Thanks for sharing.

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  15. Love your style Theresa. Thanks for sharing all your fabulous jewelry and beautiful vintage style.

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  16. Kris...I enjoyed getting to meet Theresa here on your blog and am off to visit her blog. Love the jewelry and the other vintage style items that she makes...so pretty!
    ~Cindy

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  17. great to meet theresa and her family:) her creations are just lovely!

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  18. What a great spotlight Kris, Theresa has such a great home and learning about her and her business was very fun. Love that wreath with frame and t hat bird!!! One of 12 children, wow.

    Cynthia

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  19. Another new blogger to me - what a creative woman. I am headed over to the old white house now to check it out.

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