{Chalkboard Series}

We've been working on some new frame designs lately at RIC & we are excited to start showing them to y'all!  If you follow us on Instagram or Facebook you've seen some sneak peeks of what we've been up to! If you aren't following us you should be!

Our goal is to add a variety of frames over time that meets the needs and price points of everyone!  We have some amazing things in the works for y'all & cannot wait to share all of our new frames and patterns! 

We are in love with these frames! And we hope y'all are too!

The first of our chalkboard series is a solid chalkboard frame with a burlap bow!  

These frames can be made in any size & any color chalkboard!

We will be adding some colored burlap as well! 

I love the versatility of this frame!

You can write anything & doodle as much as you want! 

These frames range from $20-$40! 

The next frame is probably one of my absolute favorites!

You are seeing this pattern for the first time!

Her name is Tania! 

We added a colored wood piece behind the glass that gives the frame a little pop of color! 

We can add these wood pieces on all 4x6, 5x7, 8x10 & 11x14 pieces of glass.  

At the bottom we added a small chalkboard piece.  

It's large enough to write a name or date on.  

These frames will range from $27 - $42 and can be painted in any pattern & color combo!

We love doing custom pieces so please don't hesitate to ask for something you don't see!

We hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday!

{Changing Our Focus}

It's been a while since I last posted & for good reason!  We are beyond SUPER busy! We never expected to be this busy but we are so beyond blessed to be able to do what we love!

When we started our business it was all about giving new life to old furniture.  I loved being able to find pieces of furniture that people tossed away & giving them a new purpose.  Then we developed our frame line.  We always had the expectations that we would do both because we loved doing both.   And then out of no where our frame business exploded.  We had over 50 orders at one time and now have 6 wholesale clients.  It's been such a blessing to our business and our family.  So we sat down and started looking at our investments.  We realized that we were spending so much time & money on finding & refinishing the furniture plus carrying pieces to our booth an hour away that it wasn't financially making sense anymore.   With that said we knew that we had to make a really tough decision.  From a business perspective, we knew that we had to focus on the area of our business that was getting the highest return - our frames!

This is our last month at our booth & it's bittersweet.  I truly love painting furniture & I will probably continue to do so for friends, family & myself but on a small scale.  It will be hard to not pick pieces up on a whim but for now it's the right thing.

Right now I'm literally hanging-on-by-a-thread and flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants & I love every single minute of it.  We've learned a lot of lessons along the way & are thankful for our customers who are loyal & patient & supportive.  We know there is so much more to learn & we are ready for the journey!

There's so much more that we want to do with our business.  We definitely want to get a more specific look and that's where Bliss & Tell Branding Co comes into play.  We cannot wait to work with this amazing company once we get some ideas down & a more definite idea of what direction we are going in.  We have ideas for new frame designs, color schemes & so much more!

In the next few weeks our FB page will be changing along with our blog look.  We are excited about the changes & cannot wait to see what else is in store for Raised In Cotton!

{Giveaway Over at Home By Ally}

Meet my talented & gorgeous friend Ally!

She's a super talented DIYer and she's the face behind the awesome blog Home By Ally. 

She is graciously hosting an amazing giveaway over at her blog! 

 The giveaway is live right now & there is a chance for THREE people to win a custom frame courtesy of Raised In Cotton!

So what are you waiting for?

Head on over to Home By Ally & enter!

{Dresser Before & After}

I bought this piece several weeks ago at one of my favorite places.  I knew when I saw it that it had great potential despite the horrible stencil job & hideous colors & bad antiquing job.  It was a steal so I snatched it up quick & brought it home.

It's the perfect size for a small bedroom or beside a couch.  The drawers are pretty deep so this piece offers a great amount of storage.

I knew what I wanted to do immediately with this piece.  I found my inspiration from this piece done by Miss Mustard Seed.

This has always been one of my absolute favorite pieces of hers!  

I wanted to do something similar but not as distressed.  My distressing confidence is a tad bit low & honestly I was just too scared to try this much distressing.  

I started by painting the base in ASCP Aubusson Blue.  It is one of my favorite ASCP colors.  It's a beautiful shade of blue.  

After two coats of Aubusson Blue I painted two coats of ASCP Old White.  I wanted the blue to come through the white when I distressed the piece.

You can see here how subtle the distressing is.  It's so pretty how the blue peeks through the white.  

I painted the drawers in the Aubusson Blue.  I didn't distress the drawers at all.  I preferred it that way & for no particular reason.  

The hardware dated the piece so I changed it out with some beautiful glass hardware.  The bad part I totally forgot to take a picture once I finished the piece.  

Here's a picture that the shop owner took of my booth.  You can see the finished piece in all it's glory along with some other pieces I just finished.  She really turned out beautiful & she will make a beautiful addition to any home.  If she isn't bought soon she might be coming back home with me!

We've been busy filling our booth after being wiped out during the holidays.  I have several more pieces to take & a slew of frames.  My goal is to have the entire back wall of our booth in frames.  It needs something & I think the frames will be the perfect touch! 

Please bare with me as I try to organize this blog a little better with regular posts, better before & after pics & several giveaways.  

I have neglected this blog for a variety of reasons & none of which are truly good.  

Thanks for being patient and for following along!

Happy Thursday!

{Heavy Heart.}

I am at such a loss for words about the senseless tragedy in Connecticut.  

Our prayers are with everyone affected. 

"But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for

of such is the kingdom of Heaven."

Matthew 19:14

{Monograms}

I never knew how important monograms were until I moved to North Carolina 9 years ago.  Monograms is a southern thing.

A must thing if you live in the South. 

I started doing monogram frames a few months ago.  

They've sold like crazy.

I really love how they turn out.  

There's something really pretty & classy about a monogram. 

Here's an example of the single letter monogram. 

This frame was a special order for a family Christmas photo.  

I love the ASCP Antibes Green up against the red chevron.

The 3 letter monogram is probably my absolute favorite!

I love the look of a monogram.

I've been working on several monogram frames lately!

 I love creating beautiful pieces for our customers!  

I will be taking a break from making frames soon so that I can focus on the wholesale side of our business.  We've had tons of inquiries about wholesale & it's something we offer but want to perfect.

If you would like to order a custom monogram frame please check out our Etsy shop for more information on ordering!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

{Meeting Miss Mustard Seed}

Saturday I had the amazing opportunity of meeting Miss Mustard Seed.  

She was doing a book signing at SuzAnna's Antiques in Raleigh, NC & I wasn't missing it no matter what!

My awesome husband accompanied me on the 2.5 hour drive & even chatted Marian up about farming cotton! 

MMS is the reason I started my business.  I have followed her blog for years & even tried a few of her DIYs like her German glass glitter letters & ornaments.  She is a constant inspiration & her words of wisdom & truth gave me the push I needed to open Raised In Cotton Interiors.  

Marian is a real genuine person.

Her accent is adorable!

And that new short haircut is totally her!

My husband actually asked me when I was going to cut mine like that.  What? 

He was as smitten with her as I was.  

She wasn't in a rush as she signed our books.

She talked with us.  Asked us questions. 

It's what I love most about her.

She is a real person.  Just like you & I.

I could sit & talk to her for hours.  

I am so thankful she shared her talents with so many of us through her blog, paint & book!

If you get the chance to attend a book signing please do!

You won't be disappointed!

I look horrible in this picture mainly because I was so nervous.

I mean I'm standing next to Miss Mustard Seed!

She said to me, "Anything is possible." 

She is so right!

What a great day it was!

I am seriously still pinching myself & re-reading what she wrote to me in my copy of her book. 

What an honor to meet someone like her....