Today I celebrate my one year anniversary for Vintique Lillian. Basically I started my home based personalized business on Facebook and Etsy. I love to make people happy and this has translated into making gifts that have a special touch. This year has gone fast and I have learned a lot along the way and I am not done yet! I still have my very first sign hanging up in our kitchen, bleeds and all! Wow, it’s amazing how learning different techniques has improved the final products!

My first personalized sign. I keep this as a reminder of where I started. I hear about the 5 feet rule, technically this passes that test. However, I am too picky for that! I’ve adjusted that rule to be 1 foot! 😉
Speaking of learning, I am signed up for an online course with TraceysFancy to learn some of her wonderland whimsy painting styles. I have a smaller jewelry armoire I purchased from my daughters friend that I plan to use for this course. I am so excited! Please check my FB page, Melissa Peterson Designs for my progress, good or bad!
In the meantime I have completed a desk that has been in our family for over 20 years! It came to us painted black and when I stripped the paint off, it revealed shades of reds, blues, and yellows. Quite the combination! This desk was rescued on the streets of San Francisco by my mom’s friends and eventually brought home to San Diego. From there is was given to my mom and grandma who then brought this back home, when they moved back to Albia, Iowa! Who knows where she has been before this!

This was my sneak peak! The only space I have in my house even semi suitable for staging is in our large bay window. Of course the sun was not my friend as it washed out the camera when taking pictures. I had to wait until the sun started setting before I could get a semi decent photo! This was my teaser while I waited for the sun to go down!

Here she is!! So proud of her! I used Dixie Bell products of Fluff, Mermaid Tail, and In the Navy. I added gold leading and stenciled on the top to represent the travels of this desk and hopefully to inspire her new owner! She has been purchased by friends of ours, for their daughter who is attending University of Iowa with aspirations of being a physician! So excited!
In the meantime I love reading books and I always have one book I am working on and currently its Business Boutique by Christy Wright. I am into the first chapter and she comes across in these pages as knowledgeable and very personable! You can purchase this book for yourself, from Barnes and Noble in the following link, and read along with me!
