Robyn Story Designs and Boutique

BUY ONE GET ONE FREE

2012-03-04T17:54:00.002-08:00

ROBYN STORY DESIGNS
SOURCED A

NEW

FANTASTIC

PRODUCT

JUST FOR YOU!!!!

and to spread the word we're offering

BUY ONE GET ONE FREE!!**

Here are our new MINI WAX BRUSHES

We used these on Saturday at one of our Workshops
and EVERYONE loved them!!
This offer is for a limited time so GRAB YOURS NOW

Go to our ONLINE SHOPPING CART and when you've picked out your

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint color/product and are ready to check out,
ADD

ONE MINI WAX BRUSH to your order

and we'll

automatically

Send you ONE.....FREE

(That's a value of $10.95!!)

**$34.95 purchase required to take advantage of BOGO

excluding shipping

What are you waiting for......???

ANNIE SLOAN'S TOUR AND ROBYN'S GIVEAWAY

2012-02-15T17:21:00.000-08:00

To say that I'm sooooo excited about Annie Sloan's American Tour would be a great understatement.

As a Florida stockist for Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, I love that I'll get to see and chat with Annie again. She's an amazing woman

Inspiring

Creative

Intelligent

Funny

and just an all around great gal!

For all of my follower's, if you have the chance to meet her you should! She will be teaching her techniques to us ALL. Who wouldn't want to learn from
Annie Sloan....the MASTER herself!!

So to sweeten the pot and to THANK YOU for your support I want to encourage and inspire you to sign up for Annie Sloan's American Tour in the Atlanta area!

After you've learned from Annie in Atlanta we invite you back to Tampa, Florida for a
FREE ANNIE SLOAN WORKSHOP DAY to perfect her techniques on YOUR PIECE

What's that mean?? That means you get to bring YOUR piece of furniture
(something you can carry in)
and your creative mind

to my beautiful workshop

and

Robyn Story Designs will be GIVING AWAY two FREE sample pots of paint
(your choice of colors)
PLUS you'll use our waxes
and you can let the paint fly while creating your piece here!
This day is fun and informal but as your Annie Sloan stockist we will be there
in case you need a
little encouragement
guidance
questions answered or
refresher of the techniques

AS A BONUS
(and this is a BIG one)

We will also be having a FREE mini-workshop on

stenciling

and
gold gilding!

A little Starbucks coffee and some great cookies and nibbles...
a day
JUST FOR YOU
(this is a VERY special offer and space is LIMITED!)

In order to take advantage, please make sure that you

Register here for the tour and
leave a comment on this post that you've registered
and you will be cordially invited to a

FREE ANNIE SLOAN WORKSHOP DAY
( 11:30 - 3:30)

So, this is a win-win.
You learn from Annie Sloan and come to Robyn Story Designs and we'll make sure you leave with a

GORGEOUS project - created by YOU, inspired by ANNIE

ROBYN AND ANNIE SLOAN CHALK PAINT ON THE ROAD

2012-02-14T07:25:00.000-08:00

I LOVE sharing my PASSION of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.
So when Carolyn of Somewhere in Time asked me to stop by I thought
"Why not?"
It's such a great opportunity to reach out to even more community members and share my
passion for Annie's wonderful product!

This Thursday, February 16 I'll be doing a deminar in Brandon.
If you find yourself in the neighborhood, stop by and say hello!!
---------------
Somewhere in Time Antiques
Is hosting a Deminar of
Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

Thursday February 16, 11 am

Robyn Story Designs & Boutique

Demonstrate how to use this versatile paint to achieve a popular furniture finish seen in decor'
magazines and books. This paint and wax finish, developed in England can be used on any surface and requires little prep.

Our own dealers are using this product with every impressive results!

When Robyn retired from her successful advertising career she started a floral business to the trade from her home. Soon this developed to include all sort of home decor, including fantastic chandeliers, lighting, gorgeous custom florals, home accessories and even women's accessories and bling. They are also a full service design studio and love to be asked to accessorize homes -
"It's what we do best!"
They also have a workroom that creates stellar soft scapes such as bedding and drapery as well as a designer that works with Robyn Story Designs. And so, they have LOTS to share with us.

If you have some refinishing you would like to do

If you have your eye on that great piece at the shop that you would like to
purchase and refinish

Or maybe you just want to know how it is done

Join us, you won't be bored and we will have refreshments!

La Viva Plaza, 720 Lumsden Road, Brandon, FL
813-684-0588

--------------
So come on by and say hi!! You know I LOVE Seeing all of you!!

A NEW ASCP COLOR and a NEW GIVEAWAY!!

2012-01-31T18:55:00.000-08:00

I know....I announce a new color and then I go "incommunicato".

What's that all about???

Well, it's simple, we received our sample quart of Antoinette and I had visions.

Seriously, I just could not stop thinking of the projects that I could do with this color.

I heard Annie's voice in my head "let the piece talk to you". I have a chair that was speaking very loudly to me so I took the chair home and a quart of paint and listened to that voice.

I know you will all agree when you have the opportunity to create with this color -- AND that opportunity is sooner than later (read on).

It is inspiring.

I love how Annie defined it. "It's got just a hint of brown so it keeps the pink from going too sweet."

It's a grown up girls' pink...

You will be enchanted...

You will fall in love.

So, now MY big reveal. It all started with this color - that's all it took and I went a little crazy.

We remade an entire room based on this color. Let me know your thoughts....I hope you're inspired!

My gorgeous chair, Antoinette, a wash of Arles, both clear and dark wax and some Gold Leaf!

A close up of the detail

Honestly, don't you just want to move it!

Antoinette inspired accessories!

A closeup of some detail on the leg

So what's this about a GIVEAWAY!

We have just been told that ANTOINETTE is on its way to
Robyn Story Designs!!
It has been released earlier than we all thought which is
GREAT news for YOU!!
We'll have our supply of paint to SHIP TO YOU as soon as FRIDAY.

I have been so inspired by this color that I decided why not give a little something to the
FIRST 50 people that order ANTOINETTE from
Robyn Story Designs!!
We have assembled a beautiful collection of embellishments inspired by the color of Antoinette just for you to create with.

Ribbons
Lace
Fabrics
Buttons
Bows
Flowers

Each order will receive our wonderful inspired collection of embellishments with a minimum value of $20.00. I want you to be just as inspired by this soft and beautiful color as I am and enjoy making your very own beautiful creation with your FREE GIFT!

So go to our ONLINE STORE and order your quart of ANTOINETTE quickly (and mention your FREE GIFT in the notes). We have GREAT FLAT RATE SHIPPING RATES!!
And please, send us a picture of how you used your INSPIRED EMBELLISHMENTS!!

Do you need another reason to purchase a quart of ANTOINETTE?

$1.00 of each sale of ANTOINETTE is being donated to
BREAST CANCER RESEARCH

OH, and

DON'T FORGET about ANNIE'S AMERICAN TOUR!!

ANNIE SLOAN CHALK PAINT ANNOUNCES ANOTHER COLOR!!

2012-01-18T08:37:00.000-08:00

We just received word that Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is going to be releasing her newest color

ANTOINETTE

"Old fashioned roses and the color of old plaster. This is a soft pale pink with a hint of brown in it so the pink is not too sweet."

I know I'm already thinking of projects for this beautifully soft color and what other colors will compliment it. We will be getting a sample quart to play with and to show you soon, but it won't be released for sale until late March, early April. If you want to secure your pot of Antoinette you can certainly pre-order it and we'll send it out as soon as we receive our supply!

Just go to our shopping cart or call us here at the store!

AND
DON'T FORGET

ANNIE'S 2012 AMERICAN TOUR!!!

The Fun we will have

Meet Annie Sloan
Hands-On Workshops
Authentic Chalk Paint and Soft Wax
Special Techniques and Effects
Meet other Artists and Designers

Cost of Attendance

The cost to attend the workshop is $350. Breakfast, lunch, refreshments, and workshop materials will be provided. All venues were hand selected with an artisan eye for the needs of this event.

Schedule

8:30am	Breakfast / Introductions
9:00am	Annie Sloan: A demonstration of Chalk Paint
11:00am	Lunch
12:00pm	Hands-on Workshop - led by Annie Sloan and the Stockists
4:00pm	Book-signing / Social
5:00pm	Conclusion

Check out when Annie's going to be in a town near you!! She's an inspiring woman and it will be an amazing opportunity to hear her speak and to learn about this product that we're all so passionate about!

ANOTHER FABULOUS ANNIE SLOAN CHALK PAINT PROJECT

2012-01-16T04:28:00.000-08:00

I've been working hard today (just like every other day!!) and I just checked my email and one of our previous workshop attendees and a great customer sent over pictures of an amazing project that she just finished.

This was too pretty, I just had to take a minute from my day to share her pictures.

Thanks Lynne, keep the pictures coming!! We find all of you so inspiring!!

Look at this wonderful combination of Old Ochre and Provence

add some Clear Wax and Dark Wax

and a little Gold brushed on to enhance the detail

How sweet it is!!

WHAT'S NEXT AT ROBYN STORY DESIGNS?! - GASPARILLA OF COURSE!!

2012-01-13T08:47:00.000-08:00

Most of you out there are probably wondering - what the heck is Gasparilla?!

It's only one of the most celebrated holidays in Tampa Bay. It's our answer to Mardi Gras, in the sense that it's a time in our area that parties are WILD, parades are plentiful and the people of Tampa Bay unite in their own Krewes. Here's a brief explanation for your better understanding, (in a nutshell)

Just one example of a float for the parades

"The Gasparilla Pirate Festival is an annual celebration held in the city of Tampa, Florida. Held each year in late January and hosted by Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla and the City of Tampa, it celebrates the apocryphal legend of Jose' Gaspar (Gasparilla), supposedly a Spanish Pirate captain who operated in Southwest Florida. The theme is an "invasion" by Gasparilla and his men, which begins when the "Krewe"(made up of residents of the city) arrives on a 165' long pirate ship, the Jose Gaspar, in Tampa Bay and land near downtown Tampa. The mayor of Tampa then lends the key of the city to the pirate captain and a parade ensues down Tampa's major streets. The Krewes throw beads, coins and other items while shooting blank pistols from floats during the parade. The average attendance for the event is over 400,000 people and has been tradition since 1955. Krewe's have social events and parties throughout the year for members and hold philanthropic events for favored causes."

So what does that mean for Robyn Story Designs and Boutique? It means that many Krewe members and celebrants come to our little boutique for many unique items. We have a fabulous selection of BLING for accessorizing that perfect pirate outfit, festive centerpieces, swags/garland for doorways, many items to decorate the home - everything that has pirates and shines we have it!

We've spent the last several days putting away the few things of Christmas that we had left over and have brought out our Gaspy stuff!! Our floral designers are creating magical little pieces for decorating. We've gotten all our orders in and have GREAT t-shirts and hostess gifts, feathers and lots of pirate gear!! I just thought you might like a sneak peak into our little "Gaspy Boutique"!!

Oh, and if you're local MENTION a 25% discount and we'll extend that to
ANY ONE ITEM at checkout!! So come check out our bounty!!

THANKS FOR THE SHOUT OUT!!

2012-01-12T13:16:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to share a completely unsolicited opinion on

ANNIE SLOAN CHALK PAINT.

Take a minute to check out VERY good friends of Robyn Story Design's!

Michele and Ken of STILTSKIN STUDIOS are regular customers of ours

and make the most gorgeous pieces to sell at local stores and on ETSY.

She took a moment out of her incredibly busy day to blog about ASCP.

Michele left this 'love letter' for ASCP at one of our workshops that she and Ken attended!

So let me take a minute to THANK them for being such great friends and a wonderful support to us. They were there, skeptical in the beginning like so many!! They came, they tried and they LOVED - just like most people that pick up a brush and a pot of paint! They continue to come to the store for their supply of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and upon each visit they inspire us with their creativity. They are both amazing at what they do and we're so lucky to count them as our friends!

I say, regularly, that this paint is just AWESOME and I mean that with every fiber of my being. But what makes this paint so wonderful is not just those 'magical' ingredients that Annie put together but the friends that it has brought to my store.

I have bragged FOREVER that I have the best customers. Well, this paint has brought a completely new group of people to our doorstep. They come in for paint and leave with inspiration, their supply of paint and are armed with great information to go home and CREATE!! We are happy to have met everyone that has come through our doors looking for our ANNIE ROOM and so many of you have become our friends.

So perhaps, this is were I thank ANNIE for being so creative, such an incredible inspiration, a mentor and an all around great gal!! She continues to change our world...one color at a time!

ROBYN STORY DESIGNS ANNOUNCES.......

2012-01-08T18:25:00.000-08:00

Robyn Story Designs
ANNOUNCES
The "Studio-At-Large"

The Studio-At-Large at Robyn Story Designs is a multi-purpose studio featuring guest instructors presenting workshops on many different artistic disciplines. Our goal is to help share the talents of many great artists from all over the country with our friends and valued customers! These classes will be casual, comfortable, and will be geared towards students with a wide variety and level of creative skills. From novice to expert, we're confident you'll find just the right one for you!

In addition to our desire to share all the various decorative art mediums, we also want to share many different classes geared toward the DIY market including: simple upholstery, stenciling, floral design, table-scaping and many many more. The sky is the limit! So if you are interested in presenting a class or taking a class, please read more below and please share this post with you friends and artists who may be interested! All classes will vary in length and price.
So go ahead and...

Unleash Your Inner Artist!

Robyn Story Designs Presents

Guest Instructor Series

Steve Wallis

Presenting The Techniques and Process of

Woodgraining and Marbling

When: Saturday, February 4th, 2012, 8am to 5pm

Where: The Studio at Robyn Story Designs

Cost: $345.00/ Full Day Class

About the Class:

- The class will be from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm

 with 1/2 hour for lunch

- 6 finishes will be taught (see sample image below)

- Sample boards, tools and paint materials will be provided

- The tools will be available for purchase after the class

- Workbooks will be provided for students with the recipe

 for each sample already in the book. This will allow the student

 more time to pay attention to the processes and techniques

- Students are encouraged to take notes on all

 finish demonstrations and activities

About the Artist

Steve Wallis is the owner of Creative Painting Specialists of Jacksonville, Florida. An artist from a young age, Steve has spent many years learning his craft and has excelled in multiple disciplines and artistic mediums. His specialties are faux finishes in an old world tradition including Woodgrain, Marbling, Venetian Plaster, and many, many more. He has completed projects from Florida to Hawaii and hopes that you will enjoy learning the techniques as much as he has enjoyed teaching them!

Click HERE to visit his website, check out the samples and you will be amazed!

Hurry... Spaces for this class are limited!!

Or if you prefer...

Contact the Store at (813) 931-9307

for more information or to register by phone with your credit card

ANNOUNCING THE ASCP AMERICAN TOUR WINNER

2011-12-31T18:08:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL

We at Robyn Story Designs and Boutique want to wish all of you a wonderful, healthy, happy and creative NEW YEAR!!

We are also so excited to share with you the winner of our

ANNIE SLOAN AMERICAN TOUR GIVEAWAY.

The giveaway prize is a basket of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Products!!
Valued at $150.00!!!

BUT the BEST is the chance to win $350 from Annie Sloan Unfolded. This will be a random drawing with ALL the winners of this National Giveaway. That $350 can go towards Annie Sloan Chalk Paint or to register to meet Miss Annie herself!! I can't think of a more wonderful gift than to meet the creator of this FABULOUS product and to be able to learn directly from her!! So GOOD LUCK to our winner:

MEGAN

CONGRATULATIONS Megan!!
Enjoy your paint and send us pictures of your projects!! Thanks for following our blog and for following Annie's blog as well!!

Thanks to all who entered! Though the contest is over, you can still register to meet us all in Atlanta to meet Annie and to take her workshop! You're guaranteed to have a fabulous time. Just click here for more info on registering!

Yes my earlier post said Amanda, call it a holiday exhaustion moment. But Megan is the winner and she's SUPER excited to have won and now we have to route for her to win the BIG GIVEAWAY!!

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN CREATE CONTEST RESULTS

2011-12-27T09:10:00.000-08:00

Thanks to all who participated in our first series of the

So You Think You Can Create Contest!!

LOTS of people voted for their favorite and we've counted the results....

So the WINNER of a

$250 AMERICAN EXPRESS GIFT CARD

IS
Tricia and her amazing transformation of a rusted box spring into this GORGEOUS
Vintage inspired Christmas Tree and all the lusciously wrapped presents. I personally LOVED how she incorporated everyday household objects into beautifully and artfully wrapped presents. I think it reminded me of the days when Christmas wasn't commercial. When we used what we had on hand to embellish our homes. The true meaning of Christmas and decorations that are heartfelt!

If you haven't seen this before, please go to her blog and check it out. It absolutely exemplified what we were looking for. Tricia took something most of us would have deemed as useless and had a vision to create a one of a kind work of art!!
THANKS again to all who entered. Each entry was creative and inspirational. I hope everyone that looked at the posts were inspired to make something old - new again!

All comments have been published for your viewing!

A FABULOUS MELAMINE UPDATE WITH ANNIE SLOAN CHALK PAINT

2011-12-24T18:07:00.000-08:00

Way back in May we shared with you one of our first Annie Sloan Chalk Paint projects. We have wonderful customers that were game, why not try Annie Sloan Chalk Paint on their very 80's style built-in bookshelves in their home office. (We used Chateau Grey with Clear and Dark Wax on the base and just along the back of the shelves we used Versailles with clear wax.) This was just the beginning of the project. We were thrilled with our results at that time. Well, the project is finally finished and we really wanted you to see the end result. Not just from the Annie Sloan point of view but from the design aspect as well. Robyn Story Designs and Boutique not only sells wonderful home decor and women's fashion jewelry we are a full service design studio.

We took this tired room and made it into a fabulous home office for our client. They just recently returned from up north to spend the holidays and the winter here and were just tickled at all of our additions. Let me take a moment to share with you our vision that came to fruition!

TAKE A LOOK AT THE BEFORE

Wall to wall orange melamine

17 flat front panel doors

This was after the paint was done, but please take note of the accessories etc

This is an after picture, once we finished the paint. But it gets so much better!

Hmm, notice the bank of windows and orientation of furniture

Another picture of the finished paint. But again, please notice the ceiling fan, desk, chairs and accessories in the shelves

NOW THE DRAMATIC TRANSFORMATION

Take note of the accessories and the handles on the doors! Also the framing on the doors. They used to be flat front. A little time, great carpenter and beautiful trim and voila, a decorator door!

In the before picture you saw a bank of small windows. We took those out and had gorgeous French Doors installed. It opened the whole room and will have a gorgeous view of a luscious English garden. We also replaced the porcelain sink with a beautiful oil rubbed bronze finished one as well as a matching faucet. This is the same finish on the cabinet hardware.

The view as you enter, a grand view! Also notice the hardwood flooring, all hand hewed. The panels on the left and right of the wall unit are hand painted works of art that brought in the Chateau Gray on the shelves, a beautiful way to round out the space

More beautiful accessories

The reading nook complete with comfy leather chairs and windows framed with the most incredible drapery. I love how the nail-heads on the chairs are mirrored in the window treatments.

One final view!

Robyn Story Designs and Boutique creates fabulous, inviting, warm and elegant interiors from top to bottom!!

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN CREATE: LET THE VOTING BEGIN!!

2011-12-23T11:51:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

I know this contest timing is a little off. We experienced some MAJOR technical difficulties!! Don't you just love technology....it's a lifesaver when it works....but when it doesn't it's enough to make you scream!!!

However, I think we're up and running. My apologies to all that may have tried sending their entries and don't see them here...something went a little wonky with the email address and I fear several entries were considered "spam" and were immediately deleted. This came to my attention from someone that did call us here at the store to check whether or not her entry made it. Had Tricia not called I never would have known.

There were over 20 people that were registered for the contest. If you're one of them, please just resend your entry to the same email address: SoYouThinkYouCanCreate@aol.com and we'll register you automatically for the next series for an equal opportunity to win!

Anyway, let's move on to the good stuff!! We did get a few entries since things cleared up and in all fairness I want to post them and continue on. So here's the deal:

Below are the entries with a brief description of what each person created and what products they used.

Voting is easy.

You MUST be a follower, so if you're not please become one, let me know that you did.
Once you've become a follower of our blog then leave a comment on your favorite entry.
Only comments from followers will be counted, so you just know I'll be checking!!
We will accept votes through 12/26/2011 and will announce the winner on 12/27/2011
Remember to vote for the ONE entry that you feel BEST defines "re-purposing". At Robyn Story Designs we LOVE seeing something old find a new life!

That's it. Simple. Your vote helps someone win a $250 American Express Gift Card to be used anywhere -- even here at Robyn Story Designs.

And don't forget comments will NOT be published until voting ends. I want the winner to be surprised!!

HERE ARE YOUR ENTRIES

Entry One:

In the beginning there was an old rusted mattress boxspring. Tricia knew this was someone's trash that she could turn into a treasure. She read about our contest and her imagination flew...look at what she created!


You can go to her blog for complete details and even more pics of her creation!

A close up of the 'branches' decked out in all their glory!

A few of the handmade, repurposed wrapped presents

Entry two:

This was a mantel that Pattie found at a yard sale and placed on top of her table in the kitchen. There are SO many pictures and much better explanation of products used on her blog - be sure to read all about it before you vote!


If you check out Pattie's blog you can see her entire entry with more pics and a much better description of her project. She did use Annie Sloan Chalk Paint on the mantel clock and set the whole vignette in her kitchen.

Entry three:

Cynthia found inspiration from something she'd read online for these simple but fun Christmas trees. All of her trees are made of burlap or cardboard, embellished with a little this 'n that and put on found candlesticks!

She painted the candlesticks in this picture with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, color Versailles to create this venue.


Go to Cynthia's blog to read more about her project and her inspiration for these trees. There's plenty more pics to look at as well.

Entry four:


This is such a fun entry and I loved reading their story (see below). Carol doesn't have a blog so I want to be sure that you get her entire inspiration!!

"After 25 years in the remodeling business it's inevitable that some of your tools will start to wear out. Thus was the case of my trusty wheel barrow.

As I was carrying this work partner to the alley for bulk pickup I spied some cross country skies someone else had already set out. Seeing the two items together I was struck with the possibility of a Christmas miracle. This wheel barrow had been a Christmas present years earlier and I was saddened to send it off. Your "So You Think You Can Create (Series One) Holiday Contest and Giveaway" brought it all into focus.

With some left over lumber I arched and fastened the suspension to the skies and attached them to the sled. My wife painted everything and we made a display in the garage with some white tarps, saw horses, left over landscaping fabric and some lights. Now when we raise the garage door our neighbors can enjoy this delightful display.

Thanks for your inspiration Robyn to think outside the box."

So there you have it. Four completely different, yet inspired designs! Please read each entry carefully and select your winner!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DON'T FORGET....OUR ANNIE SLOAN AMERICAN TOUR AND GIVEAWAY!!
Thanks to all who've entered so far. It's winding down so be sure to get your comments in. Winner will be announced New Year's Eve!! Then it's time to get ready for Annie's Tour. We'll be sure to keep you posted. We've had some wonderful friends/customers of the store ALREADY register to meet Miss Annie herself. Trust me when I tell you she's a HOOT!! I hope to meet you all there!

THE ANNIE SLOAN AMERICAN TOUR AND GIVEAWAY JUST GOT BETTER at ROBYN STORY DESIGNS!!

2011-12-07T14:38:00.000-08:00

YES, you read that right, I said "GIVEAWAY'S".... plural!!

In addition to the other fabulous stockists throughout the country participating in the Annie Sloan American Tour and Giveaway (woohoo this is BIG).... Robyn Story Designs asked three of her

FABULOUS BLOG FRIENDS to help us celebrate Annie Sloan's tour and to promote

the

NATIONAL GIVEAWAY !

click here to read all the details of this great giveaway at
Robyn Story Designs!!!

Go on over to My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia this week to check out her addition to the giveaway!!

Next Monday, December 12 Savvy Southern Style will take over with her own giveaway!!

and the final week (December 19) will be hosted by

French Country Cottage, again, she'll have an additional 'somethin' somethin' for those that check her out!

We are so excited that Annie Sloan is coming to the US, we want to shout it from the rooftops! She has shown us the way to create beautiful European finishes on virtually any surface and allowed each of us to find the artist within!

Her product has empowered us ALL to change our world,

ONE COLOR AT A TIME

So please enter as many of the giveaways as you can

(start here of course!! at ROBYN STORY DESIGNS) where you can win an incredible holiday gift basket of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint products and the opportunity to actually meet this incredible woman yourself!!

ROBYN STORY DESIGNS ANNOUCES ANNIE SLOAN AMERICAN TOUR & GIVEAWAY

2011-12-05T05:41:00.000-08:00

Announcing...

THE ANNIE SLOAN AMERICAN TOUR AND CHALK PAINT GIVEAWAY!

(This one is going to be Big!)

To spread some holiday cheer and celebrate the Annie Sloan American Tour, Robyn Story Designs is excited to announce this wonderful giveaway.

Each WINNING basket includes two fabulous pots of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, Annie Sloan Soft Wax in clear and dark, and Annie's book Quick & Easy Paint Transformations. You read that right!! Robyn Story Designs is having an ANNIE SLOAN CHALK PAINT GIVEAWAY!

Want more of an opportunity to win? Check out all retailers of this Fabulous product in North America! This is a national giveaway. That means there are over 100 opportunities to win because EACH of us are offering this basket! So REGISTER TO WIN HERE FIRST and take a tour of North America yourself!!!

Plus there’s even more! It Gets Better!!

In addition to the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Giveaway, the lucky winner of the holiday basket from each shop across North America, will be entered for a chance to win a $350 gift certificate from Annie Sloan Unfolded. It is good toward your choice of a credit on your Annie Sloan American Tour registration fee or $350.00 in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint! The big winner will be announced on Annie's Blog on January 10, 2012.

Check out all of the exciting details for the

Annie Sloan American Tour

and read all about this incredible event!

Sound Good? Great! Here is how you get started to win BIG in the Annie Sloan American Tour and Chalk Paint Giveaway here at Robyn Story Designs.

YOU MUST

Become a follower of Annie Sloan’s Blog and comment with "American Tour 2012"
Become a follower of Robyn Story Designs blog and comment with "American Tour 2012"
For an EXTRA entry be sure to "like" me on FACEBOOK and make an additional comment on the blog letting me know that you did that!!
AND FOR ONE MORE ENTRY - come into the store and tell us you read about it on the blog and we'll enter you AGAIN.

The giveaway starts NOW and Robyn Story Designs will announce the winner on this blog on New Year's Eve. Now wouldn't that be a special way to start 2012!!

I TOLD YOU IT WAS GONNA BE BIG!!!

BARCELONA ORANGE HAS ARRIVED!!!!!!

2011-12-01T06:40:00.000-08:00

BARCELONA ORANGE

IS HERE

We are fully stocked and ready to fill your order!

Go to our website and place your order or give us a jingle at the store!

'TIS THE SEASON TO BE ORANGE!!!

SALVAGE SHOPPING

2011-11-27T14:28:00.000-08:00

One of the many things I've always loved is SALVAGE SHOPS. I love what creative people are doing with salvage pieces and how they're being repurposed into gorgeous objects. It just thrills me to see wonderful "Objects d' Arte" come alive from things that were torn down and ripped apart. I have always felt that no matter what your design in your home - traditional, transitional, contemporary or just plain eclectic - each home needs a sense of history. Something that tells a story.

Walking into a salvage store I can feel the history, almost hear the whispers of lives lived. It sounds romantic or dramatic but just holding an item makes me wonder who owned this before...what was their life like....what did it look like in their home....and how lucky that this piece of history still remains long after the owners have gone.

I LOVE these balusters. Decades of old paint just chipping away. I can imagine a new coffee table with these gorgeous legs restored to their original lustre. Or perhaps just cleaning them up a little, making sure the paint that is chipping is sealed and creating a beautiful shabby chic table.

Can't you just "See" the history??

This is one of my favorite shots! I love the textures in this picture. The old baskets. Were they used to carry fresh harvested wheat? The old chippy windows. What views did they have? Who gazed out of them waiting for a loved one to return?

Doors. I love them. I am ALWAYS drawn to them. The hardware is almost always hand forged and withstands the test of time. Did the family have horse and buggies that would drive through these gates? What was their story? Who came and went? Look at this old fashioned cash register. I love how simple life was and how thrilled they must have been when they invented this for merchants. I think about our computer systems. How far we've come, yet how many times we need to resort to the good old fashioned way of doing things when technology fails us!!

Did I mention that I love doors? These doors (I bought 2) came from McDill Airforce Base in Tampa. They were the doors that may have heard all the dreams and fears of Amerian airmen when they crossed the threshold of their colonels doors to accept their deployment.

I bought these and brought them home to my store to give them a new life. They were gorgeous,solid wood doors that we painted ASCP Paris Grey with Old White, distressed them to embrace their age.

Waxing the doors a final time. I had great plans for these doors. They came with us to the Orlando Expo where they were appreciated and adored. We added gorgeous sconces and made them panels to hang. Now they grace the walls of my showroom waiting for their perfect final home!

VOILA! A gorgeous piece of history!!

Don't forget about our HOLIDAY CONTEST & GIVE AWAY. It's all about creating new from old. Finding pieces to create into gorgeous Christmas decor. I'm hoping for some great inspiration!!!

AND

In case you didn't read the earlier post....we have a new

ANNIE SLOAN CHALK PAINT GIVEAWAY brewing!!

FANCY FLEA IN LAKELAND (and secret news of an ASCP GIVE AWAY!)

2011-11-23T14:13:00.000-08:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!!
I have MANY things to be thankful for. I have the most attentive and wonderful husband. A Fabulous son and daughter in-law. Truly the MOST GORGEOUS grand-daughter, GREAT brothers with fabulous families, the WORLD'S BEST mother and a TERRIFIC staff at my store.

My life is full and now that I have extended friends through blogging and Facebooking, I am truly Thankful!
So have a wonderful day with your loved ones, I will be enjoying a fun-filled family day as well!!

__________________________________________
FANCY FLEA
Well, we made it back to Tampa with a lot less paint and A LOT of great memories.

Our booth FULL of ASCP

Thanks to all who stopped by our tent to check out the ANNIE SLOAN CHALK PAINT. There were many wonderful vendors there displaying their pieces done with this amazing product. Those that never heard of it (if you can believe that!!) were amazed at the finish that you can achieve and came by to check it out. As most of you know, once you try it - you're hooked.

So I think we managed to hook a few more this weekend!!

What was the MOST FUN????? Meeting SO MANY of our Facebookers and Blog Followers. What a hoot. THANK YOU so much for introducing yourselves and for making a point to come and meet us!

My good friend Deb from Vintage Soul

Can you believe we didn't take ONE picture - Nada, zippo, nothing!! What a total bummer. I'm borrowing gorgeous pictures from other more organized people (thank you by the way for taking such amazing photos!!) But honestly, we showed up at the designated time, 5:30 a.m.!!!! and started setting up immediately with only the street lights to illuminate our spot. By 7:00 there was a race that was running right down the middle of Kentucky Avenue and once the race was over people actually started shopping. Ummm, hellllooooo, we weren't ready!! But that was okay, I was also in a frenzy to buy buy buy!! I was there to sell Annie Sloan Chalk Paint but I was ready to find a few goodies myself! And no worries...I did!

Isn't this GORGEOUS!!

Here are a few of my favorite finds that I sold at Fancy Flea. These burlap panels, sacks and pillows were ALL THE RAGE!! I have to admit, my heart skipped a little beat each time I sold one. I really wanted them for myself.....but that's okay, I can always get more! I have a few left and more on the way. So if you missed them at FANCY FLEA, come on in and grab one before they're all gone!

The Union Jack is in Honor of my FAVORITE Brit - Annie Sloan!!

This is in our showroom but we brought LOTS of those panels that we framed!!

Okay, so I have to be hush hush and can't give you any details but I am bursting at the seams with some delicious news.....all I can say is
HUGE ANNIE SLOAN GIVE AWAY.
THAT'S RIGHT ANNIE SLOAN CHALK PAINT GIVE AWAY.
This is just the tip of the ice-berg for all you loyal "Sloaner's" out there!!
That's it. But please keep posted.
THIS IS GONNA BE BIG!!!!!

"STORY" TIME and a FAVORITE RECIPE

2011-11-13T15:40:00.000-08:00

As many of may know.. my store Robyn Story Designs and Boutique sells gourmet nibbles. Everything from Stonewall Jams and Chutney's, to USF, UCF and Florida State Peanuts. Yes, those were Ellen's idea to carry and boy are they ever successful. They're a GREAT gift for the sports fan, alumni or students and they're also tasty so it's a win-win!!

Aside from selling wonderful gourmet products we always have a buffet of homemade appetizers and nibbles every day. I hope that when people come into our store that they check their problems at the door and come in and just enjoy a visit with us. That always includes Starbucks coffee, latte's, cappuccino's, soda, water as well as many little treats throughout the store. It's important to my staff and myself that our customers know that they can just forget about the outside world when they come.. a place where you can just let go... My goal has always been to captivate all of your senses once you walk through our doors.

I am also so fortunate to have great reps for our food lines as well. They are fantastic and always offer to come to our OPEN HOUSES and serve some of their delectable products. One of the most delicious and versatile ones that they always bring this time of year is Earth and Vine's Mandarin Pumpkin Marmalade. If you've been to my store, chances are you've sampled it and bought a jar or two - if not more! If you haven't I really think you might want to try it. It's fall, Halloween and Thanksgiving all bottled up in this little treat!

Lori went online and found a recipe using a jar of Mandarin Pumpkin Marmalade to make the most moist Pumpkin Bread I have ever eaten. Ellen also went online and found a recipe for a baked Mandarin Pumpkin Marmalade Cheesecake. Can you say "slices of heaven". We were all stuck in the kitchen eating both of them, barely leaving enough for our guests!! You can go online at www.earthandvine.com to read all about their products. If you can't find this marmalade anywhere, as always I'm happy to send it out. It's definitely something you'll want to try and I've ordered several cases of it since it sells out so quickly!

Since I'm sharing some yummies with you, here's one of the most requested recipes, we have several and I'll eventually share them all with you - they're all WINNERS! But here's one that I've been serving at my store, in my home and often bring to events. It's my husband, Steve's Salsa and it is FANTASTIC!! It makes A LOT so plan on having some friends over when you make it! Let me know when you try it, I'm certain you'll be hooked just like many of my customers.

Steve and Louie!!

STEVE’S FAMOUS SALSA

1 can sweet niblet corn, drained

1 can black beans rinsed and drained

1 can black eyed peas rinsed and drained

1 onion chopped

1 red pepper chopped

1 green or yellow pepper chopped

1 cup Wishbone Zesty Italian Dressing

1 tomato chopped

1 handful of fresh cilantro chopped

Toss all together, let marinate in frig a few hours or overnight. Serve with Tortilla chips or pita wedges.

Of course, for those that like it HOT, chop up a small jalapeno and add in.

"So You Think You Can Create HOLIDAY CONTEST and Giveaway!!!!!!"

2011-10-28T10:01:00.000-07:00

It's always something here at Robyn Story Designs!!
No one can accuse us of letting grass grow under our feet!!

==================================================
We're preparing for
Fancy Flea
vintage home & garden market

We are so excited to be a part of the wonderful open air event in Lakeland, FL but there's

LOTS to prepare for.

We'll be there with all kinds of wonderful Ribbons, and Christmas Decorations as well as

THE ENTIRE LINE OF ANNIE SLOAN CHALK PAINT

and some pieces finished with ASCP from our store, as well as

MANY other fun and creative items. PLEASE stop by and say HI. We love meeting our bloggers!

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NOW, FINALLY...
We are so excited to be launching our "So You Think You Can Create (Series One) Holiday Contest and Giveaway". (This is just the FIRST of many to follow.)

So if you're excited about entering and share our enthusiasm over future Series,
RULE ONE .....

Simply become a follower of our blog. Once a follower, be sure to COMMENT on THIS post using the phrase
"So You Think You Can Create (Series One) Holiday Contest and Giveaway"
If you're already a follower, we appreciate and thank you, but you |STILL need to comment on THIS post using the phrase "So You Think You Can Create (Series One) Holiday Contest and Giveaway"

It's TOO easy to participate.

What you need to do to win this FABULOUS contest:

It must be a HOLIDAY decor - Christmas, Kwanza, Hanukkah, it's YOUR holiday
Create your decor using any product or material that you like. Of course we always like to see how you can incorporate Annie Sloan Chalk Paint/waxes into your project.
Here's the catch: You must incorporate a found item(s) that you have repurposed...like our wonderful used brushes and old pots of paint.

You can click here and refer to our original post to further understand the inspiration behind this Series One of So You Think You Can Create.
If you have a blog and want to share the love , take our button (top right-hand corner) and put it on your blog. Make sure to let us know (via comment with the phrase "just for fun giveaway" on our blog) and as an extra thank you we'll enter your name for our 'just for fun' giveaway! One lucky person will win a $50 American Express Gift Card to complete your Holiday shopping or a treat just or you!

Once you've become a follower and commented on this post it's time to START CREATING!!! When you've finished your masterpiece simply:

Email us a picture, include in the email the procedure and products used. Address:
SoYouThinkYouCanCreate@aol.com

VERY IMPORTANT: The Subject Line on the Email MUST read, SERIES ONE ENTRY
any entry sent without this in the subject line will be invalid

Once we receive all the entries (must be emailed to us by midnight December 20) we will post all entries on our blog on December 21 and the voting will begin!!!

At that point all you'll need to do is check out our post filled with images of all the entries, review them all and comment on your favorite. Those comments on the ENTRIES WILL NOT be published until the contest is over. This is to ensure that it will be a surprise to the winner!! Way cool huh!?
The Entry that followed all the rules AND receives the MOST comments wins
$250 GIFT CERTIFICATE!!

Spend it anyway you want anywhere you want and of course we'd LOVE it if you spent it at our beautiful little store!
ROBYN STORY DESIGNS!!

announcement will be made on the blog at Midnight on Christmas Eve

Please don't forget....For each entry I am personally making a donation to the Ocular Research and Education Foundation. This is my personal way of saying THANK YOU to an amazing doctor, Dr. Steven Maskin.

It was his expertise that I completely credit for saving my brothers' life and eyesight. Please click here to read my original post about this event in our family's life.

So put your Holiday music on and get inspired. Time is flying and the Holiday's will be here before you know it!!!

OH MY GOODNESS!! ONE MORE THING!
A BIG SHOUT OUT TO TAMMY
Jump on over to Type A Decorating blog and check out her FANTASTIC giveaway!!! Wait until you see the wonderful things you can win just by visiting her blog.
This is what we donated!!

The winner can choose one of our exclusive Sonya items!!

She reached out to us at Robyn Story Designs and Boutique and asked if we'd like to help her celebrate reaching her 650th follower. How could I say NO!? Seriously, I LOVE all of my followers and know how special each one is. So, Tammy, HAVE A BLAST!!!

EXCITING HAPPENINGS AT ROBYN STORY DESIGNS

2011-10-14T07:16:00.000-07:00

Where have we been?

We've been so incredibly busy there's hardly been time for Facebook or Blogging!! And I've missed it!!

Our OPEN HOUSE was a HUGE success and such a wonderful way to start the HOLIDAY season!!
For those of you that attended and helped make it so successful
THANK YOU!!
I know, and never take for granted, that I wouldn't still be in this business without YOU!
Let me fill you in on some of the wonderful things going on here at
Robyn Story Designs.

We have had several fun workshops in September and October. Here are just a couple of pictures.

We always have a full house for our workshops. During these workshops in September and October we had lots of laughs, great stories and several people that came from the East Coast of Florida to spend the day with us as well as an adorable woman from Paris, France. Okay, okay...so she didn't fly from Paris to take our class but I have to tell you I tried to soak up as much of her Paris as I could!! It is my dream destination...


Homemade roasted veggies are always on the lunch "menu", a customer favorite!


I love this...people come in and meet new friends and exchange numbers!!

Our Annie Sloan Chalk Paint workshops are too much fun! Everyone leaves totally empowered after an afternoon of fun and instruction with the paint! We have several more dates for workshops, be sure to check it out online!

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After our few workshops we had to scurry and get ready for the
FAUX EXPO in Orlando!
Now that was a BLAST!!!!
We were there representing our WONDERFUL Robyn Story Designs and Boutique as well as Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and our other product line that we'll be carrying in the near future,
Amy Howard.
We did mini demo's throughout the day, chatted with the MOST AMAZINGLY TALENTED artists and soaked up some of that talent!


All of our menagerie before it was staged!


It's getting there, bare bones but shaping up!!


Our finished booth!!! Complete with a vintage desk, found objects mounted on reclaimed wood with a back drop of vintage bread boards from a bread bakery in Ybor City! A touch of glam with our Mac Sculpture candelabra's and a few treasures from our boutique!


Our mini demo area, complete with an Annie Sloan Chalk Painted canvas as our 'rug'

One of our ASCP sample color displays


We had a 'full house' of demo's every 30 minutes and they all left LOVING the paint!!

Another picture of our completed booth!

One of the many things that I love about my store is that my customer's want and expect something different all the time. I pride myself on never letting things get stale, always changing venues around and ALWAYS thinking outside the proverbial box! Take a look at our latest creation, we affectionately call her Antoinette!

She is a wonderful seamstress mannequin that we covered with a vintage wedding dress with layers of tulle and a gorgeous boa. We finished her with a vintage corset and she's actually electrified with a chandelier. Is she not the MOST luxurious piece of work. Vintage clothing, a crystal chandelier, a vintage mannequin and voila~ an amazing 'floor lamp' that any woman would love in her dressing room, bathroom or a perfect feminine touch for her office!!

Here she is posing in front of a mural that upon our entrance to the expo was just a large blank canvas. As the two days progressed the artist painted this masterpiece before our very eyes! Take a look at Joel Cook's portfolio. Thanks Joel for allowing us to use your art as Antoinette's background!


My staff that helped pull off this amazing feat!! We were proud of our booth and our three days of fun!

I also need to thank four very important people for ALL of their help as well. Three of our Florida Annie Sloan mini stockists met us in Orlando and were instrumental in helping us pull the whole thing together. So thanks, Denna, Carmella (and her friend Caryl) and Lorna. You girls ROCK!!!
=========================
Once we returned from the Expo we had to hit the ground running and get the store ready for our Holiday Open House.

We also transformed our workshop into our Untold Stories Warehouse Sale. It was filled to the rafters with amazing deals on Christmas ribbons, ornaments, greens and a some home decor objects.

We had so much fun and everyone enjoyed it so much that we've extended it through this weekend. My staff has been as busy as Santa's elves adding more to Untold Stories and revamping the showroom. As always, I like to keep it fresh and new. Many garlands and trees sold during our Holiday Open House that we need to fill those empty spaces!

===========================

I hope this explains where we've been lately! As if the above isn't enough I'm heading to Market in North Carolina next week to purchase some WONDERFUL, NEW and EXCITING products to the store!!

2011-10-02T08:14:00.000-07:00

Robyn Story Designs and Boutique

IT'S HERE

THREE DAYS ONLY

ROBYN STORY DESIGNS

Holiday Open House!!

Holiday Open House Specials!

Thursday! Friday! Saturday!

October 6th, 7th, & 8th

(Thurs/Fri 10 -5 Sat 10/4)

20% off

YOUR ENTIRE PURCHASE*

As Always Great Food... Great Finds...
...And New Inspirations For Your Mind
And For The Artful Soul!

Plus...

We've Made A Special Purchase of

Exquisite Christmas Ribbon And Other
Holiday Decor And We Are Passing The
Savings On To Our Valued Customers!

Daily Doorbusters!!

Unadvertised daily specials in all departments!

Spin the wheel for free gifts and special discounts!

Check out a very special trunk show with Stella and Dot

It Will Be So Much Fun You Won't

Want To Leave! Ridiculous Pricing On

Designer Ribbon As Low As $1 Per Bolt!

* Not good with any other offers, custom or special orders. Does not include any discount off of Robyn's Untold Stories. Offer expires October 9, 2011. Certain restrictions may apply. See store for details.

Castles, Cork, Land and Sea...and a CONTEST

2011-09-22T06:42:00.000-07:00

One of my other staff members, Lori, has been away for two weeks on her annual vacation with her husband and two friends. Each year they pick a country to visit and hit the road! This year was Portugal and what follows are from her words and her experiences. Enjoy the trip!

Traveling is one of our favorite things to do. There's nothing like visiting a foreign place, so far removed from our everyday life and habits. Going to a foreign land and experiencing life as a local is one of our greatest treasures. It is what we love to do and delve into each culture for the two weeks that we're there with gusto!

We landed in Lisbon, Portugal and hit the ground running. I knew from the first moment that we got to the airport and grabbed a cup of coffee (even better than Italy!!) that we would fall in love. Lisbon is a gorgeous and amazingly clean city and has so much to offer a tourist. It was a veritable feast for the eyes. Everything in Europe is so old and has great history associated with it. The architecture in Portugal was just stunning and I found myself snapping hundreds of pictures each day. Around every corner there was a treasure to behold.

This trip we traveled by foot


We covered many miles on foot!

By funicular up some of the toughest hills!!

By train

By bus

By cable car throughout the city

And of course, by car. This route was what we covered by car, over 1200 miles. It does not take into account any of the other means of transportation!!

One of the things that impressed us the most were the sidewalks throughout the city.

These sidewalks are made up of three inch cubes of cream colored limestone and dark grey basalt stones. The black represents the holy attire worn by the Lisbon's patron Saint Vincent, while the white represents the white outfits of the Christian Crusaders who vanquished the Moors. Each sidewalk throughout Lisbon (as well as other areas of Portugal) were works of art. Some were done intricately, others were simple but just as elegant. I took several pictures of my favorites.

Even if the sidewalks aren't a mosaic of black and white, they're still little squares of white

Robyn has me seeing McKenzie-Childs influence everywhere!!!

We found ourselves traversing the country in search of castles. We were not disappointed. We found MANY. One of the most beautiful and picturesque was in a town called Sintra. Sintra and its mystical hills dotted with fairtytale palaces and extravagant villas are a true sight to behold. The Romans made it a place of cult moon worshiping and named it "Cynthia" after the goddess of the moon. They were followed by the Moors who also fell in love with the lush vegetation and built a hilltop castle, a palace, and several fountains around the town. Later it became the summer residence of the Portuguese royal family and attracted a number of wealthy aristocrats who built huge mansions and villas.

We found a castle in Tomar, Portugal in the process of renovation. It was originally built somewhere around 1160 - can you believe it still stands! It was just amazing as the pictures will show you. The original detail is still so evident, it's already a beauty. It has been in the process of renovation for centuries already and it's still incredibly rustic. We found many castles to investigate but these were our two favorite.

A hidden doorway underneath the castle

This castle, like most that we saw on our trip, housed a chapel. It is here that I saw the most amazing faux finish on the wall. Look at these pictures. If you look closely enough you will see that one side is an actual pulpit that protrudes from the wall. On the other side of the hallway about four hundred years ago they realized that they should have placed a matching pulpit on the other side but since they couldn't rebuild they painted a matching one! Unbelievable!


The real pulpit with real marble and green onyx

The faux pulpit - pretty amazing.

Shopping. Oh how I wish my pocketbook was bottomless! I could have spent a fortune on many of the countries unique products. Portugal is the second largest producer of cork. Yes, cork, like cork for wine bottles. However, don't let that fool you. The Portugese make hundreds of products with cork. Purses, ties, books, jewelry, lamps, lampshades.....it was limitless and beautiful.

The Portugese are also very well respected for their pottery, everything from traditional to contemporary was displayed and just beautiful.

Ceramic, Iron and Pottery were at every turn

A more contemporary flair of pottery

Traditional Portugese Pottery

We drank wine like it was water - another of Portugal's gems. And I discovered Port. Liquid gold that you savor a sip at a time. Vineyards lined the roads and we felt compelled to take a peak and a taste.


That's $166 euro or $232 American!!


We just missed the crush, a few lonely grapes left hanging

This was a gorgeous fountain at one of the winery's we visited


An entrance to one of the winery's we visited

The coastline was yet another stop along our journey. Here every morning you could watch local fisherman set their traps for all sea creatures and at night when we went out to eat, nothing but the freshest of seafood was ever offered. Some of the largest fish, shrimp, crabs and lobster I've ever seen!

Fishing boats

Fishing gear on the coast

This crab was over 5 pounds!!!

Goodness, after reliving my vacation as I wrote this I'm thinking I need another vacation!!! I guess I'm going to have to wait another year!! However, now that I'm home I'm thrilled to hear about all the new and exciting things going on at Robyn Story Designs.

There's a FANTASTIC contest brewing. Get your creative MoJo going for Christmas. Anything goes, as long as it's an inspired decoration, it's unique and you tell us how you created it. Two hundred and fifty dollar gift certificate is waiting for the most creative idea. We will feature the entries on the blog and we'll have the rules posted next week. Good Luck. Oh, if you're looking for some kind of inspiration, check out a fellow blogger's post for Halloween. This was so creative and so adorable I had to share.

Cynthia Keenan nailed the idea for inspired design using simple pumpkins for her Halloween Decorations. Think Christmas! Thanks Cynthia for such great Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Pumpkins!!! Hope this helps get those thoughts and ideas flowing!

CHRISTMAS, CHALK PAINT WORKSHOPS and SOME GREAT NEWS!

2011-09-18T14:34:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy few weeks here at Robyn Story Designs. Christmas is coming in a hurry and we have TONS to do. One of our wonderful customers requested our designs again this Christmas. So we spent an entire Sunday building their Christmas trees and installing all of their garlands and wreaths inside their home. This is quite the house. It's stunning and artful and owned by some incredibly special customer's and friends of the store. (They aren't due back to their Florida residence until late November so we were able to get a jump start on the season!!) Here's just a little sneak peak into what 8 people spent 8 hours doing last Sunday.

This is only 1/10 of the boxes that housed all the decorations!!

Unwrapping and organizing the boxes of ornaments. Two trees were dressed, a 15 foot and a 12 foot!! Again, a small fraction of the amount of ornaments, ribbons and trim used!

I hope Santa is as lucky as I am. I have the most amazing elves!! Always a smile and such creative genius's!!

Three hours later it's FINISHED with beautiful trim, ribbons and ornaments!!!


A close up of the most beautiful gold ornaments, each one is over 1 foot tall

David working on the second story bannister garland overlooking the family room

Mr. Christmas! Scott working on the ribbons and perfecting the tree

The Garland and wreath hanging down from the bannister

We even drafted Lori's husband to fluff the ribbons and garland-all hands on deck!!!

So, as you can see, there's never a dull moment. Next time I want to share some of the gorgeous-ness at the store!! Garlands galore. Trees that are just amazing. I hope it inspires you. I also need to define our contest. I haven't forgotten. None-the-less, I hope you're all channeling your inner artist!!! I'm so excited to see your inspired decoration!

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We did however, have a fabulous time today with a great group for a Chalk Paint Workshop!! We had some terrific friends of the store, our NEW mini stockist and a couple decorative artists! LOTS of great questions, wonderful stories and fun today!


Our TERRIFIC group of attendees today!!


Coddie has never painted before. She took notes, listened intently and produced AMAZING results!


We were happy to have Michelle and Ken Hiley of Stiltskin Studios take our course as well! They are fabulous artsists but refer SO many people to our workshops they figured they'd better take them as well!!

Ken and Steve became fast friends and were sharing furniture finishing secrets


Sue, a decorative artist, was experimenting with colors at the end of the day

Time ran out before she could wax, however, she created a wonderful mosiac of color.

Steve (an amazingly talented decorative artist/artist) and me at the end of the day - fast friends!!

Every Chalk Paint Workshop is completely different. We meet so many talented individuals. A lot of you are already familiar with Michelle and Ken Hiley of Stiltskin Studios. If not, take a minute to check out their website.

Also, I want to take a minute and talk about my friend, Steve (above) whose business is Creative Painting Specialists. He is an incredibly talented artist and decorative painter. We are thrilled to be sharing with you that Steve will be scheduling workshops here at Robyn Story Designs. He will be teaching many different faux effects. Take a peak below at just a few of his finishes. Keep in mind that these are all done on wood planks. Prepare to be amazed!!!

Are you blown away!!?? Seriously gorgeous finishes. Steve is also a very talented artist and has been commissioned to do portraits, landscapes and art of all styles. He will be here, in our studio, teaching YOU. Keep an eye out for our announcement of dates....coming soon!! I know I'm excited because I'm going to be sitting in that class with you, learning right along your side!

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Did you pick up on my little slip earlier?? We have an announcement that we are SOOOO proud to share with you. Robyn Story Designs has a NEW mini stockist in VERO BEACH!!

WELCOME TO OUR

ANNIE SLOAN CHALK PAINT FAMILY

JEFF AND LORNA NELSON


Jeff at the workshop, painting a relief with Old Violet and Paris Grey


Jeff is loving the dark wax!!

Lorna was busy shadowing us during the workshop and managed to escape the camera's lens. She and Jeff own and operate a STUNNING antique store in Vero Beach called House of Charm Antiques. Take a peak at their store and if you find yourself in their neighborhood, stop by and browse through their treasures! They are both very excited to be ASCP mini stockist and will be hosting their own workshops in the very near future! We'll announce those dates on our blog as well!

Didn't I tell you it's been crazy around here!!! So many TERRIFIC things are in store for the future of Robyn Story Designs. I am so thrilled to be able to share it with everyone. Watch our website/blog for dates announcing the workshops with Steve from Creative Painting Specialists as well as a few other announcements AND the rules for our So you think you can Create contest!

and Robyn Story Designs "hearts" Stiltskin Studios!! Thanks Michelle!!

More very soon.....................

Robyn Story Designs and Horse Shows??

2011-09-08T15:01:00.000-07:00

Blogs can be about anything we choose, right? So I'm taking a few minutes to brag about another member of my staff. Scotty, has been with me for many years and is an incredibly talented Floral Designer and one of my Painters Extraordinaire, but his talent is far beyond these two things!

Scott has been through all of Robyn Story Designs transitions. I started my business ten years ago in my garage. I grew out of that garage and decided to work in a rented space and sold to the trade only. My inventory and clientele grew and I converted that warehouse space to my retail store. Slowly it has evolved into this magical space Robyn Story Designs, tucked away in Tampa.

Scott moved to Florida from Cleveland, Ohio after working 21 years in fresh florals and moved onto Silk Florals. He came into my store to buy stems since he was in the trade and we just hit it off. I knew that Scott and I would have a great time working together. He was and still is an incredible floral designer. Scott was instrumental from the beginning. Always there for support and an opinion. Customers love him, my staff loves him and he's just an all around terrific person.

One of our agreements from the beginning is that he would still have the ability to partake in his other profession. Scott has held the much respected job of dressing equestrian events. We've all seen horse shows and all of those gorgeous jumps that the horses leap over so gracefully. Well, somebody actually orchestrates the production of those jumps and all the florals at these events. One of those talented individuals is our Scott.

Scotty assisting with the Annie Sloan Workshop

He has designed shows in nine states and the District of Columbia and has done over 85 shows in his 28 year career! His repertoire includes Equestrian Shows in Traverse City, Michigan, The Vermont Summer Festival, The Capital Challenge in Upper Marlborough, Maryland, and Washington International Horse Show as well as designing/ordering/building the florals for the The Senior Open Golf Tournament in Traverse City and Cleveland, Ohio. His most notable accomplishments are Five World Cup events in Las Vegas, Olympic Trials in San Juan Capistrano and San Deigo, as well as the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

Whew!!! He's been around! We are so proud of him. He just returned from Michigan and Vermont and brought home some great pictures that I thought I'd share.

Here's the product just ready for 'beautification'!


Getting Organized and Ready for their debut!


So many gorgeous flowers in luscious colors!


Organized and moving outside to their gate

One AMAZING example of all the planning, organizing and incredibly long days to make these events beautiful.

Keep checking back for the final details of the "So You Think You Can Create" contest!
Click HERE to check out the post and see what its all about!

Announcing "So You Think You Can Create" Contest and Giveway!

2011-08-30T16:48:00.000-07:00

The Holidays are coming......fast!!
ROBYN STORY DESIGNS is already getting dressed for the holidays!! Just take a peak at some of the beautiful things that have just arrived!

Our trees each have their own personalities and are a work of art!

Wreaths and garlands are filled with the most luscious trims, ribbons, ornaments and found objects.

Little Fairies seem to be spying on us from every nook and cranny!

And of course there's good ol' Santa! He's made his appearance and is watching over my little elves as we orchestrate a gorgeous holiday for our customers and friends.

Even Annie Sloan Chalk Paint has it's own special edition Christmas Tree... click HERE to check out all the great colors and products available!

.

Okay, so I think this is one of my personal favorite Christmas creations. Chalk Paint isn't just for furniture, look how decorative a few used brushes and pots of paint can be!! How fun!! Stick in some gift certificates from your favorite stockist and we're good to go!

In the spirit of the season,we're going to launch our first in a series of contests called...

Robyn Story Designs & Boutique
Presents

"So You Think You Can Create?"

Series 1 Category: Holiday Creations

Using my Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Christmas Tree as your muse - your inspiration - think outside the box and produce an
INSPIRED Holiday Decoration or accent!

...An ornament

...A holiday tablescape
...A gift idea

...Any decoration...

Let your imagination soar!

Here's the catch: You must incorporate a found item(s) that you have repurposed... like our wonderful used brushes and old pots of paint!

"Goodness Gracious! The possibilities are unlimited!! What a great contest!"

So here are the rules: Use any product you like or any materials you like, but of course, we always like to see how you might put Annie Sloan Paint into your projects! Be SUPER creative!!

"Seriously? You're making me think about the holidays already?"

Then, send us a photo of your fabulous creation complete with a description of how you made it and what products you used.

Winner of this contest will receive a $250.00 American Express Gift Card to use as you see fit!

"Wow! $250.00?? Mommie needs a SPA day!"

The details will be announced in the next couple of days, so please help us share the news about this new and exciting adventure from Robyn Story Designs and Boutique. We would love, love, love if you would share this post with a friend, link it in your Facebook or Tweet about it, or blog about us!

This series, "So You Think You Can Create?" is going to be tons of fun and you're gonna want to be a part of it!

AND

In the spirit of the holiday and the spirit of giving, for each entry received I am going to personally make a donation to a foundation that is NEAR and DEAR to the heart of my family.

My brother, who is a Chicago area policeman, was injured on duty and while being treated for his injury, almost lost his life and eyesight to a devastating disease called Steven Johnson's Syndrome. His condition was caused by a severe reaction to antibiotics.

It was through the love and support of friends and family and the expertise of his doctors that he survived. My heart goes out to Dr. Steven Maskin, here in Tampa, Florida, who through his incredible knowledge and research allowed my brother a second chance at life and our family to continue to be blessed by his presence.

Dr. Maskin's passion in caring for his patients and his all his hard work is incredible. I want to continue to help support his efforts to help others with this devastating disease as well as the other diseases he researches.

All my contributions will go to the Ocular Research and Education Foundation. This is my PERSONAL way of thanking him for his expertise, support and diligence!!

Soooo.... get your creative juices flowing, share this blog and check back in a day or two for final entry details!

"I may look like a princess now, but wait 'till I put on my Craft Clothes!"

ANNOUNCING the EVERYTHING ANNIE SLOAN GIVEAWAY WINNER

2011-08-25T10:01:00.000-07:00

OH MY GOODNESS, it's been an exciting three weeks around here.

We would really like to THANK three amazing women with three FANTASTIC blogs!!

They were kind enough to post our giveaway on their blog, share their followers and friends and help us spread the news and excitement over Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.

Thanks to

Kim with Savvy Southern Style
Courtney with French Country Cottage

and

Kristin with My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

And now, the news you've been waiting for.

Our EVERYTHING ANNIE SLOAN GIVEAWAY WINNER IS:

ELIZABETH
her blog is PEAS and QUIET
Elizabeth, for some reason I was having trouble contacting you and blogger will not allow me to post a comment. Please contact us ASAP to claim your prize. Call or email us. Our contact info is on our blog or our website! Please make sure to leave us your phone number so we can get in touch with you!!

CONGRATULATIONS FROM
ROBYN STORY DESIGNS!!!

NOW, pay attention to our blog for a HUGE announcement from
Robyn Story Designs!

We're onto BIG things and EXCITING NEWS!

FUN AT OUR CHALK PAINT WORKSHOP

2011-08-19T13:28:00.000-07:00

TIME IS RUNNING OUT!
DON'T FORGET ABOUT OUT AMAZING

EVERYTHING ANNIE SLOAN GIVEAWAY!!

CLICK HERE FOR ALL THE DETAILS

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We had another fabulous ANNIE SLOAN CHALK PAINT WORKSHOP with yet another amazing group of people. Here are a few pictures of our fun day.

When we say "lunch is included", we're not talking about a little spread! Look at all these yummy treats!

Our FANTASTIC group of women!! You girls ROCK!


We supplied bare wood picture frames to be personalized by each participant! Fabulous!

A cup of Starbucks coffee and a little instruction!!


Our VERY full class!

Ahhh, the magic of CRACKLE!

Another whimsy inspired piece by ME!! Don't ya love it!!

Our next workshop date is Thursday August 25. Our fall schedule has been updated on our Online Store! Be sure to.....

ENTER our
GIVEAWAY HERE!!

What's More Exciting than WINNING 28 Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Colors???

2011-08-14T14:33:00.000-07:00

DON'T FORGET OUR

EVERYTHING ANNIE SLOAN GIVEAWAY!!
We're giving away 28 mini pots of paint!!!!
One in EVERY color
Even the 4 yet-to-be-released colors!

CLICK HERE FOR ALL THE DETAILS

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What more can I say? There are days in the life of a retail store owner that are exhausting. Dealing with vendors, waiting for merchandise to arrive, making sure that what I like my customers are going to like, bills, broken air-conditioning......you know, all that stuff called "LIFE".

THEN, you have days like this past Thursday that just make it all worthwhile. Fortunately, for me I get a lot of these days but Thursday may have been an exceptionally GREAT day.

The whole Gang!!!

In this wonderful world of social media you can meet the most amazing people. I say that regularly. Not long ago I met the sweetest, most adorable woman via Facebook. Her name is Jessica and she has her own blog called STELLAR JUNK. She "liked" me on Facebook, follows our BLOG and, of course, I "liked" her on Facebook as well. Conversations happened and she decided she wanted to just drop into the store and wanted to bring several of her blogging friends.


Jessica from Stellar Junk!


And her adorable son who played with Ellen, one of my staff members


Jonah sat and colored for three hours while mom painted	.

The date was decided and Thursday was the day. What a hoot!!! All of these amazing, talented and fun women came through our doors. Of course, I knew ahead of time so I was able to prepare some yummy treats for our JUNKIN' LUNCHEON and organize our "EVERYTHING ANNIE ROOM" where we all congregated, chatted and painted.

Suzie from Le Chein da Creme

The BEST part was putting faces to names. After weeks of talking to all of these wonderful women it was a sweet treat to actually meet them in person. We were ALL fast friends.


Susie and Christine

My good friends and amazing artists from Clearwater, Michelle and Ken from Stiltskin Studios came as well! Thanks to Michelle for her hands-on time spent with the girls.


Michelle from Stiltskin Studios

Ken was there sharing stories and didn't seem to mind all the female attention!!

Ken from Stiltskin Studios with his parakeet Pierre who makes the trip to see us regularly!

Thank you to all of you for making my day, coming and enjoying the paints, sharing your stories and spending the day with all of us at the store.


Elizabeth found time to shop the 'bling'!

And paint....

THESE EXPERIENCES ARE WHY I LOVE MY STORE...each day I meet a new face and make a new friend. Life is good.......

Oh, keep an eye on the post for a FABULOUS ANNOUNCEMENT from Robyn Story Designs

"EVERYTHING ANNIE SLOAN" GIVEAWAY

2011-08-03T10:19:00.000-07:00

As Promised.....ANOTHER GIVEAWAY IS HERE!!!

It's"TIME" for
EVERYTHING ANNIE SLOAN
GIVEAWAY

And we're going to give you EVERYTHING, EVERY color that Annie has!!

ALL 28 COLORS FOR YOU TO PLAY WITH!!!
That's right - I'm including the
FOUR BRAND NEW FABULOUS COLORS
In Mini Pots/Sample Size
from
ROBYN STORY DESIGNS and BOUTIQUE

Every color is amazing, from the Greek Blue of the Aegean Sea to the Scandinavian Pink of Denmark. All of Annie's Colors tell a story about a place or a thing that she has seen on her journey's.

French Linen
A cool neutral khaki grey inspired by the bleached, deep neutral of old pieces of French and Italian furniture.

Coco
A warm greyed brown, the color found on old French woodwork.

Pure White
Quite simply a pure clean white

Barcelona
An older color brought back by popular demand

AND

Also included with this wonderful selection of paints is:

Annie Sloan Work Apron

A Set of 6 our GORGEOUS, FUNKY KNOBS

and

Annie Sloan's Creating the French Look book

How's that for EVERYTHING ANNIE SLOAN???

What do you NEED to do to win this FABULOUS package of Annie Sloan Goodies??!
There are THREE ways to enter:

Become a FOLLOWER on our BLOG
and COMMENT on the blog using the words
"IT'S TIME FOR ANNIE SLOAN GIVEAWAY"

"LIKE" me on FACEBOOK
If you've done one or all three, be sure to comment each time on the BLOG!!

AND

If you have a blog please take our button (located top right of our sidebar) and post it on your blog for an Additional Entry into the Giveaway!

If you're already a FOLLOWER and you've already LIKED me, THAT'S OKAY. You still MUST comment on the BLOG and you can still take our Giveaway Button.

This GIVEAWAY ends on Wednesday, August 24th. Winner announced on August 25th so

"TIME is of the Essence!"

THE MOUNTAIN OF GIVEAWAY WINNER IS.....................

2011-08-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

We are SOOOO EXCITED to announce the winner of

Our MOUNTAIN OF GIVEAWAY!!

LORI at KATIES ROSE COTTAGE

CONGRATULATIONS LORI FROM ALL OF US AT

ROBYN STORY DESIGNS!!

Lori entered THREE times. She made her comment on our BLOG

She "liked" me on Facebook

And lucky for her, she has a blog and posted our BUTTON!!

Her second entry was the comment that was randomly picked.

So, Lori, please go to our ONLINE STORE and check out our

MOUNTAIN OF GIVEAWAY prizes that you can choose from

and let us know YOUR CHOICE!!

We'll share your choice with everyone after we hear from you.

AND A HUGE SHOUT OUT TO DEBBIEDOO'S!!
For sharing her followers, posting our giveaway and being a GREAT blogger FRIEND

So now I'm feeling like I've let everyone else that's been so wonderful, down!

What's a girl to do........

I know.......ANOTHER GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Whew!! I feel better already.

I bet you wanna know what we're doing THIS time!

Here's a hint.

What comes in 24 YUMMY colors?

Who is from England and has created the most amazing product?

How can we continue to share the love?

How about an "EVERYTHING ANNIE SLOAN" GIVEAWAY.

Here's a picture hint.....

check back Tuesday night for the

"EVERYTHING ANNIE SLOAN" GIVEAWAY REVEAL.
AND BY THE WAY................
This is no MINI giveaway...there's nothing SMALL about it..............

DO YOU LOVE EVERYTHING ANNIE SLOAN?

2011-07-29T14:10:00.000-07:00

Are You An

ANNIE SLOAN CHALK PAINT LOVER?

We are about to announce our select group of

MINI STOCKIST in Florida that are going to help spread the magic of Annie Sloan, her wonderful chalk paint and many more things to come. But there are just a few areas in Florida that we are still looking for just the right fit.

I truly believe that this paint is so WONDERFUL and MAGICAL

that it needs to be available in a place that is just as special as the paint itself.

Do you own a quaint shop or perhaps a special space tucked away in an antique mall?

Do you have the ability to do workshops and like to be hands-on?
Does this product EXCITE you?
Do you love meeting new people & sharing your creativity?

If you think you're the one please contact me, confidentially, via my email (rstorydesigns@aol.com/no phone calls please). Tell me in detail why you believe you're the PERFECT person to be a

MINI STOCKIST and part of our Florida Team!

HERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE YOUR PASSION

Drop me a note and tell me a little about yourself

Florida loves
ANNIE SLOAN CHALK PAINT
Be one of our select group representing this amazing brand and join us for this incredible journey!

*Mini-Stockist: a second-tier retailer who is located in the same state as the Stockist and purchases the product from the Stockist. Mini-Stockist must be willing to purchase an initial minimum investment in inventory.

MOUNTAIN OF GIVEAWAY - FINAL FOUR DAYS

2011-07-26T12:21:00.000-07:00

WE HAVE HAD A BLAST!

WE'VE MET AMAZING PEOPLE

READ SOME FUN AND INSPIRING BLOGS

AND ARE WINDING DOWN WITH OUR

MOUNTAIN OF GIVEAWAY!!
10 POTS OF
ANNIE SLOAN CHALK PAINT
COULD BE YOURS!!!!

FOUR MORE DAYS!!
Last day to enter is July 30
The winner will be announced on August 1

Thanks for stopping by, for commenting, for "liking" me on Facebook and just taking time out of your day.

GOOD LUCK!!!

IT'S ALL ABOUT ANNIE SLOAN

2011-07-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

DON'T FORGET!!

MOUNTAIN OF GIVEAWAY

Click HERE for details

It's been a whirlwind!! I got home from my gorgeous Mountain retreat and had to quick pack and head to Virginia for a fabulous convention for decorative artists, IDAL. I don't consider myself in the same category of decorative painters as many of the people that go to this convention but I thought I'd surround myself with genius! And OH WHAT FUN I'm having. And I'm learning so much....all the more for me to share with all my wonderful customers and followers.

For now I thought I'd just post a quick picture or two for you to see the Annie Sloan Booth. It's soooo pretty!!

Early Morning Set Up

Look how sweet this is!!

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint with Stencils!! This is Kate who works with our Texas stockist, Michelle


Getting ready for mini-demos

"THE" Woman behind this amazing product - Annie Sloan and her wonderful husband

GIRLS DAY WITH ANNIE SLOAN CHALK PAINT and MORE

2011-07-21T06:12:00.000-07:00

DON'T FORGET!!

MOUNTAIN OF GIVEAWAY

Click HERE for details

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HOW CUTE.

Dana, a VERY talented decorative artist that was at our workshop on Saturday sent me the cutest picture.

I just wanted to share it with everyone!

THANKS DANA!!! HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON!!!

*********************************************
Do you have a minute? Here's a cute story. Once upon a time I was selling my home and in came a family of four. Two adults and two very small children. After a little negotiation and a naked little boy running around my house wanting his 'bathing soup' so he could go in my pool, we sold the house to this lovely family. We became fast friends and Joell has been a wonderful customer and friend of mine and Robyn Story Designs!!

Fast forward to a few weeks ago. My friend and current owner of my previous home, Joell, came into the store and fell in love with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. She went home and filled in her girlfriends and even their daughters. They all wanted a piece of it. A great idea was born!!

A Mother/Daughter Day!! Today was the day and we had a blast!! It was a small class, three mom's and three daughter's but what a HOOT. We had such a great time and since it was a smaller, more intimate group, we were able to personalize it so that it was just as much fun for the daughter's as it was for the mom's.

We did our normal 6 finishes...I think the crackle finish and the clouded/stipple was the class favorite...but then we really got to play!!! I made sure that everyone had something fun to do. We got little trinket boxes for the girls and a bunch of bare wood picture frames so that everyone could practice what they'd learned.


Ashlyn, Halley and Courtney with their trinket boxes and frames!


Alicia, Lucinda and Joell working with the Magical waxes after painting with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

Looks like Halley had a great time! Looks like Emperor's Silk to me!!

How GORGEOUS is this frame? Arles and Olive with clear and dark wax and the addition of an Orchid!!

As we were cleaning up after our fun day at Annie Sloan Chalk Paint day camp I found the most adorable 'love letters' from the girls. Thanks girls for making our day. Lori and I had a wonderful time 'playing' with each one of you. You should be so proud of your work today - I know we were blown away by how FABULOUS the three of you did!!!

Thank you Courtney - we think you're pretty special!!

Halley, you're pretty cool yourself!!! I loved your heart frame!!

Ashlyn YOU'RE awesome!!! Thank YOU!!!

I think all three moms and daughters had a great time and left with visions of projects in their mind!! I know that after they left we realized what a GREAT idea this was and look forward to many others just like it!!

Our group of 6!!!

********************************************

ONE MORE VERY IMPORTANT THING!

Our very good blogger friend , BLUE CREEK HOME, has lost her blog!! Unfortunately, her domain expired - who ever knew I needed to worry about that - and as a result she's lost her BLOG, all her links, her followers - EVERYTHING!!!

We want to help her out since she's been such a GREAT friend to Robyn Story Designs!! So if you get a minute, can you PLEASE stop on over to Blue Creek Home, say hello and become a follower of hers.

She had a beautiful and inspiring blog and is hoping to rebuild it. But it takes time, patience and inspiration!!! Rhonda, we love you and know that your new blog will be even better!!

ANNIE SLOAN CHALK PAINT BIRTHDAY PARTY

2011-07-17T17:25:00.000-07:00

Our workshop and birthday gang!!! We're missing Marty and Joe who had to leave a little early

I have said all along that you meet the nicest people in my store and yesterday was no exception. We had another of our fabulous Annie Sloan Chalk Paint workshops and met the greatest group of people.

Several people in this group reserved using our online shopping cart, but a few of them called and asked some questions, spoke with my staff who then found out that they were coming here to celebrate their birthday's!! HOW FABULOUS!! One of the birthday celebrants told us that they were going to Palm Beach for a spa weekend until she saw that there were openings for our workshop!

Seriously, how honored we were to be hosting such a special celebration. We didn't take that lightly. So a few balloons, a bunch of cupcakes, a little song and a crown for each of the ladies - we hope that made them realize how thankful we were that they chose to spend the day with us!!! Here are our birthday girls:

BETH

GERALDINE


PATRICIA

We were fortunate to have had several professional decorative artists in the group, a couple of wonderful gentlemen and a fellow blogger.What a great day!! I think everyone left knowing that they learned the MAGIC that is Annie Sloan Paint Chalk. Thanks to everyone who came, asked great questions, told fantastic stories and hung around afterwards for an additional laugh or two!! It was our pleasure to meet everyone!!!


John, a cabinet refinisher


Becky is learning the process to use while renovating her vacation home in Alabama. Check out her blog: www.oneshabbyoldhouse.blogspot.com! You will be inspired!!

Everybody elbow deep in clear and dark wax!!

**********************************************************************************

DON'T FORGET ABOUT OUR

MOUNTAIN OF GIVEAWAY!

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT ALL THE DETAILS!!

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TEPEE'S, MOUNTAINS AND CHALK PAINT...

2011-07-12T19:54:00.000-07:00

DON'T FORGET!!!

CHECK OUT OUR MOUNTAIN OF GIVEAWAY

CLICK ON THE BUTTON TO YOUR RIGHT

FOR ALL THE DETAILS!!!

YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO MISS OUT

So you're asking "what do all three things have in common?", let me tell you and show you!! I'd love to share my journey with you, so if you have a minute, grab a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and take a walk with me through the mountains of Colorado.

The mountains of Colorado are where people go to renew their souls, commune with nature and breathe the clean air. I know that I love my time here, there doesn't seem to be enough time in a day but here's a day during my vacation that I know you all will enjoy.

Steve and I love our walks, the vistas are enough to take your breath away at every turn. We start our walk from our home and meander through the hills, climbing the mountain along the way. Here is where the path meets the clouds, where earth and sky collide and give us pause as we enjoy what Mother Nature has graced us with.

We continued along this path on our way to a friend's home, wanting to spend some time catching up with those that we haven't seen in a while.

I know you can all relate that sometimes life gets in the way of enjoying simple moments. We're too busy dealing with our 'everyday' stresses that we forget to enjoy the journey. Today was about enjoying those precious few moments.

Our friends have a very beautiful home here in Colorado, as well as one in Tampa but the piece de resistance is what they have perched on a mountain top a little away from their main house. This is not your typical home but it is unique and fabulous. A place that both of them go to remember the simple things and enjoy the great outdoors.

To watch the sun set and to visit with friends (like Steve and King Louie!)

The girls were inside discussing 'design'. I know I often tell you that my store, Robyn Story Designs and Boutique is not only a home accessory store but also a Full Service Design Center. But, I've gotta tell you, I've NEVER been asked to decorate a TEPEE!!! I LOVE that I can add this to my repetoire of work.

My mom, Betty and Steve's mom, Sweetie, enjoying the lush interiors of the tepee

So, after a quick tour (as you can imagine it was pretty quick!!) of the Tepee we got to talking about what it needs. Color and a table. But what table and what colors? Ahh, the colors of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, that was the answer. The pots of paint were at home just waiting to be put to use as were a pair of antlers that I had leftover from an old floral project. Put a table, Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and an old pair of faux antlers together and what do you get.....

A one of a kind creation, perfectly suited for the Colorado Mountains,
in a beautiful, rustic tepee!

We left, following a path through mountains and lakes and headed home to continue with our day of leisure.

Once we got back to the house we headed to town for the remainder of the day to see what was new and to check out some old favorites. How sweet is this little store and the owners.

Just seeing how beautiful it was on the outside propelled me inside. I just wanted to browse through the store and find a goody or two. We spent a few minutes with the owners and their dog and continued down the road.

I love being greeted upon entering a store with such charm. Anything with a dog always gets me, this stole my heart so I had to take a picture and share it with you.

Here's a little secret. You know Chalk Paint has become an obsession when you start seeing things in color. For instance, as we walked by this building all I could think of was Emile and Henrietta. No those aren't names of characters in a childrens' book, rather two beautiful Annie Sloan Chalk Paint colors. So, I guess it's official, I'm obsessed with all things Annie Sloan.

I see a little Paris Grey and Old White in this building. Just look at how beautiful the flower boxes are!!

Primer Red

Okay, one more example.....Primer Red and Aubusson! ASCP colors surround me!!!!

Here are two more wonderful homes that we passed along the way. So whimsical in it's design yet so sophisticated as well. It looks like something out of a fairytale to me. Just such a perfectly beautiful setting nestled amongst the trees.

I stumbled upon one treat after another today. The bounty of beautiful views that surround me, the luxury of visiting with good friends, the inspiration of colors that abound and one thing that I will share with you later, in a separate post.

I hope you enjoyed my journey, I loved sharing it with you. My wish is that each one of you has an opportunity to enjoy those moments where we realize how little we are in this big world, where we can put our concerns aside and simply live in the moment and enjoy the little things in life. I am heading home tomorrow and as excited and anxious as I am to see everyone and come back to my Tampa home. Colorado will always own a huge piece of this girl's heart.

IT'S TIME FOR OUR MOUNTAIN of ANNIE SLOAN CHALK PAINT GIVE AWAY AND MORE

2011-07-09T12:44:00.000-07:00

FINALLY!!!

The details of our MOUNTAIN OF GIVEAWAY'S!!!
It includes 10 POTS, you read that right10 pots!!!
of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (your choice of colors)
Oh my goodness, can you believe this -- I've gone CRAZY.
LET THE PAINT FLY!!

BUT, There's LOTS of other PRODUCT choices available for this GIVE-AWAY

We want to promote our BLOG, our FACEBOOK page and our RETAIL STORE, Robyn Story Designs and Boutique!! What better way to do this than to ask our BLOG friends to help us out!! And in return for your time we want to enter you in our MOUNTAIN of GIVEAWAY. This time it's a little OVER THE TOP!! We have so many ways to win and an amazing array of gifts for you!! Click HERE to see all of the prize pages that we have for you to choose from should you win.

We like to say that our store, Robyn Story Designs and Boutique, has a little something for everyone.

I think you would agree after seeing our prize pages, there is something that will appeal to ALL!! SO, follow the directions below to enter and if you win you can PICK YOUR PRIZE!

Here are the details of our MOUNTAIN of GIVE-AWAY!!

Become a FOLLOWER on this blog and be sure to leave a comment using the phrase MOUNTAIN of GIVE AWAY. If you're already a Follower, leave a comment with the same phrase.
For an additional opportunity to win take our MOUNTAIN of GIVE AWAY button (on the right hand side of our blog) and post it to your blog (and be sure to let us know so we can check it out!!!)
Check our FACEBOOK page and be sure to LIKE us. Mention MOUNTAIN of GIVE AWAY in your comment and you'll be registered to win again!!

You have 3 opportunities to win. If you do ONE of the above you'll be registered to win ONCE, do all 3 and you're registered to win 3 times!!

Don't forget, take a look at the MOUNTAIN OF PRIZES HERE!

Giveaway ends on July 30. Winner will be announced on the blog and notified by email on August 1, 2011

Now I just want to add a few more gorgeous photos of Colorado. It's so beautiful here. Although I can't say I'm completely on vacation, I can say that it's absolute bliss that I wake up and look out and see these views!

MY MOUNTAIN GET-A-WAY and a MOUNTAIN OF GIVE-AWAYS!!!

2011-07-06T14:24:00.000-07:00

This begins my journey from my little slice of heaven in Tampa, Robyn Story Designs and Boutique... to my beautiful PIECE of heaven...my home in Colorado. I can't begin to tell you the feeling of peace that falls over me when I come home to our mountain retreat.

Fifteen years ago I had a terrific opportunity to organize and lead amazing team building trips in the wonderful mountains of Colorado. My previous employer was so inspiring and had great vision. We gathered up all the people throughout the country from our field offices and hit the trail. In the mountains and on these trips, your position in the company didn't matter. We traveled as equals and shared in some fulfilling team building experiences.

We worked together, enjoying the great outdoors and we were always respectful of mother nature and the fabulous wildlife who graciously shared their space with us. It was incredible! Together, as a group, we managed to conquer several of the amazing summits in the mountains, this was a true accomplishment for all of us. It was during one of these trips that I knew I had to always have a piece of Colorado in my life.

Colorado is one of my true loves, it's where my soul is at it's most peaceful and where I find true inspiration. Steve and I have lived in the mountains for about 15 years now ... I have also made many wonderful friends and customer's here. Those that know me, know me well enough to realize that I can never truly just 'vacation'. I love to be busy and find all things to be inspiring. I started a floral business here, out of my garage as well, and continue my relationship with many beautiful stores here in the mountains of Colorado.

King Louie!

This year Steve and King Louie (our PRECIOUS Portuguese water dog) started the tour without me and headed to Colorado with a car full of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and many other goodies. I am so excited to go to all my favorite stores, find new ones and load up on things to paint and sell while here on vacation. Wouldn't you find this view inspiring as well!

So I invite you to follow my journey through the blog, I will be showing you all the things that I find most special here. I'm gone for two short weeks but plan to be very busy relaxing, painting, walking, pondering and enjoying each moment. I hope you can enjoy it with me. I will leave you with some beautiful pictures of the gardens in full bloom. Only mother nature could provide such a gorgeous riot of color!

Now what is this that you read about in the title? A give-away? Yup, it's true. I've written before that there's a monster in me that just has to share things with my Followers and customers. Robyn Story Designs and Boutique has something for everyone.. it is more than just a tag line.. it is true! We have some of the most unique finds your home and or for you soul!

At my store we offer fabulous custom florals, unique home accents..incredibly artful lighting .. whimisical gifts ..cool vintage items and the best BLING you have ever seen.. and of course.. ANNIE SLOAN CHALK PAINT for your furniture and walls. It's truly a wonderful place, you can come and just leave the world behind.. retail therapy at it's best! SOOOOOO.. if you are close by stop in for a cup of coffee and see what is new. If we are getting to know you by our blog or facebook ..then we will continue to share our passion with you online.

I am going to be posting a HUGE give away by the end of the week. It's all about growing the blog, spreading the word about my fabulous store and all that we have to offer. I have enjoyed meeting new people through this blog, facebook.. and good old fashion word of mouth! It continues to be such a rewarding experience and so much fun!! So why not offer OUR BIGGEST GIVE AWAY YET.. and let you in on all the fun!

I don't mean to tease but I wanted to be sure to give you a sneak preview so that you'll check back and see what it's all about, I promise it's a MOUNTAIN of gifts and GIVE-AWAYS! Woo Hoo! Here's just a sampling of what's gonna be part of our HUGE give-away!!!

If you're local and can come visit us at the store, you could win a

$300 SHOPPING SPREE!!!

No worries if you're not local, we have LOTS of beautiful things for you to choose from if you are the lucky winner. Take a sneak peak below to see what some of the options might be!!!

This GORGEOUS French Table has been one of the most commented on
blogs. YOU can own it!!

Our Workshops are So much fun. YOU could WIN
a spot in an upcoming Workshop along with another goodie or two

SOOO many of you LOVED my new lamps, here's
an example of one you could win!

How about winning a CUSTOM floral!! We can
design one for your home style - Contemporary, French,
Country, Whimsical!! JUST FOR YOU!

I hope this gave you an idea of the FUN we are all about to have. There are so many other things we may add to the give away but I know you're getting the idea now!! Stay tuned, more fantastic details to follow.

The ANNIE SLOAN CHALK PAINT WINNER IS................

2011-07-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

It's the FOURTH OF JULY!! Happy Independence Day to all of my Bloggers. I would like to THANK all of you for participating in both our FREE SHIPPING give away and our very good friend Rhonda at Blue Creek Home's give away.

It has been such a great experience and you've all helped to grow our blog. We have met the most amazing people, have had great conversations, received LOTS of blogging advice (if only I could figure out the linking party thing I'd be happy!) and have found so many inspirations from all of you and your comments. So a big THANK YOU.

It has been so much fun that I fear there's a monster in me that wants to continue the giving. So, YES, there will be another give away. If you're not one of the winners, don't fret, there will be another way to win Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. I just have to get the specifics together and you'll be reading all about it in an upcoming post. So don't wander too far.

AND NOW

THE WINNER OF OUR FREE SHIPPING Level 2 ANNIE SLOAN CHALK PAINT KIT GIVE AWAY IS.......................... (this is where I'd have a drum roll if I knew what I were doing!!)

LINDA@COASTALCHARM

Congratulations Linda. You can email us or we will email you to find out your choice of colors and your shipping info! You're going to LOVE the time you spend working with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint! Thanks for participating!!!

WE CAN'T FORGET OUR FRIEND RHONDA AT BLUE CREEK HOME and her give away!! The WINNER for a Level 1 Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Starter Kit

IS....................

LYNN@COTTAGE AND CREEK

Thanks Rhonda for sharing your Followers and for posting our give away on your blog. It's been a pure pleasure getting to know you and all your 'friends'!!!!!!!

BAUBLES 'n BLING (and news of a NEW GIVE AWAY!)

2011-07-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Okay girls, this one's just for you. I know it's been a while since we've posted - things have been a little nuts here at the store. We just received tons of new stuff and I (we) have been so busy trying to get all the new treasures out. Just look at the goodies that I have for you in the store!

Robyn Story Designs and Boutique is known here in Tampa for our lighting. We have some of the most unique lamps and chandeliers. Things you won't find in department stores or big box stores. Items that have a unique quality, ones with trims and fabrics like you've never seen. I am thrilled when I hear the horn of the UPS driver and I know he's delivering my new shipment of lamps.

These are not 'custom' in the sense that you, the customer, orders them. However, they are custom-made for me. I sit with my rep and painstakingly go over each base, all fabric options, the many trims available, even the lining of the shades and pull it all together. So, you get the instant gratification that you want at a store but with the assurance that there are no other ones alike - custom-made for you by me!

These lamps are like jewelry for your room. I believe that every room should have a little something 'blingy', something that adds that sense of drama, texture, whimsy and style. I think you'll be able to envision one of these in a special place in your home!

So meander through my 'virtual' store here and enjoy the luscious trims, fabrics and tassels on all the lamps!

Just look at the detail on the shades!

Dripping in luxury!

Don't you think that animal print is the new neutral!

The look of crackled plaster and velvet, who would think it could look so luscious together!

I LOVE bling!! I had to show you these. I know they're not lamps
but these are great 'baubles' for your room!

What's this you read about....a give-away? Yes, our FREE-SHIPPING give away is now a thing of the past as well as our give-away through Blue Creek Home. So it only seems fitting that we have another give away!! Keep your eyes on the blog, we'll be announcing another fun way to win ANNIE SLOAN CHALK PAINT. I also invite you to come along with me on my vacation back to our home in Colorado. I look forward to sharing that part of my world with you through this blog!

ANNIE SLOAN GIVE AWAY -- REMINDER

2011-06-29T11:04:00.000-07:00

BOTH of our

ANNIE SLOAN CHALK PAINT GIVE AWAY'S

END

THURSDAY, JUNE 30th at MIDNIGHT

So if you're visiting from Blue Creek Home, be sure to register as a Follower on our blog and make sure you leave a comment letting us know you're visiting from Blue Creek Home.

If you're here for the FREE SHIPPING give-away, it's too late to get FREE SHIPPING but it's not too late to register for our LEVEL 2 KIT give-away. Just become a Follower of our blog, and make sure to leave a comment mentioning FREE SHIPPING. This will automatically register you for our drawing.

Winners will be announced on July 4, 2011

Thanks for visiting and keep on checking back....... I sense another GIVE AWAY in the near future, I just need to share this paint with everyone!!