Monday, January 18, 2010

I have been avoiding this post like crazy, but I think it is time to be honest with myself and you. It's time to face the music. At this point in time I am sooooo busy painting, working with clients, writing for Domestic Ease, and finding time to blog that I am growing further and further behind in responding to emails. The majority of your emails are questions about painting and distressing furniture, and while I would LOVE to help each and everyone of you with your projects I am simply not able to right now. I will be leaving my contact email up for now, but will only be able to respond to WhiteBerry furniture requests, sponsors and clients.

To help all of you along in your projects I will be updating the FAQ section over the next week with your most asked questions. So if you have anything you would specifically like me to address that is not already discussed in that section please leave me a comment right here! Any future emails will receive a link back to my FAQ just incase you didn't know about it already~

Thank you all SOOOOO much for all your lovely emails and comments. I truly wish I could chat with each of you (and hopefully I will somehow, someday).

31 comments:

Neeson Family said...

white vs black and getting the guts to paint furniture.......wood that is.............so appreciate your sweet responses....very kind and I will follow the FAQ

best of luck

Krystal Wight Armstrong said...

I haven't sent you a letter or anything (I know, I just bombard you with long post comments). But wanted to say that I'm glad you're at least still able to blog to us (for a second I thought you were going on a bloging hiatus, too), and I'm sure we can all support you in this, and definitely be happy for you in that you're keeping busy getting to do the things you love like keeping up with your furniture art business (isn't that a cool way to look at it, "furniture art"?:), family, and the articles/posts you enjoy writing.
As long as you still enjoy what you're doing, have at it! and who could fault you on that? Good luck with all that's going on, with getting caught up, and loving every minute of what you choose to fill your days with :)

Happy Week!

###### said...

good luck!

Charity said...

Do you paint the inside of the furniture?

Mel said...

I betcha that there isn't a single person that wouldn't understand your need to look after your loves.

Thank you for sharing all of your lovely work, your home, your family and your knowledge.

Best wishes, always.

Sherrie said...

I love your blog! I am a teacher and it's the end of the quarter so my stress level is through the roof right now. I completely understand where you are at. That's a good thing because it means you are busy! Good luck with everything you need to do.

Rebecca said...

I am so happy for you Holly and I am sure that everyone who reads understands how stretched for time you must be. Thank you for all of your assistance to date. I appreciate it.

I would like to know what colors you have painted the walls and trim in your house. I am having such a hard time finding the perfect white.

rachel blazer said...

how exciting that your business is busy! i think answering 20 questions with one answer is a great idea. have fun painting!
rachel

Tee of Vinnord Cottage said...

you scared me there for a minute... I thought you were gonna close down the blog! When I saw the headline... I am so happy you're "just" busy... ha ha... and it is completely understandable that you dont have time to answer all the emails :) I am sure everyone will understand!

Keep up the excellent work!!!
Bless!

Miki said...

I think the proper thing to say is CONGRATULATIONS! You are living a dream, doing what you love and you are so successful at it that you are simply overloading yourself. Good for you, to take a step back and support your dreams :) You go girl!

Victoria said...

I'm with the other ladies...I thought you were going to stop blogging and my heart sank! :)

I had questions about refinishing a table so I perused your DIY archives and FAQ last night and found most of my answers! I think that is a great way to answer all the questions.

Thank you for all you share with us! I thoroughly enjoy your blog.

Shar said...

I totally support your decisions and posting answers to questions in the FAQ section is perfect. We will all love hearing from you when you can. And, we must see Wren as she grows up. What a doll!
Thanks for what you have given us.

April @ The Painted Cupboard said...

I love your blog...Just read through your FAQ and I didn't see anything about the type of sander you use to distress your pieces. Also, do you sand all over or just in certain areas? Would you mind sharing??? Thanks!!

Unknown said...

Awww I could never quit blogging! I will always find time for that~

Krystal, I always LOVE to read your responses! They are always from the heart and really make me smile. Thanks for taking the time to leave such thoughtfull words.

As for the questions, I will get on all these great ones so far~
Thanks for all your understanding!

Jameil said...

glad you're cutting down on the madness by adding to the FAQs rather than drowning in emails!! we have a tendency to take on more and more than we can bear until we just break down.

Little Lovables said...

Whew, I was worried that blog post was going to say you are going to stop blogging! I think it's good you are updating your faq's, have fun and take a rest!

Okay, let me think of some questions...

When you are poly coating, how many coats do you usually use and do you sand between them? Do you tint this part too?

Oh, don't forget to add the slipcover posts to the faq's! I got the pottery barn white slipcovers and loove them!

Amanda said...

Oh Holly I can only imagine how bittersweet this must be for you. You're always such a doll in sharing helpful info. with all of us that I just know it's hard for you to not have the time to respond to everyone. But on the sweet side it seems to make tons of sense to answer the same questions in one place. And not to mention being so busy with your booming business and lovely family. I'm happy for you like you're my best friend, because you so sweetly make each and every one of us feel like a friend to you. Best of luck, always, and of course we support you keeping your sanity. :)

I have to throw in two little questions since I have a ton of this to do... do you simply use wood-filler to patch holes when you change the hardware on pieces? Also, on a coffee table and kitchen dining table would you recommend using poly to protect them or you think they're just fine without it.

Thanks as always and BEST OF LUCK with everything! You always amaze me at how you so elegantly balance it all. :)

Worn Cotton said...

I love your blog!! So inspiring! I was wondering if you thinned your paint before you sprayed it or if you just used 100 percent paint in your sprayer? Any info on this would be so helpful! Thanks for such a wonderful blog!

Kristina R. said...

Love the blog so I am very glad you are not just shutting it down (plus you have such cute pic of the little one).

I know you are in the frozen north (even more freezing than where I am here in Michigan). So my question is heat related.

I appears that your spray booth is in your garage. How do you heat it so it is warm enough to work the compressor and get the paint to dry in a decent amount of time in the cold months.

Do you use a propane heater? Space heaters? So other type of heat?

Look forward to hearing your response.

Lisa Leonard said...

it's so hard to set boundaries, and i totally respect your time and craft. you are amazing {and obviously very loved!}. xo

L.Duncan@Home23DuncanBoys said...

I completly understand! Well, at first when I did'nt get a response I was like "was it something I said!". But, then after talking to another blog friend of mine, I realized being of YOUR stature, it probably is hard to respond to everyone. Thanks for taking the time to write this. It's kinda like a response in itself!

Serapina said...

I'm afraid you've entered a very difficult, and very normal point of motherhood. I, very much like you, have always been very hands on project oriented and task driven. Motherhood has greatly changed that, or at least, refocused those efforts. The period you are in with your daughter is on of the most demanding, and it seems as though your ability to pursue your own interests to the prior level is forever lost. Take heart, as she gets older, those independent activities will become easier, and you will find your rhythm. The best part is when they reach the age that they want to participate with you. My just now five year old helped me paint a dresser this weekend, and I take great pride in teaching her how to create beauty in all the things that interest her as well. It will get easier.

Serapina said...

I'm afraid you've entered a very difficult, and very normal point of motherhood. I, very much like you, have always been very hands on project oriented and task driven. Motherhood has greatly changed that, or at least, refocused those efforts. The period you are in with your daughter is on of the most demanding, and it seems as though your ability to pursue your own interests to the prior level is forever lost. Take heart, as she gets older, those independent activities will become easier, and you will find your rhythm. The best part is when they reach the age that they want to participate with you. My just now five year old helped me paint a dresser this weekend, and I take great pride in teaching her how to create beauty in all the things that interest her as well. It will get easier.

Aimee said...

Phew! I thought you were going to stop blogging....and my heart stopped for a minute! I love all your beautiful inspirations!

Couple quick questions:
What's the contraption in the garage where you do your painting? And where can I get one for myself?! :-)

Also, can you please give me the specifics on the size, brand, model, etc of your compressor and paint gun?

Thanks!
Aimee

Unknown said...

Thank you all for being so understanding!!

Lakeitha, I am still going to try and catch up on all of you who have patiently waited a response for weeks (even months!). And I was so stressed out thinking that you would all wonder "doesn't she like me?" when I really adore you.

Thanks for not taking it personally!

Joyeful said...

Your blog is full of loveliness!!

Unknown said...

Well said! Happy painting!

jo l said...

Hi there! i, like a lot of your readers by the look of the other comments, had the horrible feeling that you were going to say you were bowing out of blogging for a while. I'm glad you haven't as i've just come across your blog and just love it. You create some really beautiful items and i look forward to trawling through the archives, and of course your new posts. Thanks so much!

Lovely Little Nest said...

No worries, Holly! We know you are very "in-demand" and therefore super busy, so we are lucky that you make time to blog! Thanks for all of your amazing makeover inspiration! Hope you have a great week and a very Happy New Year! :)

Sandra said...

I think you did the right decision, Holly! So you are able to do what your heart is longing for, caring for your family and you hopefully also have time for relaxing.
And I'm very happy you will still blog. I love to read what's going on and to see, what you were working on...
I think, a FAQ is great and all what people need. They should just try (as I think you also had to do) and make their own experiences... ;-)

Cream981 said...

I love your silver poufs, where did you get them?

 
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