i’m super excited to be the cover story for the Cherokee Life Magazine for March & April.

i am currently taking pictures of my inventory that i have in stock and will be adding those pieces to my  ’shop’ page within the next few days. i’ve been getting lots of emails and calls regarding custom pieces, meaning if you have a chair in need of recovering… right now, i am focusing on selling what i’ve made and what i’m currently working on. i’m expecting our 3rd baby and unfortunately am unable to do pick-ups of furniture and have to be careful of lifting , etc. i plan to resume custom pieces this fall!!

thank you so much for all of the calls, emails and kind comments! i’m just overflowing with gratitude! please take a look at the shop page and feel free to send over any questions!

you can see the article here.

I’m excited to announce that i’ve been able to continue selling the Chalk Paint ™ decorative paint line even though Collective is no more. one of the perks of having Collective was that i had a great space to host Chalk Paint (TM) workshops. since i no longer have the shop, i will be hosting paint classes at my home in canton, georgia. if you’re local, i’d love for you to join me on:

March 23rd from 9:30-12:00 for Intro to Chalk Paint (TM).

The class is $125

 we go over 5 painting techniques, plus how to use both the clear and dark wax. this class is 100% hands on… so wearing your paint clothes is a must! you don’t need to bring anything, just yourself! paint and supplies will be available for purchase at the class. the class is limited to 10, if you’re wanting to sign up please email me at nicoledunnflint@yahoo.com.

if you’re looking for the Chalk Paint (TM), i have a booth at

Woodstock Market

5500 Bells Ferry Road, Acworth, GA 30102. 770-517-7771

hope to see you at the class!

last week the 4 of us snuck away for a little down time at our most favorite vacation spot, the glorious beaches of 30-A. in case you haven’t been to this quaint strip of the florida gulf coast, 30-A is a stretch of beach front with hidden little communities. this area has always been super special to me and my family as it was where my hubby and i got married. a teeny tiny town, called seaside, is where we said “i do” barefoot with our family and close friends.

crazy to believe that was 8 1/2 years ago! i look so young, well rested, and tan!!

we love showing our boys where we got married and walking down those boardwalk steps with these little munchkins holding our hands is just magical. i can’t even describe the feeling.  so, seaside is our special little gem.

the boys being boys. yep, it was pretty chilly, hence the jacket and long sleeves on the beach.

back in november, we decided we needed to get something more practical than my super fun suv  i was sporting around. my husband has ALWAYS loved, i mean loved, a minivan. i have been fighting him tooth and nail for a long long time. for some reason, i felt like if i gave up my super fun suv, i was giving up a part of me. once we found out i was expecting #3, you better believe that mr. flint laid on the minivan sales pitch… hard.

after borrowing my neighbors baby car seat and trying repeatedly to make the 3 car seats work in my car, i gave in. i’ve had it since november and i have to say that after last weeks excursion to the beach… i am extremely glad that i have one. we all have room to spread out, the automatic doors are fabulous {especially when you have your hands full with kids and groceries} and all of the conveniences that the design team {which, they must have moms on that panel} came up with. yes, sometimes i do wish i still had my fun suv and i can’t believe i am actually old enough to drive a minivan, but it’s time to face the music-i’m a mom and we carpool and  i can fit 2, yes 2, chairs in the back of this baby

so, here’s to all of you minivan driving mommas out there. i’m officially in the club.

this was the day i got her… still trying to figure out her name. any suggestions? my oldest son calls her “spaceship honda.” it’s cute, but i think she needs something a bit more stylish.

have a happy day!

nicole

boy oh boy, where have the weeks gone? i can’t believe that i’m 18 weeks pregnant already! my history of child birth is that my little peanuts like to grace us with their presence 4 weeks early, meaning that i could very well be half way there! i hope that this baby decides to hang out {or should i say in} longer than 36 weeks!

according to babycenter.com, this munchkin is 5 1/2 inches long and weighs 7 ounces {the size of a bell pepper to give you an idea}. speaking of munchkins… i can’t get enough donuts or anything sweet for that matter! i’m not an ice cream eater, but you better believe that i can devour a huge bowl of mint chocolate chip before i get from the kitchen to the couch! curse you delicious chocolate entenmann donuts and publix mint chocolate chip ice cream.

i wanted to share a picture of what my bump looks like at this point… i’ll shoot for next week! here’s a picture to hold you over until then-

moving on… our oldest son, which is 5, LOVES sports. any kind. i took him to a sporting goods store before Christmas to pick out my husband something from him and gavin. i now know what it must feel like to take a young girl to the American Girl store. WOW! i’ve never seen anyone more excited to look at baseball gloves, basketballs, and marshmallow shooting gun thingy’s… guess they’re just born that way?? he ended up picking out a matt ryan {quarterback for the atlanta falcons in case that is news to you as well} jersey, because the boy loves {i mean loves} the Falcons. luckily for keegan, my parents got him his own matt ryan jersey for christmas, along with tickets to a game!

so the falcon’s had this big playoff game on sunday and keegan wanted to host his very own football party. we were all very sad with how the game ended, but the party sure was a blast.

my mom {known as gigi to my boys} brought a cake and tattoos so that we can act like they had their face painted.

it was yummy. the whole thing was gone by monday morning {that may or may not have been my breakfast}

it’s face painting time… or tattoo sticking time. 30 seconds to wait is tough stuff when you’re 5.

he had to get one put on both cheeks, ya know. no such thing as overkill when you’re a fan.

he wasn’t as excited to have a tattoo put on his face like big brother.

but having a slice of gigi’s cake took care of that…

he’s such a funny boy.

nene made these yummy pretzel buttons, too. aren’t they so cute?

the falcon’s not winning was a good lesson for our son… sometimes you win and sometimes you loose, and there’s always next season! did you watch the game? or have your own football party?

what a gorgeous weekend we had here in south! i don’t mind 70′s in january at all! i met the last few vendors at Collective on saturday morning to finish moving out… now that’s empty of vendors, it is so crazy to see the space filled with everything that’s left that i get to take home. sigh. we have lots of tables and shelving left and i just have no idea where we’re going to put any of it. guess i need to get familiar with craigslist.

after a morning at work, i ran over to have lunch with the Atlanta Bloggers Group. what a fun group of ladies and a wonderful networking opportunity. after a bite to eat with these ladies it was back home to play outside and enjoy the weather. that evening we hosted a dinner party for our kids and  young neighbors. it was a crazy loud house full of kids from almost 2 to 9! they all had so much fun! chris and i did to

now that’s its monday, it’s time to get back to business. tackling our laundry room redesign is what’s on tap for this week. i’ve been spending lots of time getting laundry room inspirations together. here are a few that are speaking to me-

i really like the countertop and legs that would make a fabulous clothes folding counter… which i need!!

pinterest

like the sink… my laundry room is way to small for a sink.  what do you do with a sink in the laundry room? is that silly to ask? i really like the bead board on the wall, too.

pinterest

LOVE the stripes… actually I just love this whole entire room. be still my heart.

pinterest

i really love how clean and simple this room looks. the tile is fabulous, it just looks so spa like. maybe having your laundry room look like a spa would make folding clothes seem less like a chore and more like a luxury?? nah! laundry is laundry no matter how beautiful the space.

pinterest

do you have a fabulous laundry room or plans to create one? i’d love to hear about it!

happy monday!

my step mom made me a quilt when i was 4, fittingly called ‘smurf’, and i still love and cherish it. she’s had lots of love over the last 26 years. unfortunately, i’ve been afraid that she is getting a bit to tattered to keep out to use all of the time so she has been put up until i make the time to fix her up.

see, she has had lots of love!

after i had our second baby, i thought i wanted to make a quilt that my boys could take with them when they move out as a reminder of home and a feeling of comfort. after some searching, i found some really cute quilt inspirations over on etsy and pinterest… man people are crazy talented!

having tons and tons of patterns and ideas to choose from,  i decided to go with a rag quilt… because it’s probably the easiest quilt you could ever make. have you seen one of those? they are super cute, you have to appreciate the look of raw edges to love this quilt… knowing that my chairs and pillows often have raw edge seams on the appliqué, you better bet that this was the perfect quilt for me, it doesn’t hurt that it’s great for a beginner too!

once making my decision on the type of quilt, i enlisted my dear friend, lindsey of lr stitched. she undoubtable makes the most beautiful quilts i’ve ever seen… and did i mention she’s published, too? so you know that means she is definitely the go to girl for quilting and just about every other sewing project you could think of.  it’s awesome to have someone like that around for sure!

i talked her into showing me the ropes on how to make one and she graciously obliged {and it was even on her birthday!}. thankfully, i didn’t have to twist her arm too much! after meeting up for a rag quilt monday, i went home knowing the basics of how to cut, piece, stitch and snip this bad boy on my own. check out how she turned out!!

i LOVE it! curling up in front of my fireplace with this just puts the biggest smile on my face! you know what the sweetest part about the whole thing is… my 5 year old is so proud of it! he showed it to my sister-in-law and said “it’s called a quilt and my mom made it! it’s so cozy!” i just love that precious heart of his!

the fabrics that i chose are from bonnie & camille for moda fabrics and it’s the marmalade collection. the front is cotton and the back is fleece. it’s super soft and comfortable. the fun colors in this quilt actually helped jumpstart my need to brighten up my house. i would love to be able to use all of these florals and geometrics in my home… not sure if i could get away with it in a house full of boys, we will see though

should you want to make your own rag quilt… i will be making my second one soon and will share the basics of how to do it along the way. here are the fabrics i’m planning on using for rag quilt #2.

have you made a quilt? if so, i’d love to hear what you’ve made!

even though my house could seriously use a good cleaning, i’m actually cleaning up all of the unnecessary time suckers in my life. you know, it’s hard to give things up or to say no to something… so it was pretty tough letting some of these things go. even though i won’t be doing these things anymore, they are freeing up time for me to do the things i really enjoy. here’s what’s changing…

1. The main one and toughest decision- i decided that i am not going to continue Collective Co-op. i opened this cute little shop in May as an outlet to sell the Chairs and Pillows besides going to Scott Antique Market every month and paying to participate in tons of arts festivals. unfortunately, collective co-op didn’t turn out to be the best outlet for selling the girls. instead, the store became an animal all its own. it took time away from my family {as i expected it would}, time away from making and promoting the chair business and i had no time to do this… blog.

besides not selling any chairs, it isn’t a way for me to make money. yes it was fun, but it also cost a lot to run… so, i should be completely finished up with collective by the end of this month. even though it’s bittersweet, i am soooo excited for the things taking it’s place.

2. Things i’m not 100% devoted- i am a member of a local organization of women that focuses on charitable events thats proceeds go to benefit the children and less fortunate in our county. yes, this organization of women is wonderful and i have made lots of great friends. it is so tough to give this up after 3 years but i haven’t been giving 100% for well over a year. which, i don’t think it’s fair to the organization or to the actively involved members for me to just show up every now and then. i would rather find something that i am on fire for… still looking at some things to get involved in.

…………………………………………………..

even though those are just 2 things, they are 2 huge things in my life that i feel so relieved to let go as hard as it may be. these are the things i’d like to do:

1. Work on my home and show them with you.  i am going to work on various areas of my home like i am an actual client and give you the secrets we designers go to school to learn. i hope that you’ll be able to use these tips and tricks so that you create a home you love! plus, i will take on your design dilemma and help you work through them.

2. besides design, i’d like to share recipes and cooking ideas too… i live in the south and we are all about brunch with friends and beautiful garden parties. i’d love to share some tips and tricks to hosting like a true belle.

3. Start planning a blog with a friend of mine where we take a room in her house and redo it from top to bottom… one room per month for a whole year. how fun is that going to be! coming out january ’14.

4. Grow my brand and expand beyond the chairs- i’ve been working with some pretty talented small business coaches. we have been planning my path and can’t wait to tell you all about the fabulous things in the works!!! i tend to jump into things really quickly {surprise, surprise}, so it’s tough to wait and actually PLAN things out. more on this topic to come.

5. Write an ebook- design and upholstery inspirations

The most exciting thing coming our way… drum roll please-

5. HAVE A BABY!! Yep! Our family is growing by 1 more. Baby Flint is due July 3rd!!

Here’s to change!

it’s crazy the people you meet… a sweet lady and her hubby came into Collective Co-op {my little shop} over the summer to buy chalk paint ™ to use on their kitchen cabinets. after chatting, she mentioned that she made jewelry and was interested in putting them for sale in my shop. little did i know that on that day in july, i was meeting one of my sweetest and dearest friends. you know those people that you make you feel good when you’re around them, the ones that get you  and completely understand you. well, that’s susan.

besides being a wife, mom of 3, nurse, jewelry maker, and small business coach… she is also a co-host on a radio show called  The Better You Project. the better you project is this super cool show that features entrepreueners and goes into detail how their business began and the changes in You that has happened along the way.  in september, susan asked me if i would be a guest on the show… and i said Yes, of course! what a super cool experience! we met in a studio room, wore headphones, talked into insanely large microphones,  we even took commercial breaks!

well, my show debuted today and if you’re ready for an hour {literally an hour} of hearing me go on and on about the chair business and collective co-op , my life, and how i got to where i am today then click the link below and check it out!

The Better You Project

i have to be honest, i was a bit nervous to hear my voice for the first time. i wouldn’t let any of my family know when it was airing so that i could hear it first, vain i know but if i sounded like a complete wacko then the show would have never aired… so they would think. i sat in floor of the playroom while the boys chunked train track pieces across the room and i listened to my answers to the questions they asked. the majority of the questions where given to me on the spot, so they are r.e.a.l.

if you do go and listen, i’d love to know {and so would the better you project!}.

thanks!

happy new year! i am super excited for 2013, are you? i have been thinking about what my ‘resolutions’ should be, and to be honest… i don’t think i have any resolutions. sure i’d like to drop a few pounds, eat healthier, go to the gym, read more books, and the list goes on and on. i was so blessed with a wonderful 2012 and sometimes i forget to stop and smell the roses. so instead of coming up with a long list of things that i will probably stop doing in a week or two, i thought i would just focus on how i want to treat all of the adventures and experiences that 2013 has to offer.

i think one word sums it up…

Relish 

not the sweet pickle stuff, but to adore the things that give you Hearty Enjoyment. i am going to relish in every experience that 2013 has to offer. i have some planned that i have already been relishing in and i am excited for those adventures coming that i have no idea about! here’s to 2013!

cheers!