Thank you SO MUCH for reading my blog! A little bit about me? Well that is really tough. Writing about myself has always been a challenge but here goes! My name is Ashley, and I am 27 years old. I have 4 kids, 10, 8, 5, and 8mo (as of March 2015)

I went to school for Graphic Design & Photography, and currently own both a Photography Studio and Graphic Design Studio (Rustic Lime Creative). My husband and I most recently opened up a retail location (Creative Lush Boutique) to harvest our addiction to repurposed furniture and home decor.

I have always been a crafty little gal. I remember when my parents first gave me the Childcraft Encyclopedias, you know the ones, and my favorite one was #11, Make and Do. I would search and search that book for things to do.. always improvising if I didn’t have the right tool or supply. I remember when I got to the Paper Mache projects… ask my parents what they thought of that when I was done!

It was funny the first time I noticed that my creative gene was a perfect match for Tim. He is a DIY kinda guy as well, repairing and remodeling our home by himself. Its funny because most guys just do what the gal tells them to do, but not Tim. He has his own eye, and if he wants something done one way, he will do it that way, even if I don’t. Over the years, I have learned that I can usually trust his eye!

The idea for reclaiming furniture came when I started my photography business. I was always bringing chairs, old doors, windows, anything antique-y home for him to fix. I started bringing larger pieces home and he watched me try, and fail over and over. He would laugh, bring up my failures from time to time, crack a few jokes… but I finally figured it out. See, I LOVE crafts, but I am a very instant gratification type of gal. I like smaller projects that I can start and complete in a short amount of time. So I would bring these large pieces of furniture home, and try to buzz right through it so I could start on my next. Tim is the exact opposite. He loves projects that he can start, and work on for a few days or weeks. So we now have a mutual agreement.. I leave the bigger projects up to him, and I take on the smaller!

About our Name

I have had a few friends giggle over the name, CREATIVE LUSH BOUTIQUE. No, we are not a couple of adults getting drunk and creative at the same time, although that might be fun on occasion! Our name derives from the definition of LUSH (adjective version!)

1. Abundant; plentiful.

2. Extravagant or luxurious, as in ornamentation.

   the lush decor of a grand hotel.

3. Extremely pleasing to the senses.

   a lush scent; lush fruit; the lush sounds of an orchestra.

4. Voluptuous or sensual.

We want our reclaimed art to be lush, beautiful and elegant for your home. And, of course we want them to be creative and unique as well.

So our mission is to create pieces that are pleasing to the eye, warm to the heart, and unique to your home!

 

About Kim

Hello blog world, my name is Kim! I am a 33 year old stay-at-home-mom of five kiddos, ages 8 years, 5 years, twin 3 year olds and 5 months (Sept 2015). My family is my life, but in my spare time I enjoy doing all things creative! I need to do something creative in order to keep my sanity 😉 I often tell people that I distress furniture to DE-stress myself. In the past few years (since the twins were born) a lot of my hobbies have taken the back burner but recently I have started to find a little more time to spend on my projects!

Like Ashley, I enjoy re-doing furniture, photography, cooking/baking, and sharing some of my creativity on this blog. My love for “projects” all began when I was younger and in 4-H! Every year my sister and I would enter as many projects as we could to our achievement days to be judged and awarded. We did many projects that involved sewing, crafting, baking, collecting, gardening & photography. Some of my favorite childhood memories involve sitting about the kitchen table (or camper table) with my Grandma Drake and doing craft projects for 4-H. My Grandma always had the best projects and was constantly on the look out for things my sister and I could create for achievement days or even as gifts for people. Still to this day I would much rather make someone a gift then buy them one, it just seems so much more personal and intentional that way. I miss my Grandma very much and am so thankful she has instilled her craftiness into me

Another interest of mine is decorating! My husband, Nick, is often exhausted with how often I am changing furniture, paint colors, curtains, home decor and even re-organizing our home. I think if he was in this house as much as I am (he works outside the home) he would want to change things up too! The main reason he hates these changes is because he usually gets roped into doing all the heavy-lifting 😉 I know he appreciates my need for change and often admires the work when it is finished, but if it was up to him things remain the same. I am a creative thinker and he is a logical thinker, we balance each other out perfectly and need one another to keep grounded in this life. We have been together for 10 years and married for 8, and he knows the limits to the crazy and impossible ideas I sometimes have and often pulls my head out of the clouds and reminds me of the real world 😉 Every creative person needs that kind of person in their life to keep them from getting lost in their own minds and I am blessed to have him!

I hope you enjoy our blog and remember to comment! Everyone loves a good comment, it helps us all stay connected and lets us know we are being heard