For several years now I have been creating decoupage items to decorate my own home. In 2010, however, I received the news that my job was being outsourced. Not wanting to pursue another job in the corporate world, I started looking for a way to fulfill my need for a more creative form of work. My husband, Greg, who happens to be a very talented photographer, suggested that we pool our talents - his photography with my interest in decoupage - to create a line of home decor products, hence, Artful Home Decor was born.

Each piece that I create is all done by hand. The images are printed on fine art paper and individually cut to fit. Once the images have been glued to the surface I apply several coats of decoupage medium and three coats of varnish to finish. I also apply two coats of paint and, on some items, two coats of varnish to give the inside a finished look. Consequently, each item I create is hand touched by me at least a dozen times from start to finish. All of these extra steps and seemingly minor details make the difference between a mass produced item and one crafted by hand. My work is on display in an art gallery here in St. Louis as well as some other venues from time to time.

It has always been my secret desire to have a brick and mortar store - a sort of artistic coffee shop/cafe/boutique where we could showcase the things we love - good coffee and food, unique handmade items, art work, the lavender I grow and dry in my garden, etc. I'm not quite ready to make that leap, but in the meantime, I have concentrated my efforts on creating a workshop that could also double as my own mini "boutique".

We live in an old Victorian era row house (circa 1881) that had, for the most part, a dirt basement. I dug the dirt and carried it out in buckets (1,250 buckets of dirt as well as hundreds of buckets of broken concrete) and laid a limestone floor throughout and created an old-world wine cellar in half of it and a workshop/storage area in the other half. It seemed, at times, a totally daunting task that would never end, yet at the same time a labor of love that I will never regret. I hope you enjoy seeing the pictures of my workshop and thank you for visiting my Etsy shop and supporting small businesses and artisans.