Saturday Spotlight: Life Behind the Blogger

Susan from Must Love Junk, and myself wanted to do a regular feature on our blogs, something unique that hasn't been done before.   So we came up with an idea to 'spotlight the real life behind the blogger' in a more personal way.

There is so much talent and inspiration in blogland, and we thought it would be fun to bring you a closer look at the person behind the blog.

Every week on Saturday we will spotlight a blogger and have them tell us a little bit about themselves and their blogs.  You will be able to see and read about each of the bloggers on both Susan's and my blog. 

October 18

GiGi from Old World Patina

It gives me great pleasure this week to introduce you to Gigi a very sweet and very talented blogger. Gigi's blog is Old World Patina.   If you have not been to Gigi's Etsy Shop you must take a look.  Gigi made my sweet poetry box to store all the love notes and poems my hubby has written me over the years.  Gigi is the patina princess and everything she makes is just beautiful.  So relax and read and get to know Gigi.

Hello everyone at Junk Chic Cottage! Before I get started I would like to thank Kris for having me in the Spotlight today. She is a sweetheart and has been nothing but supportive of me and my new journey into blogland.

My name is Gigi Harland and I have only been blogging a few months now. You can find me on my blog Old World Patina. Even though I have not been blogging long I have met some fantastic and supportive people and it truly makes my day when I get a new comment on my posts.

This is a picture of my husband and I right after we got married in 2005. He is truly a prince and I am so lucky to have found him and I thank God for him every day. He is ultra supportive of me and takes care of me when I am ill and that is a lot. 

I live near the beach but I never get to go anymore. You see I have MS and I need a lot of help even with the smallest of activities, especially walking and the sand it hard to maneuver on. I never talk about my illness on my blog but since this post is about "the personal side of the blogger" I thought I would share that here. When we met I was healthy but just a few short years into our marriage I became ill and began to lose control of my limbs. I need assistance walking and have only one good arm to speak of. Since there are steps leading out of our home and I am unable to drive I am home bound most days. He works out of town a lot and makes sure I have everything I need before he leaves. When he comes home he cleans the house and does the laundry as well as helping me with any art projects I need him for. Like I said he is truly a prince! But I don't feel sorry for myself as I have come to accept it and I have moved on to better things. Before I was ill I never did many creative projects but being stuck at home I began to take as many online art classes as I could find. I also was a huge Utube stalker and viewed so many hours worth of creative videos until I finally found my voice in patina work.

These are a few of my favorite creations. I love to patina discarded angel figurines and I recently started making angel wings out of art plaster and decorating them. I find my angels at flea markets and yard sells when I get to go. I like flea markets the best even though the prices are higher because I can be pushed around in my chair. As far as yard sales go I have to stay in the car and my husband, aka my little picker, looks the sale over and brings back anything he thinks I might like and I say yes or no to the item. Sometimes I say yes just because he thinks it is so wonderful and some of them turn out surprising me and really are wonderful. Some of them are still sitting in my studio, in  my way, waiting on me to figure out what in the heck to do with them. 

My favorite room in the house in our bedroom because it is the most finished. In one corner I have my dress form collection. 

Hanging on this one is the crown my husband and I made together. I did not have the strength in my hands to do it myself. Basically he made it and I told him what to do. I love a man that can follow orders, hehe.

This duvet cover is my favorite thing I ever bought from a blogger. I bought this from Shellagh at Ticking and Toile about 2 years ago. It is so pretty and has gone through many washings and still looks great.

This bench is my favorite yard sale find. I found it back before I became ill and scored it for only $20. I saw it later at a furniture store for over $750. Wow, what a deal! It sits in front of the bay window my husband made me that houses some of my plants. I can't get out and about to garden so I have house plants everywhere and I just adore them.

Last but not least I wanted to show you one of my favorite art pieces handmade by a friend out of clay for me back in the early '80's. Back then he was showing his work in galleries and pieces like these sold for $280. I got mine for free and traded him some housecleaning. A great deal for me. His house is dirty again and I still have the truck, lol.

I guess it's time to go. I don't think I was supposed to write a book but it has been fun sharing some of my personal life with you. I hope you will join me on my blog Old World Patina for some of my creative ventures. Until then, thank you for taking the time to get to know me and thank you again Kris for having me.

xoxo Gigi

Gigi your story is so heart warming to see you do not let the MS hinder your life in anyway.  Your hubby is not only a prince but a special angel in your life.  He is a keeper.
Now that you have gotten to know Gigi.  Please hop over to Susan's blog and get to know Janice from Curtains In My Tree.
Have a wonderful fall week end.
Kris
:)