a magical day :: creating with the best

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of collaborating with some really amazing people! Rachel Faucett of Handmade Charlotte contacted me about a new paint line making its debut and wanted to know if I would paint and create with her! Would I EVER! Rachel is one of the most creative, energetic, hilarious, and generous people that I am privileged to know....and any chance I can get to spend time with her is A ok with me!You can read all about our day together here, and if you want the full scoop on the new paint line visit here for the tutorial and the deets!Head to your local Walmart to pick up some paint, and know that I painted this entire dresser with ONE bottle....which will cost you all of eight bucks! The clear wax is amazing too.....probably on of my favorite new products. It pours out and applies very much like a polyurethane! How cool is that!?Thank you Waverly, Plaid, Walmart, and Rachel Faucett for a super fun time.....and thank you Paige French for the amazing photography! (as always!)Have a great weekend!xo,Barb 

furniture refinishing with barb blair (me!) :: creativebug classes

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfUrAw5AzJo[/embed]Well friends....Part 1 of my online class series is up and running at Creativebug! (if you click on the creativebug link it will take you directly to my class page!)I hope you will enjoy this promo video, and that you will join me for some furniture refinishing fun!Lets get creative, and design cool things together!xo,Barb

creativebug :: online painting classes with knack

Hey everyone! I am so sorry that I have been a little bit silent around here the last couple of weeks!I had a really big and unexpected opportunity come up and I dove in with everything that I had. It went really, really well and I will be able to tell you about it at the end of the week! Yay! You don't have to wait long!AND....to tide you over....my online classes are launching THIS THURSDAY! I am so excited to share these classes with you all!I filmed these classes with a company called Creativebug and I absolutely cannot say enough about them! The team from Creativebug was an absolute joy and they were so skilled and professional. The week we spent together was long and tiring, but in the end new friendships were forged, great work was accomplished, and I totally cried when we all had to hug goodbye. I love you Brian, Devlin and Courtney! Thanks for being amazing at what you do!I'll be back Wednesday with more info on where to go and how to sign up!Get Ready!xo,Barb

geometric dresser :: frogtape® tutorial

The full tutorial for this brand new beauty is up on the FrogTape® blog today! Check it out, and create a beauty for yourself!xo,Barb

book news || a few secrets revealed and the title

Well, as you all know....I have been working away on my second book for the last year. In one way it seems like the year has taken forever, and yet in another way it seems like a very fast and vivid dream.To say that I am excited about this project would be the worst understatement of the year.....I am STOKED! I am thrilled that with every passing day, we are closer and closer to the release of ........wait for it..... FURNITURE MAKES THE ROOM!! You see what I did there? So, we go from my first book which is called Furniture Makeovers, to my second book which will be called Furniture Makes the Room. There will be many new and exciting aspects to Furniture Makes the Room....for instance....we shot in actual peoples homes....we styled furniture multiple ways in order to show the versatility of color, we amped up the technique and really created some out of this world designs, and I do a lot of heart to heart sharing about the concept of home and what that looks like to me.I am super proud of this body of work and cannot wait to share it with you all! Thank you for your friendship and support throughout this entire journey. I am truly thankful for your words of encouragement.Things are looking really really good and I am in the world of editing and copy editing at the moment. This is the hardest phase for me since writing takes much effort for my feeble little mind, but I am thankful to again be working with the super thorough and talented team at Chronicle Books!It wont be too long now....and I promise to keep you posted along the way!xo,Barb(gorgeous photos by Paige French)

knack life

1. hanging some Spoonflower wallpaper for a #knackbook2 project
2. everybody wants a shot of Julie's beautiful florals
3. bright greens and blues in the morning light
4. our feature in the Greenville News!
5. reflections in our wide windows on a bright October day
6. our book, Furniture Makeovers, standing tall and proud in the shop

a walk down memory lane

I somehow got on my own Flikr account {from Pinterest} and got lost down a rabbit hole of memories and experiences.I did a lot of smiling.....remembering.....pondering.....celebrating.I hope you can humor me in my nostalgia, and maybe even leave here inspired to create beauty with your hands that is fueled by the passion in your heart.

gettin buggy :: meet tympana

There is one thing that I love about Southern summers, and it is the cicada's singing in the trees as I drift off to sleep each night. Growing up on the West Coast I had never experienced this, and will never forget the very first time I ever heard it.The Cicada song is an unmistakeable sound, and when combined with the sparks of the firefly in flight it makes for a magical evening.I have wanted to do a bug piece for a very long time.....and I finally found the person to collaborate with on this piece! Angie Thompson { shop manager; mover and shaker at Knack} did an amazing job capturing the detail of the cicada with her beautiful charcoal strokes....and we couldn't be more proud of how this piece turned out!We were going to list miss Tympana in the online shop....but she sold before we could do that! We are already planning another one though...so never fear...more bugs are in our future!