Camellia's Cottage

Camellia's Cottage Camellia's Cottage is a blog for creatives looking for marketing tips for creatives and small busines

Creator of Online Course- 'Be Unforgettable Beginner's Guide to Visual Marketing'
for more information here's the link! https://camellia-s-cottage-blog.mykajabi.com/about-course-copy-1-ed7ee1ac-4438-4133-968b-ffee43106f2ber's Guide to Visual Marketing

05/13/2026

Second Act? Tip 2
I know what it means to make yourself Small..
Especially when life has shifted..
After my book was published and I retired..
I thought I was ready for my next chapter. My Second Act.
Instead I found myself pulling back.
I started Blogging under a Cute, but Assumed Name. Hiding away typing.
When a serious health issue hit, the temptation to just..Fade was stronger than ever.
Life had shifted. Yet, I wrote my way through darkness.
I learned a Hard Truth.
You cannot withdraw. You must Shine.
Put yourself out there and Radiate who you are.
When you Choose to Step into the Light, new opportunities have a beautiful way of arriving at your doorstep.
Love y’all, Brenda
More I’ll see you behind the 🔗🤭 on my profile page.

05/12/2026

New Series- 5 Quick Tips for a Second Act
The first one is Define Yourself.
I know how it feels to wonder if you’ve ’still got it’ or
if you’ve neglected your creative side too long.
After spending 30+ years Storytelling thru Fashion, Fragrance and even in a small Garden Shop- to say, at my age-
I’m an author, an award winning blogger and now a Writing Teacher.
I look back and know that Only happened because I made Choices.
I decided Who and What I was going to Be, before anyone else.
*that’s really what Defining yourself means.
To be a Beginner again makes us feel Vulnerable-
even with years of Experiences behind us.
Your years of experiences are your Stories-
The Spring from which your Creativity flows…
Please don’t let the world make you feel less or worse, Invisible,
As you Turn a Page.
Define yourself before others do it for you.
Love y’all, Brenda
Find more and more help behind that little 🔗 on my profile page
Define Yourself

Your Voice isn’t found in a dictionary, it’s found in your regional language. In the South, it’s a funny thing.. even th...
05/11/2026

Your Voice isn’t found in a dictionary, it’s found in your regional language.
In the South, it’s a funny thing.. even though we are ‘down’ south, every Verb seems to end with ‘Up’. 🫣
I guess it’s our way of making words more Active, emphasized. Umhmm

When we Write like we Talk, it’s more Authentic.
Let’s face it, AI can’t really Write Up, like we Talk. It’s Regional. It’s Local, it’s Real.

I’m just finishing up an extra writing Lesson on writing Humor. Truth?
Humor is a delicate dance. It has to Land right.
It’s not meanness, it’s better when we are poking fun at ourselves.
Gentle, subtle.
Take that photo of Kurt Russell, yes he was in my neighborhood, my town. I believe he was ‘playing’ a religious scam artist of some sort.
Those are local ladies.
They’re naturally Adorable. The Director wanted them to be themselves.
And, it’s funnier that way. Really.

When we write we don’t want folks to think they are reading a Dictionary.
We connect when we use natural language, Regional or that big word colloquial!
Believe me, no AI can duplicate that! Or..
Think it Up 🤭
Remember, your natural voice is like Texture.
That last slide is true.
Get to a certain age.. ‘We’re not just finishing up’!
Nope, you’re not. No, we are not.
We Dress Up. We Speak Up. We Rise Up.
Your voice is needed now more than ever.
It takes courage to speak naturally, yet it’s powerful.
More than you know. Grab a pen and write like only you can.
Love y’all, Brenda
More and even more behind that 🔗 on my profile page.

Someday is not a Day of the Week…… The End of Someday.. let’s take that from a Lifetime of Ideas to a finished ‘Work of ...
05/09/2026

Someday is not a Day of the Week…
… The End of Someday.. let’s take that from a Lifetime of Ideas
to a finished ‘Work of Heart’.
Move from not ‘feeling good enough’ about what you Do, Create or Offer.
Silence your Inner Critic. To Techniques as Unique as you are.
Creative Work is often a Solitary thing..
Even the best Writers like C.S.Lewis to Maya Angelou needed a support group of other writers. The Writing Sanctuary is open. I’ve saved you a seat!
Your ‘To Do List’ is about Time.
Put yourself on the Calendar not the Clock. Just that, makes a world of difference.
That drawer full of Ideas? Isn’t it Time they see the Light of Day?
It’s the End of Someday..
I’m here to help.
Love y’all, Brenda
More information about ‘Writing Content with Confidence’ behind the 🔗 on my profile page

Know yourself. You may think you don’t fully know.. List your gifts and talents. Then think about your potential and po...
05/08/2026

Know yourself. You may think you don’t fully know..
List your gifts and talents.
Then think about your potential and possibilities.
It adds up to a lot.
Believe in those possibilities… it’s powerful.
A seed may look small, the potential is powerful,
Especially when the seeds are nurtured. Checked on often.
Your Vision has the strength to carry them through difficult seasons.
What empowers your Vision?
Your belief in yourself. *take some time with that.
Just as a seed requires patience.
Even when no one else can see your Vision.. be patient.
You’ll be inspired to keep learning and growing and going to Success.
Just like a garden doesn’t happen overnight. Cooperating with the seasons.
Patience pays off.
Gifts and Talents. Potential and Possibilities. Unique Vision.
Belief in yourself, when all around you says otherwise,
even when others can’t see it.
Against all odds. That’s the stuff of old..
The greatest stories ever told.
Love y’all, Brenda
Let’s Write those stories together. Behind that 🔗 is how we can.

For the record- I don’t believe that the number of people who follow you, is of the utmost importance. However, we Do wa...
05/07/2026

For the record- I don’t believe that the number of people who follow you, is of the utmost importance. However, we Do want folks to be interested enough to hang around. To Stay. That’s what a true Audience is.
No matter what you Do, Create or Offer- we hope folks will be interested.
That’s one part of this thing called Social Media.
It’s a platform that allows us space to share what we Do, Create or Offer.
What makes me Different?
I don’t believe that ‘over 50’ means It’s Over. This age range appeals to a wide audience.
I share Inspiration because I’ve been inspired when I needed it most, and.. I know it’s not easy to be a Creator, Coach or Small Business.
I’ve struggled, I’ve failed, I’ve been where you are. I see these Struggles as Assets on the road to helping others.
I don’t believe Higher Priced means Higher Value. I don’t believe in Cookie Cutter, Lookalike Brands. ‘Lookalikes’ and ‘Soundalikes’ get overlooked!
The questions on these Slides should be uppermost in your mind, as you build an audience. *it won’t hurt my feelings if you save these or disagree.
There are many ways to build an audience, I hope as I build mine, it’s because You feel drawn to what I share.
That’s real connection, and really why I want you here.
Love y’all, Brenda
I’m So grateful you are here! I teach ‘Writing Content with Confidence’, if that feels like something you may need? There’s a 🔗 on my profile page

I thought about this for a while.. I found an early blog post, telling my story. I wrote it as the pandemic began. 2 ...
05/06/2026

I thought about this for a while..
I found an early blog post, telling my story. I wrote it as the pandemic began. 2 years after my diagnosis and ongoing recovery.

This week, a dear friend- showed me- if she could be brave? I can too.
We are both over 50. ( I’m a bit ‘more over’ than she is 🫣)

Age isn’t a serious condition, it isn’t a punishment, a disadvantage to overcome.

I didn’t grow up with a screen or a device in my crib- though I must have thin strands of steel woven through the delicate lace of a christening gown.
I think your christening gown must’ve had them too!

If you’re over 50?
You’ve lived through natural disasters, a pandemic and artificial intelligence.

Show us the Grace and ongoing Grit of you. 🙏

It takes courage, I will admit. Just know this, your Stories matter.
Share your Stories.

We Need your Stories. As only you can tell them.

I’m here for you.
Love y’all, Brenda
More even bore behind that 🔗 on my profile page.

Midlife + Over 50, 60+ ? You’re thinking.. my age is overlooked.. Age Defying? That sounds like cosmetics! No, it...
05/04/2026

Midlife + Over 50, 60+ ?
You’re thinking.. my age is overlooked.. Age Defying?
That sounds like cosmetics!
No, it’s not that. Over 50s want to defy norms, and protect their
Physical and Mental Health doing it!
Hear me out. Yes, I’ve done the research. Over 5+ years, I have talked with close to 100 women, this age and higher. And.. oddly, the Research for 2026 is the same information!
Dreams put on hold, to do work that’s possibly not as fulfilling as they hoped.
Yet, they did it to take care of themselves and others.. now, given the chance or a change that came along unexpectedly.
They slowed down enough, to bring back dreams or to dream again.
Women have always defied norms, often in the shadows.
They aren’t afraid to learn new skills, if they need them. They are willing to work for it- as long as it doesn’t compromise their ‘fitness’.. especially Mental Fitness.
Many see this as an opportunity to improve their Mental Fitness through Creativity.
The slides of this post show the results of research, I’ve seen the results in real lives.
My own journey- after 30+ years of working for others (in jobs I mostly loved) ..
I wrote a book after 50, started a blog that is 10 years old this year.
Took an online course to learn something about social media, when technology was like a foreign language 🫣 Still, can’t keep up with it all..
pushing forward by creating online courses. Why?
I love Writing and Teaching. I love the people I get to know through it all.
And, I know it exercises my Mind. What’s that old saying?
A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste.
You are far too valuable, too unique, too creative to sit down.
The world needs you. It needs your Stories. You are the person who can speak to others, precisely Because of your Experiences.
Even if you think others have the same message? Or talents?
There are folks who can only See it, through you. It’s not Late.
It’s Time…
Love y’all, Brenda.
More

05/03/2026

I love Roses at any Age or Stage.. from rosebud to bloom to full blown..
As sweet as a rosebud may be, there’s just something so beautiful about a Rose in Full Bloom.. like a woman who has lived life,
weathered storms and still shows up beautifully. Serene even as she fades..
Her scent remains even as we dry Roses. And, really- there is Nothing Common or Ordinary about that!
Midlife or beyond?
Embrace it. And remember the Full Blown Rose.
How you look at Age, matters. What you Do as you Age matters too.
There’s a whole world waiting for the Stories and Messages Only You can bring.
Love y’all, Brenda
Let’s Write those Stories together, no. Matter the Age or Stage! More behind that 🔗 on my profile page

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