Rustic Love Vienna

💛🖤
Your generosity is making a real difference.
🖤💛

As the school year came to a close, Rustic Love made one final pantry donation for the season to support a very special local program: Poe Middle School’s Raven’s Nest.

Led by the incredible Marissel Miranda, Raven’s Nest continues serving Poe’s most vulnerable families all summer long through bi-weekly food deliveries to their homes. This labor of love happens entirely outside of her regular job and is a remarkable example of the significant impact one person can make.

The need at Poe Middle School is significant:

➡️ Nearly 77% of Poe’s 900 students qualify for Free and Reduced Lunch.
🍎 Many families lose access to reliable school meals during the summer months.
➡️ Traditional food drives and fundraising efforts can be difficult to sustain because many of the families who would normally participate are the very families receiving assistance.
🍎 Raven’s Nest relies heavily on outside donations and volunteers to keep its shelves stocked and serving families year-round.

We would love to help secure a business sponsor for Raven’s Nest for the 2026–2027 school year. If your company, organization, or employer is interested in making a lasting impact on local children and families, please contact us and we’ll gladly connect you with Marissel. ☀️

Want to help today? Raven’s Nest also maintains an Amazon Wish List:
🛒 https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1G3BL23ZZKBLY

Thank you for supporting Rustic Love and our mission to help food-insecure families in our community. Summer can be one of the most challenging times of year for struggling households, and because of your generosity, we can continue helping Poe students and their families when they need it most.

🥳 Today, Rustic Love turns SIX years old! 🥳

Six years ago, we began our journey as a nonprofit, and what an incredible adventure it has been! We are so grateful for the community that has supported our mission to help the food-insecure every step of the way.

One of our favorite memories from our very first summer is of two young volunteers – Cru and Kai Molter – who spent countless hours helping us build our wooden signs. Fast forward six years, and last week their family won local artist Nathalie Albrow’s beautiful Love Bug sign in our Hometown Art Auction. (And wow, have those boys grown up!)

We’re also thrilled to share that our Hometown Art Auction raised more than $7,000 for our mission to help fight food insecurity in our community. Between the auction of 26 one-of-a-kind signs and additional donations from generous supporters, this has truly been the perfect anniversary gift.

Thank you to everyone who has supported Rustic Love over the past six years: our volunteers, donors, artists, supporters, sign owners, community partners and our Board of Directors! A special shout-out to the Molter family for the many ways you have supported Rustic Love throughout the years. ❤️

Here's to six years of spreading love, giving back, and helping neighbors in need—and to many more to come!

A heartfelt THANK YOU to all of our incredibly talented artists who have shared their time, creativity, and generosity through this year’s Hometown Art Auction. 🎨💛

Today is the final day of the auction, so be sure to get your last-minute bids in on your favorite pieces before it closes at 5pm! https://www.32auctions.com/hometownartauction

This auction is Rustic Love’s quarterly fundraiser, and every bid directly supports our mission to help fight food insecurity in our community. Every contribution makes a meaningful difference.

If you don’t end up winning a piece but still want to support the cause, we gratefully welcome financial donations of any amount.

Thank you for your continued support, encouragement, and generosity. We can’t wait to celebrate our winning bidders later today!
🏆💛

Our Hometown Art Auction ends tomorrow, June 7, but today, please give a warm welcome to our final featured artist: Shari MacFarlane! 🎨💛

Shari holds a truly special place in this year’s auction. Not only did she create two beautiful pieces for the event, but she is also the teacher and mentor of three other artists featured in the auction — a wonderful reflection of the creativity and inspiration she shares with others. 🌻 We also got to see a sneak peek of Shari's painting process -- did you know that underneath her "Hop To It" sign's green frog there is an orange one? It's all part of the paint layering process! So cool!

Shari's artistic journey began at just 16 years old as an arts and crafts teacher at a summer camp in Upstate New York. She later studied Fine Art at RIT, where she discovered a lifelong passion for both painting and teaching. Over the past 40 years, Shari has dedicated herself to nurturing creativity through her own artwork and by teaching hundreds of art students of all ages. 🐸

Shari shared that her purpose in life is to help others discover their creativity and connect with their authentic selves. Today, she continues that mission by teaching and painting daily from her home studio in Vienna. 🌻

We are so grateful to Shari not only for the beautiful artwork she contributed to this auction, but also for the countless ways she enriches our community through encouragement, mentorship, and creativity. Thank you, Shari, for sharing your incredible talents and your generous heart in support of Rustic Love’s mission to help fight food insecurity in our community. 🐸🌻
Auction link: https://www.32auctions.com/hometownartauction

Today’s featured artist in the Rustic Love Hometown Art Auction is Rachel Daggett! 🐼🎨

Rachel is an acrylic painter living in Sterling, VA with her husband and two children. What began as a quiet creative outlet amidst the busyness of mom life quickly grew into a true passion for painting.

Her work often focuses on contemporary still life subjects — from food and antiques to treasured everyday objects — but more recently, she has become known for her whimsically adorable animals dressed in knitwear. 🧶🐼

Rachel’s charming panda piece has already created quite a buzz since appearing in one of our earlier auction previews, and it’s easy to see why! Full of personality and warmth, her sign is such a fun and memorable addition to this year’s auction.

We are so grateful to Rachel for sharing her incredible talent and for supporting Rustic Love’s mission to help fight food insecurity in our community. Thank you, Rachel! 💛

Don't forget - our auction ends in two short days on June 7 at 5 pm! Bid early and often! https://www.32auctions.com/hometownartauction

We are SO CLOSE to hitting the $5,000 mark in our auction! Bid or donate today!

🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀

Today's Hometown Art Auction featured artist is Lily Eldridge. 🚀

Lily is a student at the Madeira School and a lifelong resident of Vienna. Lily's interests are photography, studio art, creative writing, and journalism. Lily has been published in The Words Faire and she is the recipient of a 2026 Scholastic Art Honorable Mention award. Lily recently interned in Senator Tim Kaine's office on Capitol Hill and she has been running her own pet and child sitting service, Starling Sitters, for the past five years. In addition, Lily has been a regular volunteer at Holy Comforter Church's Hogwarts Vacation Bible School since 2021. 🚀

Lily's Artemis was painted in the naïve style to connect technological achievement with a personal experience of wonder and amazement. She shared that she is so grateful for the opportunity to participate in Rustic Love's auction - and we are grateful for her time and energy towards her art and our mission! Thank you, Lily! 🚀

Meet today’s featured artist in the Rustic Love Hometown Art Auction: Anna McDonald! 💚🌎

Anna is a Spanish teacher at James Madison High School ❤️🖤 and brings creativity and heart into everything she does. In her free time, she sings a ca****la, plays and watches soccer (go Washington Spirit! ⚽), and loves spending time with her two nephews.

Anna also enjoys creating personalized gifts and handmade items for family and friends, and recently participated in her very first craft fair. Her passion for equity in education closely aligns with Rustic Love’s mission, as she understands firsthand that addressing food insecurity is essential for children to thrive both inside and outside the classroom.

Her beautiful auction piece, Common Ground, reflects a message of inclusivity, connection, and community — values that are at the heart of Rustic Love’s mission. Anna shared that she feels honored to use her art to support such an important cause, and we are equally honored to feature her work in this year’s auction.

Thank you, Anna, for your generosity, creativity, and support of our mission! We absolutely love the theme of inclusivity woven throughout your sign. 💙💚

Today’s Rustic Love Hometown Art Auction artist spotlight features Jordann Franks! 🎨🍉

Jordann is a lifelong Vienna resident who developed her love of art while taking art classes all four years at Madison High School. ❤️🖤 She later graduated from BYU with a teaching degree and now teaches PE and Health at the “rival” Oakton High School. 💛❤️

These days, Jordann uses art as a creative outlet and a way to unwind from her busy schedule. Her playful personality shines through in her cheerful Rustic Love watermelon sign — and considering watermelon is her favorite food, we’d say the theme is absolutely perfect! 🍉

We love the whimsy, color, and joy of Jordann’s piece and are so grateful she shared her talents with our auction to help support our mission to fight food insecurity in our community. Thank you, Jordann! 💚🩷

🔟 FINAL TEN! 🔟
💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟

This morning we dropped off our last ten wooden Rustic Love signs. If you want one, hurry over before they are fully retired!

Come and get ‘em at Texas Donuts - Vienna! (Remember they are closed on Tuesdays.) 🗓️

Thank you to everyone in Vienna for your continued support and big love to Texas Donuts for being such lovely partners!! 🧡