French Christmas Ideas - Oh La La!

I've recently been featured in two French Treasury Lists. This Paris one and this French Christmas One.

Both are great Treasury lists - be sure to check them out. The Christmas one got me thinking, though. On how much I love the idea of French Christmas ornaments for my white tree. I've made some in the past, but wanted to see what was out on Etsy so I searched for French Ornaments and found a few that were cute:

A Glittery Fleur de Lis

from sideoftheroad etsy store

These French bowl fillers

The Omega Workshop on Etsy

that you could also use as ornaments.

And this soldered glass ornament with a bit of French writing in it. (Lost link and shop it was from, sorry. On Etsy somewhere).


And then two sets of my own ornaments came up...

A couple on pink background with French text.

And this 'Family' of a couple and children (front and back) on vintage French book paper.

Many other items that came up were for French bulldog or French horn ornaments - not quite what I was looking for so I've decided to make a concerted effort to make more French ornaments to hang in my tree this year. A French tree sounds love this year, oui?

If anyone has a French ornament link or idea please feel free to share it in the comments! Have a very French weekend - eat a baguette or macaron! Au Revoir!

New Houses for Sale!

Another Etsy update. I've added three more Fairy Houses to my store over the past few days. The holidays are coming up soon and I don't know about you, but I get excited to decorate my mantle.

These houses are neutral enough to look great year round, though you can always add decorations to them for Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.


First up is the ever popular Musical Noteworthy House...

I think this is the first and only time I've given a music house a black roof - just like I always used to make the French houses with a red roof. Why not change it up?

I love this house - even the back looks great, doesn't it??

So cute on a shelf!


And for the Francophiles...

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A small vintage French book papered house. J'aime ma maison.

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Don't forget you can always store jewelry, miniatures, etc. inside!

And since I love the French paper so much - I made one in the same colors on the medium sized house...

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So pretty! I love these houses. There is just something about black and white - especially antique white that goes so well together. And they seem so fitting in the Fall - I can't wait to pair mine with a small pumpkin - orange or white to keep with the monochromatic theme?? Decisions, decisions...Papered all around, of course!

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And they go so well together. You could mix it up with the music house and a French house or buy both French houses together.

If you do decide you want more than one - if it is a small house and a medium house together they can nest within each other and be shipped together. (Two of the larger houses require a bigger box). You can convo me on etsy and I will make a custom listing for you with a combined shipping price.

All houses are one of a kind - I use pages from real vintage French books and antique sheetmusic. No copies. I hand paint them, antique them and seal them with a matte finish. A lot of work goes into each one.

Have a great weekend!!

Gratuitous Tomato Pics

Finally it's a post that is not an Etsy update! But instead I'm spamming you with pictures of tomatoes! Isn't that fun? It's looking like rain outside so I decided to grab a basket and check if there were a few tomatoes needing to be picked... Boy, were there! This basket is so full of tomatoes it feels like I have a brick in there.

The basket looks small, but it is very deceptive!

I thought I'd lay them out so you can see what kind of variety there is...

Lots of small, medium, large and even jumbo ones along with little bitty cherry tomatoes. More like mini grape tomaoes or something - they are very cute! My green peppers are stunted this time - not sure why. Last time I got two that were almost as big as the ones at the grocery store. Oh well.

My tomato plants are just falling all over. No one helps me keep them trimmed and they are inadequately staked so it is like a forest in my tomato cage. Oh well, as long as I get a bounty like this - who really cares, right? LOL

And I do have a few new items to add to the shop, but I still need a few finishing touches and to seal a few so they will be up tomorrow or so. Bye for now!

Etsy Update - Shabby Sheep and Silhouettes

Just a quick note to let you know I bought a few more canvases at my local art store and made a new Shabby Sheep for the store - with Crow! I know several of you have said you love the crow with the sheep and I agree - they make a cute pair, don't they?

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The sheep stands on his French text - the same text is stamped on all four sides as well.

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And I also have made some Silhouette boxes. I think these would make really cute little gifts at a Wedding or a Book Club, etc. or just to keep for yourself anywhere in your house. I love to store buttons, ribbon and other supplies on my desk in my studio or you could use them in your sewing room.

They are all Prim and antiqued - slightly Grubby look. I used antique white and plain black. They are handpainted all over as well as antiqued and sealed with a matte finish.

You get two couples - mix and match however you please. ;)

Have a great Monday!

More Etsy Items PLUS Halloween Decor Idea!!

Hello, all - I'm reporting to you live from my bed where I am confined flat out with some of the worst back pain ever (and that's saying something) for the foreseeable future. So, what better time to update both my shop and blog?

First up, I made a little Fairy house - this time with vintage French book paper and a red roof. Oddly enough, in the past I made text houses with a black roof and music houses always had a red roof so that's a minor change here...

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It's just too cute!

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I didn't antique it, either - left it clean and simple. I think they look good both ways, but if someone did want to buy it and wanted it antiqued I could do that - just convo me at etsy or comment here.

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Bigger and better pictures are on Etsy, of course.

Next up is a set of vintage French book papers with some pretty Naturalist images.

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These were inspired by Naturalist collections that people often collected in the 1800's and early 1900's. They would collect butterflies and pin them up to display, collect birds' nests and sea shells, feathers, etc. I put a little selection of my own on the french paper and as you can see it takes up much less room than a real Naturalist collection would. LOL SOLD

You could frame and display them all together or seperate them into groups - the pair of sea shell pages and the butterflies with the other insects, etc. It's all up to you. I wish I had one of those display coffee tables with a clear glass window to a collection below. I'd lay these out on the bottom and then add my own shells and curiosities with it. You could decoupage a cabinet or table with these, too. Lots of possibilities.

I just love nature and collecting things so this was a natural decision. LOL

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And last, but certainly not least - summer is nearly over and soon we will be facing the Fall again and my very favorite holiday - Halloween!! I decided to make a spooky little series for my own vintage Halloween theme and then I put it up in the shop so I guess I better make another set for myself. :)

I just love the prim crow, the haunted house, Phrenology chart and that spooky little eye staring at you. I'm going to frame mine and display them in the hall or the living room, I think. They'd look good all year round, really.

Doesn't this get you in the mood for Halloween?? I'm feeling it!

Just thought I'd share a few things that are in the shop. I'm getting antsy and a bit bored laying here in bed staring at the ceiling. I hope my back gets better soon as I'm feeling rather useless and the pain is pretty bad. If anyone has a link to a fun site or a shop or something they think I'd like please feel free to comment here. ;)

ETA: After a cat scan and resting my slipped disc is healing and I'm back on my feet. Yay. Just gotta take it easy and be careful.