Carpet Bag

This pouch was an IDS 2016 freebie from carpet manufacturer Jan Kath. Check out their stunning styles!
It makes me chuckle that I use a mini German area rug to keep things tidy in my purse.

Cobalt Ceramics

Fig N°1: Traditional Mexican shot glass...which I plan to fill with flowers instead of Tequila
Fig N°2: Hand-painted Delft pill box from Holland
Fig N°3: Cobalt Fiestaware plate of my great grandma's wedding dish collection from 1938
Fig N°4: Folksy embellished octagonal container with lid made in Finland by Arabia--a $1 find

Delft Tiles

I found these delightful hand-painted Delft Blauw tiles at Value Village for a total of $5. I love how the left-hand one features iconic architecture and scenery of various Dutch locales!

Watercolour Paradise

These framed vintage Nicolas Markovitch, a.k.a. Marc watercolour prints are likely from the 1920s to 1940s. They left their Value Village lodgings and now radiate summery paradise sitting on my shelf!

Rooftops and Treetops

My Rooftops and Treetops design is up for voting in Spoonflower's Cityscapes challenge!

Victoria

Queen Victoria was one incredible lady. Aside from ruling a country for nearly 64 years, she was a mother of 9, a visual artist, and a prolific journal writer. Her passionate, determined nature is clear in reading her diaries. I've been loving the series Victoria, which brings aspects of her younger life to light...plus the costumes and sets are stunning and lavishly inspiring. Happy Victoria Day!

Dutch Spring

 I found this vintage embroidered linen canvas at Value Village and love its textures and cheery colours!

Look at those little pink tulips!

Blue and White Dishes

You may have noticed that I'm a fan of blue and white dishes...here are some stunners from the collection!

Delft Tile Tray

I found this mid-century cheese tray at a local thrift store for $1! Frankly, the tiles alone are worth more than that. It was originally medium brown wood, and those little right-hand circles were red magnets, but I covered the whole piece in some coats of Old White Chalk Paint. I might use it as a tray for craft projects, or I might hang it on a wall and secure some fancy knobs into those left-hand circles as hooks.

Either way, I'm in love with the painterly blue and white tiles!

Scandinavian Princess

My Scandinavian Princess design is up for voting in Spoonflower's Needlepoint challenge. Psst! Thanks for the votes on my Maritime Yarn design--it came in 2nd place and is now available in my shop as fabric, wallpaper, gift wrap, cut-and-sew patterns, and homewares!

Recent Thrift: Delft Blue Tin

This appears to have been a cookie tin. The bottom is stamped: Dirk Eden--Fabrikation feiner Teegebäcke--Jever, Friesland. I love the painterly scene and the scalloped band around the bottom and lid.

An American in Paris

 An American in Paris is a fun musical full of exuberant song and dance set to an exclusively Gershwin score. It stars the dynamic dancer, singer, actor, and choreographer Gene Kelly alongside impressively flexible Leslie Caron, who has a contagious ear-to-ear smile.

 The 17 minute ballet at the end of the film is the real stunner, as it brings to life the art of Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec, Renoir, Utrillo, Rousseau, and Dufy in rhythm and vivacious sets and costumes.

 This storefront is so delightfully masculine, as was Gene Kelly's style of dance.

Notice all the vibrant stripes used against the simple leaf shapes.

 Gene Kelly even transforms into Toulouse-Lautrec's Chocolat in a hilariously wiggly dance!

 It is a riot of colour.

Magnifique!

Back in Time for Dinner

Historians, decorators, costumers, and foodies unite! This documentary, Back in Time for Dinner is mind-blowing! It is the journey of a family in Britain living one year per day through the 1950s to the 1990s, behaving and eating according to the era. Their meals are based on the National Food Survey, a survey completed by households once a year from 1940 to 2000 in which participants documented all the food they bought and ate in a week. It is fascinating to see how societal events and technological advances altered food habits. 

The 1950s--A real contrast of the austere '50s in Britain to the prosperous '50s in North America!

The 1960s--"You get a fridge and then you burn your bra."

The 1970s--This epidsode made me want to eat hummus.

 The 1980s--Because marmite really gives a whole microwaved chicken the "golden" look.

The 1990s--Variety is key.

...and beyond!

Vintage Church Print

I found this gorgeous framed church print at Value Village for $6.99! 

It's godly, vintage, black and white, architectural, detailed, distressed, and French, therefore it will be prominently hanging on my walls for the rest of my life!

"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:16-19

Delightfully Danish

My mom found this mid-century Danish chair at a thrift store for $5!

I love its wide seat, curved back, thin spindles, and tapered legs.

The patina is gorgeous.

It has its original spray coat of greyish white paint on its wooden form.

The bottom of the seat is stamped with this maker mark and features this instruction sticker in 3 languages.

Such a fun chair!

Recent Thrift: Paris Handkerchief

I found this fabulously illustrated handkerchief, likely from the '50s or '60s, at a thrift store for $2.

Namesake Sign à la French Country

 No, this isn't me awkwardly posting belated Christmas stuff in January, this is a sign I made featuring my last name. My mom found the frame at Value Village a few months ago, but the art within was some folk art painting that had nothing to do with the fleur-de-lis on the metal inset. 

So, I flipped the picture around and painted on the black back of it. I whipped this vintage French ephemera font out of my mind based on the French Country style of the rest of the frame, and went to town with some white acrylic paint and paint pen. Voilà!