A Fairy Ring

It has been years since I have seen one of these…an almost perfect fairy ring! To my neighbors’ delight, this ring of toadstools sprouted in their garden…evidence that fairies were dancing in a magical circle on their lawn last night! Did I happen to witness the moonlight ball? Sadly, no. I was a sleepyhead and missed the festivities!


But I know there was much whirling and twirling with gossamer gowns glistening and filmy wings shimmering in the moonlight!


Then just before dawn, the fairy promenade meandered merrily two by two toward my dewy lawn…


…leaving me one tiny parasol as a parting remembrance! Sigh!


I am waiting, dear little fairies! Please hurry back and visit my garden tonight!


Then head on over to visit our own Georgia girl, Susan at A Southern Daydreamer to see some wonderful scenery for Outdoor Wednesday! I’ll see you next time! A la prochaine!

Frenchy Anduze Pots...Without the Trip to France!

Ever since I featured a French home with a wonderful collection of Anduze style pots, I have had them on my mind! Sooo…I decided to try to create my own version!

Here is my inspiration…this wonderful pot in the cérusé finish from Le Chêne Vert  as featured here by Catriona McLean. I love this finish...whitened clay glaze over red terra cotta. In case you are not familiar with these traditional French pots, they originated in Anduze, a small town in the south of France, where the famous potter Boisset first created his version of the Italian-inspired design in 1610.

You may recognize these more traditional finishes. Aren’t they lovely? You will notice that they always feature a garland and a medallion with the potter's mark, sooo…

…you can imagine my excitement at finding this at Goodwill for only $2.92! It’s small…only about 6 inches tall…but certainly has everything I was looking for!

I wanted a grouping of three pots or vases, but was lucky to have found the one Anduze style pot, so I decided to give the same finish to a less-than-lovely urn and a pretty celadon vase decorated with palmettos…both also from GW for under $3.00 each. I gathered them up and the staff and I headed outside to see what we could do!

However, our co-host Baby Kitty was unavailable for this post due to the unexpected presence of a lizard under my garden snail...so I undertook this project alone!

First, I sprayed the pieces with Krylon primer…

…and next I gave them a coat of acrylic paint from Americana called Georgia Clay…appropriate for me! Hey…they’re not kidding! My dirt is that color! And…the paint was on sale at Michaels this week, too! Woo hoo!

Then I added a coat of the same paint in Light Buttermilk. I wanted the terra cotta color to show through a little and left it showing completely on the inside as in my inspiration piece.

Next, I dry brushed a little more of the Georgia Clay to highlight the details…

…and dry brushed on a little more of the Light Buttermilk to soften it. I finished them off with several good coats of Krylon Clear Glaze leftover from a previous project.

And…voilà! I just added my mossy “brain,” some frenchy faux lavender and a little topiary! Hey...I just noticed Baby Kitty's reflection in the silver tray...lurking in the background checking out my work...

...as he should, since I have to admit that the terra cotta paint had me scared for a few minutes, but I love the result!

My favorite, of course, is the Anduze style pot! What do you think?

And here’s mine with my inspiration piece…not bad, huh? Maybe one day I can have the real thing, but in the meantime, this will do nicely!

NEW! Confessions of a Plate Addict is now on Facebook!  Check out our blog page here to see the latest posts plus additional goodies...such as a link to visit this fabulous restaurant in southwestern France! It is featured in the online French decor magazine e-mag DECO. Also...like us in the box on the sidebar and receive updates regularly! I hope you'll join the fun!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed a little peek at my project!  Please visit these wonderful bloggers and their beautiful blogs to see what they are up to and to find a list of this week’s participants!
Stephanie Lynn at Under the Table and Dreaming for the Sunday Showcase Party
Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday
Rhoda at Southern Hospitality for Today's Thrifty Treasures on Mondays
Mary at Boogieboard Cottage for Masterpiece Monday
Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick for Before and After Monday (first Monday of the month)
Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday
Linda at Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Kim at Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays
Judy at DIY by Design for Swing into Spring
Kara at Elements Interiors for Whassup Wednesday
Gina at The Shabby Chic Cottage for Transformation Thursdays
Leigh at Tales from Bloggeritaville for Thrifty Thursday
Jill at French Cupboard for Voilà! French Inspiration on Thursdays
Sherry at No Minimalist Here for the Open House Party on Thursdays
Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday
Courtney at French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
Diann at The Thrifty Groove for Thrifty Things Friday
Debra at Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Fridays
Sherry at The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday
Donna at Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special
See you next time! A la prochaine!

Frenchy Love...Favorite Goodwill Hunting Finds!

There they were…calling my name! I saw them across the Goodwill store as I came in the door! I couldn’t believe my eyes..a pair of beautiful frenchy urns! I practically ran over and scooped them up. Oh, my! Aren’t they lovely? And what I really like is that they aren’t identical. And best of all…there was a pair of them! My friend Linda at Nina’s Nest can tell you I have a thing for pairs!

Look at the detail! Each of the little paintings on both of the urns is different! None of them are alike! Sooo…what do you think? Hand painted? Do I dare to believe that? And they were only $15 each…maybe a little more than I like to spend, but well worth it!

And that’s not my only great find! Just look at this little doggy clock! Isn’t it gorgeous?  Once again, fabulous details! And he was only $9.00! I think his original price was much more than that.

Look at him! Isn’t he cute? Now I know you are wondering what my staff must think…bringing home a dog…

…and this should give you some idea of Baby Kitty’s opinion! lol

He is much too preoccupied with the flock of birds feeding on my front lawn to notice! Or perhaps he is feigning indifference!

Sooo…what to do with a wonderful doggy clock and two fabulous frenchy urns?

You put them on your mantel! I stacked the urns on some vintage books to give them some presence and centered the vignette around the wreath planter that I found a few weeks ago. My home is not formal and I like the contrast of the chippy white planter. I have also added my little frenchy boy that I have shown you before…another GW find at $3.00.

In fact, the entire vignette is made up of thrifting finds! Not bad, huh? That’s my kitchen that you can see in the reflection. In fact, I need to head in that direction to find a few catnip treats. Maybe that will help me get back in Baby Kitty’s good graces!
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed a little peek at my mantel!  Please visit these wonderful bloggers and their beautiful blogs to see what they are up to and to find a list of this week’s participants!
Stephanie Lynn at Under the Table and Dreaming for the Sunday Showcase Party
Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday
Rhoda at Southern Hospitality for Today's Thrifty Treasures on Mondays
Mary at Boogieboard Cottage for Masterpiece Monday
Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick for Before and After Monday (first Monday of the month)
Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday
Linda at Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Kim at Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays
Judy at DIY by Design for Swing into Spring
Kara at Elements Interiors for Whassup Wednesday
Gina at The Shabby Chic Cottage for Transformation Thursdays
Leigh at Tales from Bloggeritaville for Thrifty Thursday
Jill at French Cupboard for Voilà! French Inspiration on Thursdays
Sherry at No Minimalist Here for the Open House Party on Thursdays
Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday
Courtney at French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
Diann at The Thrifty Groove for Thrifty Things Friday
Debra at Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Fridays
Sherry at The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday
Donna at Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special
See you next time! A la prochaine!

Frenchy Quimper Pottery...at Goodwill? Can it be?

 I am hopelessly in love with this man! Yes, I know he is wearing bloomers and tights along with a funny hat and clunky shoes…but I don’t care! I love him anyway!

I must confess that I am addicted to faïence pottery from Quimper, France…starring my favorite little Breton man!
  Baby Kitty thinks I’m crazy…so what else is new?…to fill my house with images of my favorite little guy! Not only is he on my Quimper dishes, but he’s on the walls! Do you see him in the picture behind our illustrious co-host? And I can’t forget the cookie tins, playing cards, cookbooks, tea towels and various and sundry other forms in which you will see the little Breton man depicted at my house!
  But since he is hand painted by different artists, he doesn’t always look the same. And honestly, sometimes he looks better than others! However, one thing has been the same for a long time…I have dreamed of finding this man at a Goodwill store! Yes, that’s right! I freely admit it! I have been cruising the aisles at GW in the hope of finding this little man and taking him home with me! lol Then it happened…

…while Goodwill hunting with my friend Linda at Nina’s Nest, I saw this little man peering at me from the shelf! Be still my heart! Can it be? I clutched him to my heart, too afraid to look underneath to discover the truth! Finally, Linda took it from my grasp to find out. Was it really Quimper pottery? At Goodwill?

Ummmm…no. Oh, well! For a few wonderful seconds there, I was giddy with excitement! However, he was only $1.91 so…

  …he hopped in my cart anyway! Now I just have to decide what to do with him. Doesn’t he look right at home among all of the real stuff in this completely Quimper vignette on my breakfast room hutch? See him sitting there beside the candle holder I found recently?

Or here he is as a mail sorter on my kitchen table…sitting next to the rooster salt and pepper shakers from my friend Babs at Upstairs Downstairs. Aren’t they cute? I love this idea...and it's an easy transformation! Admittedly, he is not the handsomest little fellow…

  …but even some of the authentic Breton men are not so good-looking either! Do you recognize him now? Can you tell him from the real ones? He’s little man number two!

But isn’t he handsome now…filled with toast and looking like he belongs in my Quimper breakfastscape! (Yes, I just made up that word!)

He may not be real, but he sure is cute, huh? Ahhh…nothing like an oh-so-frenchy breakfast of bread, butter and jam with café au lait...served French style in a lug bowl! Won’t you join me?

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed a little peek at my Quimper ware!  Please visit these wonderful bloggers and their beautiful blogs to see what they are up to and to find a list of this week’s participants!
Stephanie Lynn at Under the Table and Dreaming for the Sunday Showcase Party
Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday
Mary at Boogieboard Cottage for Masterpiece Monday
Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick for Before and After Monday (first Monday of the month)
Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday
Linda at Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Kim at Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays
Kara at Elements Interiors for Whassup Wednesday
Gina at The Shabby Chic Cottage for Transformation Thursdays
Leigh at Tales from Bloggeritaville for Thrifty Thursday
Jill at French Cupboard for Voilà! French Inspiratin on Thursdays
Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday
Sherry at No Minimalist Here for the Open House Party on Thursdays
Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday
Courtney at French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
Linda at A la Carte for Junkin' Finds on Fridays
Debra at Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Fridays
Sherry at The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday 
Laurie at Bargain Hunting and Chatting with Laurie for A Few of My Favorite Things Saturday
Donna at Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special
See you next time! A la prochaine!

More Blue and White...Inspired by Charles Faudree!

I seem to be having a love affair with blue and white right now! It’s nothing new. I have loved that color combination for a long time…it just makes me smile! So after Christmas, I decided that all of my favorites could come out of my rotation closet (do you have one of those? lol) where they have been patiently waiting for their return!
  This time I was inspired by Charles Faudree! I don’t know about you, but I think he’s the man! Whenever I make a change in my decor, I pull out his books and study them first…what to put on the mantel or how to arrange my coffee table. This lovely collection is pictured in his book Country French Living.

 More Charles Faudree…from Meredith Books Great Country French Style! Just look at this fabulous display of blue and white china! Now I am on the hunt for several great platters to add to my collection. For me, his style is true classic Country French.  I am always inspired by his designs!

So with his style in mind, I decided to rearrange my hutch with some of my blue and white collection. I  also added some silverplate pieces to lighten things up a little…and I wanted to show off my recent finds!

The shelves of my hutch are very narrow, so I chose my new Goodwill hunting trophies…a dozen silver plate punch cups…to add a little variety in height and some sparkle. You may remember that I only paid $4.54 for all twelve! My Spode Blue Room plates are serving as the backdrop. I found them at TJ Maxx and Ross several years ago and paid about $4.00 each.

I love my Blue Willow tureen! It serves as an anchor piece on the lowest shelf. It was half price at a going-out-of-business sale for a little shop in Lawrenceville, Georgia. And, once again, you can see our co-host Baby Kitty’s reflection in the silverplate tray! It’s one of a pair that I showed you previously…at $5.00 each!

Here’s one of my vintage silverplate coffee carafes that I showed you previously...a GW steal at $3.93! Its twin is holding down the other end of the shelf. I also added a few pieces from my Red Cliff ironstone collection…such as this wonderful coffee pot with a grape motif…

…and its matching sugar and creamer. The sugar was an unbelievable Goodwill find at $2.52! Woo hoo!

I also added several of my Oriental style tea pots…love their unusual shapes!

And…I finally found a pair of Staffordshire style dogs in my favorite colors! They have taken their place on my blue and white mantel!

However…with spring just around the corner and the first of the daffodils blooming…

…Baby Kitty suggested that I might want to add a few pops of my other favorite color…yellow!

So some sunny Provençal sunflowers and lemons were added to the buffet…along with some of my vintage silverplate and more blue and white. It is so nice to see some bright colors! I just hope our local groundhog General Beauregard Lee was right because I am sooo ready for spring! What about you?

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed a little peek at my blue and white treasures!  Please visit these wonderful bloggers and their beautiful blogs to see what they are up to and to find a list of this week’s participants!
Stephanie Lynn at Under the Table and Dreaming for the Sunday Showcase Party
Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday
Mary at Boogieboard Cottage for Masterpiece Monday
Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick for Before and After Monday (first Monday of the month)
Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday
Linda at Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Kim at Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays
Kara at Elements Interiors for Whassup Wednesday
Gina at The Shabby Chic Cottage for Transformation Thursdays
Leigh at Tales from Bloggeritaville for Thrifty Thursday
Jill at French Cupboard for French Inspiratin on Thursdays
Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday
Courtney at French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
Linda at A la Carte for Junkin' Finds on Fridays
Debra at Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Fridays
Sherry at The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday
Terrell at Frou Frou Décor for Fabulous Friday Finds
Laurie at Bargain Hunting and Chatting with Laurie for A Few of My Favorite Things Saturday
Donna at Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special
See you next time! A la prochaine!