A Botanical Tea Towel for Fall and a Fabulous Surprise!

I have a new fall-inspired tea towel for you…starring one of my favorite botanicals…Chinese lanterns! I remember being fascinated by this lovely plant as a child and my love for them has not diminished!

So I was really excited to find this wonderful vintage illustration here and it just seemed natural to me to choose them for my fall tea towel design! You know me…I couldn’t resist adding a little frenchiness to the graphic, too. The plant is actually called  Physalis…or more popularly, Chinese lanterns...and in French…lanterne chinoise, amour en cage or coqueret du Pérou. I have already flipped it for you to use as an iron-on transfer. I just followed the directions on the package and applied it to a vintage-y flour sack towel from Target…4 for $4.00…an easy and inexpensive way to add some fall to your kitchen!

Now Baby Kitty wants you to see my fabulous surprise…a sweet gift from Jackie, one of my wonderful readers…

…lovely vintage silverplate in my favorite grapey pattern! Grapes are my favorite motif...so much that I think you could sell me grapes on a stick! Does she know me or what?

Just look at the detail on the handles…little clusters of grapes surrounded by leaves and even tiny tendrils…amazing! Don’t you love the patina on old silverplate? They date from 1912…one hundred years old and lovelier than ever! Thanks so much to sweet Jackie for thinking of me! I am overwhelmed by her thoughtfulness and generosity!

Here’s a final look at the tea towel…fun and full of fall color!  And I have made a decision…I am definitely planting some Chinese lanterns next year! Have you ever tried them? I’d love to know how they did!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed a little peek at my project and my wonderful gift! 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!  
Under the Table and Dreaming for the Sunday Showcase Party  
Thrifty Decor Chick for Before and After Monday  
Boogieboard Cottage for Masterpiece Monday  
Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday  
The Stories of A2Z for Tutorials and Tips Tuesday  
Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
A Stroll thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday  
Cedar Hill Ranch for Cowgirl Up! on Tuesdays  
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia for Tuesday's Treasures  
Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays  
DIY by Design for Fall into Fall  
The Shabby Creek Cottage for Transformation Thursdays  
No Minimalist Here for the Open House Party on Thursdays  
Stone Gable for Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits on Thursdays  
My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday 
French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday   
2805 for Potpourri Friday  
At the Picket Fence for Inspiration Friday  
Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday  
The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday  
Craftberry Bush for Happy Hour on Fridays  
Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special  
See you next time! A la prochaine!

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DIY French Poetry Pillow...and...Envelope Closure Tutorial

I’ve been at it again…I’ve made another pillow! But this time I wanted to do a little something different, so I created my own fabric design using my favorite French poem.

Of course, we can’t talk about pillows without the help of our own pillow princess…the lovely Miss Kitty…who loves to pose among them! Here she is lounging with my Pottery Barn inspired frenchy pillow in the background…her favorite pillow ever, she says.

It was easy and almost free since I already had everything I needed! I started with a scrap of leftover drop cloth and two fabric markers. Of course, you could use any two colors, but I chose black and brown for a more vintage look. Next, I printed my favorite poem La Lune Blanche by Paul Verlaine in a fun frenchy script called Amandine and used it as a guide. You could, of course, use your favorite poem! Next, I simply hand-copied the poem on to the fabric. Just take your time and remember it’s OK if it’s not perfect. It’s supposed to be handwriting! My pillow form (a $3.00 down insert from Goodwill) was 19 x 19 inches, so I filled up a 20 x 20 inch piece of fabric with lines from the poem, alternating colors as I went.

I decided to use burlap for the pillow back, so first I cut my fabric. Do you know this trick for cutting straight on burlap? Just measure, find a thread at the correct spot and pull it all the way through. You will have the perfect guide to follow while cutting!

Some of you have asked where I store all my pillows…in the attic! And it’s getting waaaay too crowded up there! So I decided I will make envelope closures from now on so I can just take the covers off and reuse the forms. It really doesn’t take any longer. Here’s what I did…

1. After I made the front, I cut two pieces of fabric to form the back…one 3/4 of the length of my front fabric and one 1/2 of the length. My pillow front fabric was 20 x 20 inches, so I cut a piece 15 x 20 inches and another 10 x 20 inches.

2. On one of the 20 inch sides of each of the back pieces, I folded the fabric under 1/2 inch or so and then folded it again, then pressed and stitched to create a finished edge.

3. Next, with right sides together, I put the longer piece down first on top of the poetry fabric, lining it up, then added the shorter piece next, making sure all of the edges met. Be sure your opening runs from side to side and not top to bottom. Then I stitched it all the way around.

4. Finally, I trimmed the corners at a diagonal, turned it inside out through the opening…making sure the corners were completely turned out…and pressed it.

Here’s the finished back…very neat and easy to do! No more piles of pillows in the attic for me! I’ll just store the covers in a drawer! Now just pop in the pillow form…

…and voilà! I love it! This pillow is special to me, not only because I designed the fabric, but because it’s my favorite French poem…the one I used to make my students memorize! (Uh oh…here comes the French teacher in me! ) I love its musical quality! In fact, Paul Verlaine’s works are so musical, that they have been converted to songs! This one has several video versions…this one with works of art in the background and this one with a haunting melody and a mesmerizing drive through rainy European streets at night. And finally, here's another version with music dating from la Belle Époque which includes the translation.

And while I am on the subject of pillows…let me show you this beauty that has come to live at my house! I was the lucky winner of the giveaway at the Bunny Blog Hop from the ladies at At The Picket Fence, French Country Cottage, DIY By Design, and On Sutton Place! Ann at On Sutton Place very generously supplied the prize! Don’t you love it? And it looks right at home on my patio! Thank you so much, sweet ladies!

And here’s a final peek. Hmmm…now I’m thinking…maybe a fable from La Fontaine next? Or a few lines from a favorite French play? Or…nursery rhymes for my grandbabies! The possibilities are endless!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed a little peek at my frenchy pillow! 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
Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick for Before and After Monday (first Monday of the month)
Mary at Boogieboard Cottage for Masterpiece Monday
Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday
Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday
Beth at The Stories of A2Z for Tutorials and Tips Tuesday
Linda at Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Anita at Cedar Hill Ranch for Cowgirl Up on Tuesdays 
Kristin at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia for Tuesday's Treasures
Kim at Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays
Judy at DIY by Design for Swing into Spring
Gina at The Shabby Creek Cottage for Transformation 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
Honey at 2805 for Potpourri Friday
Heather and Vanessa at At the Picket Fence for Inspiration Friday
Debra at Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday
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!

Lunch on the Patio...and...Merci!

Happy 4th of July, eveyone! The weather has finally cooled down a bit here, so I am having a light lunch on the patio before the big cookout tonight. I have set the table using some thrifting finds and bloggy gifts so we can chat. Won’t you join me? I have lots to share!  I have been busy baysitting grandchildren and granddogs, plus getting in a little vacation, so I haven’t been able to hang out in blogland as much as I would like.  I hope you'll forgive me! First order of business is to say Merci! to some wonderful blogging buddies!


A large part of my tablescape today came from some very sweet and generous bloggers! The beautiful table runner in all of my favorite colors and the gorgeous red transferware plates from England were gifts from Dawn at Cottage State of Mind! I was lucky enough to win her 200th post giveaway…along with 22 other people! Can you believe it?


Sweet Dawn generously decided to give a gift to each of us who commented on her giveaway post. She claims that she is cleaning out her attic, but I don’t believe her! The gifts are just too fabulous! She told me that she also has a set of the plates, so now we are twins! And would you look at the card! If you know me, you know that I adore mice wearing clothes (weird, I know)…and there they are! She wrote the sweetest note inside that made me cry!


The pretty oil/vinegar dispenser is a gift from my friend Carol from the old Rate My Space and Micasa Style days. Isn’t it elegant? The pewter matches my flatware, too. You must know that another weakness of mine is roosters…so frenchy! But the best gift was an invitation! Our Carol invited a group of us to spend 5 days at her wonderful beach house on the North Carolina coast! It was fabulous!


The sweet little bluebird plate was a gift from another one of the guests…Barb from Grits and Glamour! We actually met in person about a year ago, so it was fun to see her again! She is one busy bee and misses blogging and all of you. I have a feeling that she may be back soon. She invited us to her lovely home nearby and treated us to hors d’oeuvres…yummy! Her house is even more beautiful in person and it was fun to be a tourist…spotting places that I had seen in her posts! I also got to meet her wonderful family…a real treat!


Another guest for our beachy blogger weekend was Kathysue at Good Life of Design who gave us each a great monogrammed Lands End tote…which will really come in handy for my baby/dog sitting! Isn’t it stylish? She made sure that each one matched the colors in our homes! lol Kathysue has such a great sense of humor and kept us all in stitches! I was lucky enough to get the chance to meet her in person when I met Barb a year ago. The three of us, along with our hostess Carol, became  friends on Micasa before its demise.  Several other Micasa friends were unable to make it, but were in our hearts! I will be telling you about our adventures in the next few posts! And I’ll give you a little peek…see the little flower pot man in the background? That’s a little hint of what is to come!


And, of course, I can’t create a post without throwing in some thrifting finds! lol I love to eat on the patio, but creating a centerpiece around an umbrella pole isn’t easy! I found this great two piece votive holder at Goodwill for $2.52…but minus the votives. Soooo…I decided to use some punch cups that I found on a previous GW hunting expedition instead!


I love it! I think the punch cups transform the centerpiece into something special. And…of course…the cups have grapes on them…another favorite of mine!


I also wanted to give you a little update on my shabby picnic basket planter that you see in the background. The begonias are thriving, as you can see! I think it has turned out to be a keeper!

And there you have it… lunch on the patio! I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday weekend celebrating our country's freedom!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Please visit these wonderful ladies and their beautiful blogs to see what they are up to and to find a list of this week’s participants!
Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday
Rhoda at Southern Hospitality for Today’s Thrifty Treasures
Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday
Linda at Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday
Laurie at Bargain Hunting and Chatting with Laurie for A Few of My Favorite Things Saturday
See you next time! A la prochaine!

A Wonderful Package...or...Thanks, Cathy!

A wonderful package arrived at my door this morning!  I was so excited because I knew it was from Cathy at Mille Fleur! I was the lucky person who won her 100th post give-away! If you haven’t visited her yet, you are in for a treat! She is a sweet and generous lady with a beautiful blog!


Of course, as soon as it came in the door, the staff had to inspect it! I do appreciate their helpfulness, but finally managed to distract them with the shipping peanuts! Now I can show you what I found inside…


…all of these beautiful items…all from Anthropologie! Can’t you tell?  It’s as if they were chosen especially for me!


There was a creamy Provençal spice jar for thyme, a tall bottle with an amazing prism stopper and a gorgeous embroidered dishtowel…


…depicting a sweet bird tea party! I love it! The colors are perfect for my kitchen! The towel is already hanging from my stove! (And I dare anyone to use it! lol)


The pretty French thyme jar has found a place with my blue and white Spode plates!


And my little wheels are already turning for the beautiful bottle! I am now on the hunt for white buttons to fill it! It will join the vintage silver on my buffet! Have you ever seen a more beautiful collection of goodies? I am so excited! And that is not all…I also won a $40 gift certificate from CSN. I’m still working on how to spend it! Thank you so much, Cathy! You are one special lady…with fabulous taste, I might add! Be sure to visit her beautiful blog Mille Fleur to see more!
 I continue to be amazed by the kindness and generosity of my fellow bloggers! I count all of you among my blessings. Who knew that blogging could open up such a wonderful world filled with such amazing people? Thanks for the smiles that you bring daily!

A Sweet Surprise...and...Patio Peeping

Aren’t our fellow bloggers the most thoughtful people on earth? I was so excited to find a wonderful surprise in the mail this week from my sweet friend Sarah at Hyacinths for the Soul! It was wrapped in cute frenchy paper topped with a colorful tag in a checked pattern…Sarah’s signature!


I giggled out loud when I opened it because attached to the present was a lovely set of demitasse spoons... and…inside was one of my favorite French books!  I had to leave it behind when I retired since the book belonged to my school. Does she know me or what? Isn't she a wonderfully sweet and thoughtful friend?


The spoons are gorgeous, aren’t they? Sarah said that she found them at an estate sale and immediately thought of me. Can you see why? I love grapes! Look at the detail in the tiny bunches of grapes…beautiful!


The book is called Mots d’Heure: Gousses, Rames (sounds like Mother Goose Rhymes) and is a very clever play on words disguised as a manuscript of a 93 year old retired school teacher who died while grading papers! lol It is in French, but when read aloud sounds like English and is actually a collection of Mother Goose rhymes! I used to Xerox a few, have my students read them and wait for it to dawn on them! What fun! Can you recognize the ones shown above? Try reading them aloud...the answers are below.
Thanks so much, Sarah, for your thoughtfulness and some fun memories! You are a sweetie!
Answers: #1. Humpty Dumpty, #2. Little Jack Horner, #3. Little Miss Muffett.


And in case you are wondering how I actually managed to get a few photos without the staff getting into the act, here’s why…lots of action on our patio this spring!


Not only do we have our new neighbor, the baby bunny…


…but also an assortment of lizards sunning themselves…


..and a very angry mama mockingbird who brazenly came to the door to fuss at the staff!


Even my grandson and my granddog Paco have been enjoying the view! lol I hope that you are finding your day to be equally fun and interesting! Thanks so much for stopping by! See you next time! A la prochaine!

A Package, A Present...and...Party Preparations!

The kindness and generosity of my fellow bloggers never ceases to amaze me! This week I received two wonderful packages in the mail. And needless to say, my staff thoroughly enjoyed them, too! The first was from Linda at My Shabby Rose Cottage. You see, I won her Shotgun House Giveaway! (If you are not familiar with shotgun houses, click here to visit Linda’s amazing blog and to find out all about them.) And do you see what I won?? A cloche…a real cloche! Now I can participate in Marty’s Cloche Party at A Stroll Thru Life! Woo hoo! Thanks, Linda!

I put it on one of my lace doily plates from Pier 1 and added a little bird’s nest filled with real bluebird eggs form an abandoned nest. Hmmmm…I think I will need to practice before I join Marty’s party.

The second package came from my dear friend Gloria at Happy to Be! This package was “just because” from a very sweet and generous lady! Gloria said that these framed, hand painted plates reminded her of me. Aren’t they wonderful? They are from Helene Studios in Los Angeles in the 1950’s. The colors are perfect for my house, don’t you think? She also sent along this cute little oil and vinegar container. I can add these to my collection of items depicting regional costumes! Thanks, Gloria!

Aren’t our fellow bloggers wonderful people? I am so happy to be a part of blogland and to have the honor of knowing these warm and generous ladies! You add sunshine to my life on a daily basis!

Thanks so much for dropping by! Be sure to join Marty for her second Cloche Party on September 11th! Her last one was such a success that everyone voted to do it seasonally. And this time I won’t have to post pics of cloches that I spied at a local antique shop…I will have my own thanks to Linda! See you next time! A la prochaine!

Thanks, Mrs. Magpie...or...A Surprise and a Giveaway

A box arrived at my front door today. I am sooo excited because the sender is my wonderful friend Mrs. Magpie (Sheila) at The Quintessential Magpie! We won her follower’s giveaway…and it happened to be on Baby Kitty’s birthday! In true feline form, the staff decides to give the box a closer inspection. It’s full of those wonderful packing peanuts that make very interesting toys!

Baby Kitty generously shares the fun, but he knows that the package is addressed to him…and him alone…

…because the first thing we find is a photo of BK himself…engaged in his favorite pastime…licking!

Isn’t this a cute kitty frame? Baby Kitty loves it! So do I!

And what Mrs. Magpie didn’t know is that it will look so extra cute in my soon-to-be guest room! How do you like that for matching my decor? (Please ignore the painter’s tape! I will finish…one day….)

And that’s not all! Baby Kitty thinks these are for him, but I am going to claim these! Mrs. Magpie told me that they are the Aristocats! (How did she know that’s one of my favorite movies?) Aren’t they wonderful? These Staffordshire-style kitties are right up my alley because, you see..

…they match my favorite Quimper plate! They even have matching bows! Smile, everybody!

And they also match my new sheep! I have been eyeing him for months and finally brought him home with me. The funny thing is that Mrs. Magpie saw him in a previous virtual shopping post and that’s the reason she chose the kitties for me! Isn’t she a dear? Can you say purrrfect?

Everyone else got in line to meet the new kitties. The other kitties say “Welcome!” The little babies from Kathysue at RMS think they have found a new mom and dad! Mr. Mouse even offers them some tea. But the little bunny box has hopped over because he knows he has a brother at Mrs. Magpie’s, so maybe they will feel at home when they see him.

These beautiful kitties lived at Mr. and Mrs. Magpie’s nest for 15 years before coming here! They are very special kitties and will get lots of very special love and attention! Baby Kitty is making it his job to see that they feel welcome in their new home! He sends a big thank you to our dear friend Sheila, as do I! You are so sweet and generous to allow us to adopt your kitty babies and to send Baby Kitty a special picture frame for his birthday! We thank you and we are sending a big hug your way!

Be sure to stop by The Quintessential Magpie to pay Sheila a visit and to wish her a happy birthday, too! She is having an older than dirt giveaway in celebration of her birthday…but that can’t be! I’m the one who is older than dirt! lol Thanks for stopping by! See you next time! A la prochaine!