What do lavender sachets and Marie Antoinette have in common?

Marie's beautiful image is on a lavender sachet just listed in my Etsy shop, Elegant Farmhouse, that's what!
They are SO beautiful and fragrant and will add that little je ne sais quoi to YOUR elegant farmhouse with their beautiful vintage laces, millinery, and seam binding.  In case you miss out on Miss Marie, by the way, she has several friends in the shop that are equally lovely.

I'm linking up to Debra's Vintage Inspiration Friday. 
Until next time,

UPDATE:  Please join me in my Romantic Prairie Style Photo Challenge.  Show me your style! Click here to learn more.

Weekend Treasure Hunting

Hello Friends,

I thought I'd take a break from altering costumes for my son's Shakespeare play (yes, 5th graders doing Shakespeare-and they do it well!  Does that rock or what?), to say hello and show you a few of my finds from over the weekend.  I did a little thrifting and a lot of antiquing and came up with quite a few treasures, some for me, some for sale.  I am only showing you the white or white-ish ones since it is, after all, White Wednesday, possibly my favorite day of the week!  Least productive day of the week since I spend WAY too much time hopping around looking at all of the pretties, but still my fav!  ANYWAY, I scored the beautiful little glass apothecary jar shown above and below.  I saw it and just knew it had to be my new mother of pearl button container.  It's going to look great in my studio.

I got a set of 4 of these pretty little doilies.  I will use them for some project down the road.  Or maybe just enjoy them as doilies, who knows?  I think its important to keep an open mind, right?  My husband would tell me we could go broke keeping our minds so open, but he doesn't have to know everything!

I paid a lot for the heart shaped doily, but I have never seen a heart shaped doily before and I do have a special place in my HEART for heart shapes, so it just had to be.  I think this would be great incorporated into an altered blouse or in a beautiful Magnolia Pearl inspired purse or tote.  What do you think?
Or maybe into a lovely pillow inspired by my very talented blogging friend Rene' . Hmmmmm....  No Rene, I'm sorry, this one is mine.

These beautiful earrings are going to be cannibalized for their incredible beads and will be made into a necklace along with some of their vintage jewelry friends that I have been hoarding collecting for a year or so.  Well, no, I've never actually made a piece of jewelry, but I do have a couple of great books and I need to have a stash in order to get the proper inspiration, right?  Yeah, I think that's what the poor folks on that show "Hoarders" probably said 15 years prior to being "featured" on the show. Yikes!  There but for the grace of God...

This beautiful little fella (or maybe gal) almost didn't get picked up because of his very gold paint job.  But when I walked over and really looked at the detail, I realized that it just had to come home with me.  I will do a little makeover on him/her and subdue the paint a bit.  I'd like to leave a little of the gold and silver peeking through though. Any thoughts?  Email me or just comment on this post if you have any ideas on how to do this.  Come on, you gals are the most innovative, creative, and talented  people on the planet, I know you know.  (smile)

Just love the detail on that sweetie.  Ivy crown (or is it grape leaves?  A horticultural genius I am not, I leave that to my brilliant husband), bird's nest in the hand, sweet face... does it get any better?  Well, after a little make over it does, but other than that, I think not.

I almost fainted when I saw this incredible vanity tray.  Nuff said.

Swoon...

Lastly, the thrift store was a bit of a dud where home goods were concerned, but where clothing was concerned, I was pleased.  Check out this gorgeous top from one of my fav stores, White House Black Market.  I couldn't buy it fast enough.  Love its lace detail and the color is divine.  I'm thinking "date night".

Well ladies, must rock and roll.  I'm linking up with Kathleen at Faded Charm for White Wednesday.  YAY!

DON'T FORGET to enter my 100th post giveaway here.  Time is getting short for you to win a copy of Fifi O'Neill's Romantic Prairie Style and one of my lavender sachets.  Entries need to be in by midnight Mountain time tomorrow, March 31st with the winner being announced April 1st, so get on over there.  You'll be glad you did.

Until next time,

Pink Saturday Retrospective

 

Happy Pink Saturday!  I am super busy in my studio making some items for a friend's shop and enjoying a little time with my kids over spring break, but I wanted to participate in Beverly's wonderful Pink Saturday, so I hope you don't mind a little pink redux.  These are some of my favorite past Pink Saturday images.  I hope you enjoy them!  Light on text, heavy on pretty pictures...perfect for a nice Saturday. 

Don't forget my giveaway of Fifi's new book, Romantic Prairie Style.  Just leave a comment on the giveaway post by March 31st and the winner will be announced April 1st.  

I am linking up with Beverly's beautiful Pink Saturday.  Stop by and say hello to all of these cheery pinky ladies!

Until next time,

Gratitude from me...and a giveaway for you!

The Giveaway is now closed.

Hi Beautiful Friends,

I can't believe I am FINALLY composing my 100th post. YAY! First, I'd like to acknowledge some pretty wonderful people I've met through blogging. You are all awesome, but these gals have given me presents recently, so I do need to give them a special shout out!

I won a fabulous giveaway over at Paula's Castles and Cottages. She hand paints these beautiful Pottery Barn inspired plant holders which she made (or maybe DH made them, I can't remember), available in two sizes, and personalizes them with whatever your heart desires in whatever font you would like. She generously gave away the smaller one (which is still a substantial size) and personalized it to my specifications. After a few mock ups back and forth via email, I got this incredible piece in the mail. It is WONDERFUL. I haven't decided on its final hanging place, so I have used Paula's pic that she took when she finished it for me, but you will see this beauty again once it is hung (I'm very slow at making up my mind) and has something cool in its little holder. THANK YOU Paula from the bottom of my heart. You are incredibly talented and you'd better believe I will be coming by your way should I have any signage needs (and I'm thinking I just may).

Next, I was fortunate enough to win a sweet little giveaway over at Rhonda's place, A Little Bit French.  She is a very talented lady as well who hosts a monthly French Friday giveaway.  March was MY MONTH!  Those of you who read my previous post about never winning anything will note that perhaps my luck did indeed change.  Yippee! I hope so.  Anyway, this precious little bag came my way last week.  I absolutely love it. THANK you Rhonda!  Rhonda is headed to France in 11 days, so I'm going to refrain from being green with envy in light of your beautiful tresor you sent me!  LOL!

Lastly, I participated in the Pay It Forward project that I read about over at Michelle's beautiful blog, Petite Michelle Louise.  I was one of 5 commenters to her blog who were sent this beautiful handmade stamped seam binding by Michelle.  In return, each of us "paid it forward" by blogging about the project and sending a handmade gift to our first five commenters.  (And BTW, if you were one of my 5 commenters, your tresors are on the way as of Monday.  Hope you like them).   This is the pretty package that Michelle sent me:

Inside was this darling card.  There was also a pretty little hand stamped bag tucked in the back which had beautiful punches from old ephemera-I look forward to crafting with them, but I forgot to take a picture of them.  Trust me, they are wonderful as well.

THANK YOU, Michelle!  You know I'm a huge fan of yours anyway, but your generous spirit is something I'm also a fan of.

Okay, now if you've stuck with me this far, it is time for us to get to the GIVEAWAY which will commemorate my 100th post.  First, I will send you a pretty little lavender sachet, handcrafted by moi.

I may eventually add some of these to my Etsy shop, but my kiddos are on Spring Break this week, so probably not until next week. 

THEN, the piece de resistance....your very own copy of Fifi's new book, Romantic Prairie Style!!!!  I had pre-ordered mine AGES ago but I have to confess, the hype that was swirling around Blogland made me skeptical...you know, like when EVERYONE tells you how great a movie is or is going to be and you go and see it and you think...it's OKAY.  Too much build up, ya know?  Or maybe that's just me.  So, anyway, I kind of thought it might be like that.  AND, I have to say, over here at French Laundry, my style is a little more fancy than what I perceived the prairie style to be, so I figured it would be a bunch of interiors that maybe I didn't totally relate to.  Alright, all of that being said, when the book came, I was BLOWN AWAY!  Yeah, it's that good.  Not only are some of the ladies I've been cyber-stalking reading with enthusiasm for quite a while featured here, but also some folks I don't know who have the most amazing homes.  And the cool part is, the interiors truly run the gambit from ranch to cabin to elegant farmhouse (Wow!  That's a great name, maybe I should open an Etsy shop called that-oh yeah, already did!). It has been one that I have absolutely salivated over on page after page.  Glad to say, the hype was justified.   As you will see,  it is an awesome book and is being provided as a giveaway from the great publishers at CICO books.  If you aren't the lucky winner here, you can order your very own copy from them here.

HERE'S HOW YOU WIN:

1.  Leave a comment on this post for one chance.

2.  Become a follower of my blog or if you are already a follower, just let me know for another chance.

3.  Give my giveaway a shout out on your blog or on your sidebar, on Facebook, or Twitter.

You MUST leave a separate comment for each of these.  You can do one of them or all of them, for a total of 3 chances to win.  The giveaway will be open until midnight MDT on March 31st and the winner will be announced on APRIL 1st (no foolin'!).  Good luck and thanks for being my pals and listening to my rambling over the last 100 posts.  I am full of gratitude for all of the wonderful folks out here that love and support, pray and lift up, and beautify and inspire, day after day.  You guys ROCK.

Linking up with Kathleen's White Wednesday because it's the place to be!  LOL!

Until next time,

Just checking in...

Hi sweet friends,

Just a quick hello to let you know I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. I just don't know where the time goes.  One moment I just put out a blog post, the next moment, a week has passed, then almost two.  I know part of it is my own level of busy-ness, trying to take care of my family and run my online stores, but I also think that part of it is that blogging about the minutia of my life in the wake of the terrible tragedy in Japan just seems trivial.  I don't know, maybe I'm just in a slump.  I have a few things to share with you, but I think for now, I will just take a moment to be grateful for my family, my home, my friends, clean water to drink, a warm bed to sleep in, and food in my belly.

I'll be back soon.  I have to be.  I will with my next post be celebrating the longest time in Blogger history that a person took to reach their 100th post.  Yes, with my very next post, I will be hitting 100-you know, the number that most of you probably hit after 6 months or less?  Yeah, it took me...well, I do have to tell you in my own defense that I broke away from blogging for much of 2010, but really, over 2 years?  Yes, there you have it.  TWO years.  PLUS.  Oh well, it is what it is.  And, of course, you know what that means is in store.  Yes, you know the drill....A GIVEAWAY.  I'm not going to tell you what you will have a chance to win, but I'll give you some hints.  Hot off the presses, possibly THE most anticipated event in Blogland for quite some time, many of our friends are featured in the most yummy thing I've seen in a long time...well, I've probably said too much, but I think you know where I'm going with this.  And you can get it here for FREE.  Plus another goody or two just for good measure.  If you have no clue, check back next week and find out.  If you do have a clue, you know you want it.  Don't be shy, come by and enter to win.

In the meantime, please keep the people of Japan in your prayers and donate to any of the reputable charities out there in any amount you can.  I can't imagine the devastation and then there's the worry about the nuclear power plant melting down.  It just keeps getting more and more surreal.  These folks are going to need so much in the next weeks, months, years, but for now, many of them just need food and shelter and hope.  Do what you can and remember there can never be too many prayers offered up.

With love until next time,

Mostly White Wednesday and...Charlie Sheen???

What, you ask, could White Wednesday have to do with Charlie Sheen?  Well, if you have even peripherally caught some of the rants of this latest train wreck ("winning"), you know that Dear Charlie has two live in girlfriends which he calls...now here it is....the reason for my catchy title...are you ready?

THE GODDESSES

Now I certainly can't condone Charlie boy's actions as of late (although I do think we are witnessing a very sad, very real meltdown of a person's life), I do have to agree with him in his admiration of goddesses.  I have long been fascinated by the figural representations of goddesses and, as I am wont to do, went on a mission to see how many I could find around my home.  I know there are more, but my light was fading fast and dinnertime loomed.  

This beauty resides in my bathroom...

This lovely Mucha lady lives in our upstairs hall...

A gift from a dear friend that occupies a little spot in the dining room...

The following all reside in my studio...perhaps they are the goddesses of creative inspiration???

This stunning old door which is propped up in a corner was painted by the very talented Lori Gutierrez.

How could I not feel happy just looking at this beauty?

I hope you enjoyed this little mini tour of my goddesses.  This week, I wish for you to find your creative muse, whatever your method of expression is, and embrace the goddess within yourself.  For more great inspiration, go over to visit Kathleen at Faded Charm for White Wednesday.  You'll be glad you did.

Until next time,

Pay It Forward

I am participating in a great blog event called "Pay it Forward 2011".  I heard about it from the lovely Michelle from Petite Michelle Louise and I just knew I needed to be a part of it.  Here is the deal:

The first 5 people who comment on this post will receive a gift handmade by me, Judy of French Laundry.  In return, you must write a blog post explaining Pay It Forward 2011 and send your first 5 commenters a gift handmade by you.  It's a great way to make new friends and spread some handmade love around Blogland.  With all of the talent that abounds around here, it should be a very fun time. No rush to send them out today or even tomorrow, but do make sure you send them out.

"It's not the size of the item that matters, but the spirit 
of paying it forward."

Let's pay it forward!

Until next time,

OK my friends, I have my 5 gals, so the "Pay It Forward" on this blog is now closed.  If you hop on over to any of my commenters' blogs, you will no doubt get a chance to play along.  Thanks for responding so quickly.  I need to get busy making your gifts now!

A Good Day Junkin'

Still beats a good day at work.  OK, I know, the phrase is, "a bad day junkin' beats a good day at work", but I had a GOOD day junkin', so EVEN BETTER!!!  I went out to a couple of places this weekend, one which I go to once in a while, and one that I'd never been to before, and look what I came up with.

10 count em 10 uncut yards of super wide crocheted lace-it is probably almost a foot wide.  Would this be great on a bed skirt or couch skirt, or WHAT?

And then there's this stool.  Is it cute or is it cute???   Oh wait, I know the answer...loving those worm holes or whatever they are on the top.

I can't seem to pass up cute bags of crochet thread.  You'd think I crocheted or something!  I'll use the creamy ones with some others I have for display in an apothecary jar.  The pastel ones will no doubt end up in a pretty sewing box that I will put together for sale on Our Cottage Garden.  The little pink tissue napkins will probably land in some type of art project since I'm not too keen on using them as napkins.  Like the thought of the pretty vintage-ness of it, not sure about the vintage germs (I am a microbiologist, ya know).

Love the vintage tobacco tin and the old bottle.  The bottle will be dolled up, the tin I bought to alter, but I'm sort of liking it as is, so I may just leave it and put it on Etsy.

Then, as if I weren't having a good enough time, what did my little eye spy? 

A LARGE cement Madonna (the mother of Jesus, not the pop star).  Her chippy multi layered paint called me over and beckoned me to take a closer look.  I have to admit, I started looking around as though everyone must surely be laying in wait for me to make my move and then walk on so they could swoop in.  But perhaps that was just the Jeanne d'Arc Living lover in me making me paranoid. (Speaking of that, have you seen the new issue???  SHREAK!  I think it may just be my favorite one yet.  But I digress.)  I still did the cool, disinterested mosey-over just in case.  You know the one I'm talking about-if you're a junker, you've done it.  Yep, cool as a cucumber, that was me.  Look at something close to the piece for a little bit, then casually let your eye wander down to the item you're really interested in.  Then, without looking TOO interested, check it out.  Look like maybe, if you want, I could take it off your hands...pull off price tag, just in case someone else might be lurking.  Try not to skip on the way to cashier.  

 

She's not in a proper place yet, but I had to share a little peek with you because you guys "get it".  Mr. FL, not so much, but I'm used to it (and so is he).  Anyway, when she is situated, I'll take some more pics and share them with you.  I told Mr. FL I intended to sell her and honestly, I planned on it, but she's like a hundred pounds and I'm not sure I want to take that on, and well...she is so pretty.  And chippy.  And perfect.  And...well, you know.  

And on that note, I think I've babbled on enough for one post.  Do you have a favorite junking story?  Like a purchase for sale that, well, never made it to the shop?  Come on, we're friends, you can tell me!

Until next time,

Linking up with Kathleen's White Wednesday. Come on over and join the fun.