Springtime in Paris

Bon jour, Mon Amis!

Ahhhhh, spring time in Paris!  What could be better than that?

Since I'm having a bit of "blogger's block", and having trouble coming up with topics to post about (not wanting to bore you with more of my latest painting projects!), I thought for a change I'd share with you photos from a few of our past trips to the City of Lights.

 So, if you've been visiting here for awhile, some of these shots may look familiar!

 Hubby and I were walking along a side street in Paris one morning, when we came upon this adorable little cafe.  It was too early for lunch, but I just had to snap a photo of the menu du jour written on the chalkboard.  How charming, and oh, so French!

 Don't you just love these gorgeous blue shutters?  I snapped this shot in Monmarte, which is the area of Paris that all of the French Impressionists liked to hang out at, back in the late 1800's.

 A pretty flower shop, across the street from our hotel.

 This is the view from our hotel balcony. We stay at the same little hotel each time we visit Paris.  If we are lucky, we get a corner room, where we can see the towers of Notre Dame.

 Not a very good picture of me!  But, I wanted to show you the amazing Chateau de Chantilly.  We took the train from Paris for a day trip to visit here.

 I was in love with the beautiful painted ceilings!  I remember we ate lunch at a little outdoor cafe on the grounds, where we had the most amazing dessert (wish I had gotten a shot of it!) of fresh fruits and Chantilly Cream.  How could whipped cream taste so good?

 A view of the towers of Notre Dame at sunset. This is our favorite part of the city!

 Oooh, la, la!  Check out the red, white and blue chocolate Eiffel Towers in the window of this patisserie!  Yum!

 Another favorite site that I never would tire of seeing!  I snapped this shot from the top of the Arc de Triumph.

 Ok, for the life of me I can't remember the name of this chateau.  We took the train to visit here for the afternoon.  It was just as amazing as Versaille, which we've been fortunate to visit twice so far.

 Sorry for the blurry shot!  Can you imagine waking up in this every morning?

 The chateau had the most amazing chandeliers!  Love this one!

And last of all, one of our favorite markets, just a few blocks from our hotel.  Aren't these flowers amazing?

Hubby and I are planning a trip to Paris this September, we can hardly wait!  We've never visited the city in the fall, and are really looking forward to it. Thanks for joining me today, hope you all have a great weekend!

Au Revoir!

Old World Style Chalkboard

Bon jour, Mon Amis!

We're getting some much needed sun here today in the Pacific Northwest!  Yeah!

I've been showing you some of the chalkboards that I've been creating lately, and today I thought I'd share with you a few more that I've made.

 I think this gorgeous gold baroque style chalkboard is one of my new favorites!  When I discovered the frame last week, I just knew that it would be perfect transformed into a chalkboard. Can you believe it, I actually decided not to paint this beauty!  I know, you are probably shocked that I didn't cover up all of that gold, but I thought it was so stunning as is! 

 It features lovely raised details, and an elegant black velvet insert.

 I had Mr. Chateau cut a masonite board for me that I then covered in chalkboard vinyl.

 And viola!  A gorgeous Old World style chalkboard was born!

 Ok, I couldn't resist sharing with you a few more of my latest chalkboard creations.  I wish that I had gotten a before shot of this one.

 It began as a boring dark green frame, but I just knew that with the addition of these pretty floral wooden appliques, and my favorite cream paint, it could be a shabbyliscious chalkboard!

 And here is yet another one that I just made!  As you may have guessed, I've been keeping hubby quite busy cutting boards for me!  Anyway, this wood frame has such pretty carved details, and a linen like fabric insert. Again, I painted it my favorite creamy color, followed by a generous amount of distressing (my favorite form of stress relief!).

 Anyway, this wood frame has such pretty carved details, and a linen like fabric insert that I really love. Again, I painted it my favorite creamy color, followed by a generous amount of distressing (my favorite form of stress relief!).

 I've added all of these chalkboards to my Etsy shop, if you care to take a look!

If you haven't already heard, Debra over at Common Ground (love her beautiful blog!), is now hosting "Marketplace Monday's", where you can link up to two items from your Etsy shop, or other on line boutique.  I am super excited, as I think it's a great way to not only gain more exposure for our shops, but also find some interesting treasures from other sellers and creators as well!  Be sure to check it out!

I'm linking up with Faded Charm for White Wednesday
My Romantic Home Show & Tell Friday

Blue & Aqua

As you may have already noticed, I spend alot of my time painting and transforming found treasures.  Alot of time!  So today I thought I'd share with you a few of my latest creations, painted my favorite baby blue, and bright aqua!

 For me, half the fun of creating is the searching!  There is hardly a week that goes by without me hunting for goodies that I can makeover.  My latest obsession passion is picture frames!  I've been putting together quite a few sets for my Etsy shop, and think it's so much fun to unite them all with the same color.

 This is one of my current favorite sets.  I added vintage sheet music to one of the frames.  Love the sepia tone against the baby blue.  I was thrilled to find these vintage metal frames.  Once a "gaudy gold", I think they are so much prettier now!

 Ok, one of these days I really do need to remember to take a before shot of these vintage desk organizers!  I've been lucky enough to find 5 or 6 of them, that I have given an entirely different look to.  Once a dark brown, I think it easily would've been passed up.

 But no more!

 I've added all of these lovelies to my Etsy shop, if you'd like to check them out!

For those of you in states hit by the recent tornadoes, my thoughts and prayers go out to you.  Stay safe!
I'm linking up with Debra at Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday

Fun French Themed Projects

 Hello ladies, hope that you are all having a great weekend!

Today I  thought I'd share with you a set of pretty French themed note cards that I made the other day.

 I love making cards, not only for my own use, but to give as gifts.  I've made many cards like this in the past, that you may have seen if you've been with me for awhile.  This particular set is my very favorite, as I started with copies from a print that I purchased in Paris a few years ago.

 Anyway, I covered premade blank cards with vintage sheet music, some of which was actually in French!  Then I added the sweet images, which are advertisements for French soap.  Aren't they just the cutest?

 It's hard to tell in these photos, but I've also added a generous dusting of glitter to the cards (of course!), then finished them off with pretty crinkly taupe seam binding.

 I always include a small gift with my Etsy orders.  For larger orders, I like to give a little something more as a thank you, so I gave these cards to one of my customers this week as a special surprise.  I think she will like them!

 This is the original print that I began with.

 While I was working on this project, I thought of another one that a made about 1 1/2 years ago using this same print.  I did a post about it way back then, but thought I would share it with you again!

 I think this has got to be one of my all time favorite projects.  But, instead of keeping it myself like I wish that I had, I ended up selling it in my Etsy shop.  What was I thinking?

 Anyway, this is what it looked like when I bought it from a friend's garage sale.  I knew that it had lots of shabby potential!  you can read about the transformation here if you'd like.

 The cabinet held a surprise, too!  Open the door, and viola!  I lined her with vintage French book pages!

 Oh how I wish that I had kept her!  Do you ever do that?  Get rid of something that you really, really love, then regret it???  Well, that just means that I need to find another cabinet similar to this, so that I can create one all for myself!!

That's it for today!  Hope you have a great one!

Mirror Chalkboard Combo Project

Hello ladies!

Hope you all are having a great week!  It's a soggy day here in the Pacific Northwest, a perfect day for playing in my workroom, and sipping a cup of hot cocoa!
Since I've been on a chalkboard kick lately, I thought I would share my latest transformation with you.

I found this vintage piece and an estate sale recently.  Of course, it didn't look anything like this when I discovered it in a dark and dusty corner!

But, I'll wait til the end to show you what she began life as!!  First off, I added this pretty wooden fleur de lis to give it a Frenchy feel.  I then painted it my favorite cream, and distressed it to give it that time worn appeal.

As this is a vintage frame, it features lots of nicks and little dents, which I think makes it even more shabbyliscious!

And guess what???! This chalkboard is hiding a secret!

It is also a mirror!  That was hubby's idea (I was impressed that he came up with it himself!).  To the back side of the mirror, I added chalkboard vinyl.  So, just remove the wooden backing, flip the chalkboard over, and viola!!  Two looks in one!

Ok, are you ready to see the "before"????  This photo nowhere near captures just how "icky" it was when I discovered it.  Covered in dust and dirt, it looked as if it had never, ever been cleaned!  I told hubby that I bet no one else at that sale would've been willing to buy it!!

Now that she's been given a new lease on life, she is residing in my Etsy shop, if you care to take a peek!

I think she is much happier now, don't you think??

Linking up with Faded Charm for White Wednesday 
Boogieboard Cottage Masterpiece Monday