Jeanne d'Arc Inspired Arrangement

Bon Jour Mon Amis!

I hope that you are staying warm and cozy today!  We have a fire going here at the Chateau, it is brrrrrr cold outside!!

Today I wanted to share with you a simple arrangement that I put together.  I have been pouring over the pages of Jeanne d"Arc Living magazine, that my friend Debbie at Love of the Sea sent to me.  The magazine (a book, really) is studded with page after page of gorgeous rooms, and tons of inspiration.  While I didn't draw this arrangement directly from its' pages, I think if it as being "Jeanne inspired"!

My mom gave me this gorgeous glittery angel last week.  Isn't she beautiful?  She is actually an ornament, but I thought it would be fun to use her in an arrangement.

I just love her!  She is even prettier in person than in the photos.

I began with a vintage milk glass bowl, that has the prettiest bubble pattern.

 I then added a bunch of greenery, both real and faux, and some spray painted and glittered (of couse!) pinecones as well as a few faux berries.

Simple, yet so pretty I think.   I really love the "icy" greenery!

And here is one last look!

 Have a great day, 11 more days 'til Christmas!!
I've linked up today's post with Faded Charm for the wonderful White Wednesday party!

Coastal Christmas Candle

It's another blustery, snow covered day here at the Chateau!  What better day than to show you this beachy candle that I created!  One of my favorite supporters of my Etsy shop (who also happens to be a friend!) commissioned me to create for her a "Coastal Christmas" jar candle.  For someone who has always lived in a cold climate, I must admit that the idea of a coastal Christmas is a relatively new idea for me!

Of course, for those of you who dwell in warm climates, this is nothing new to you!  So, in order to get some inspiration for this piece, I decided to Google "coastal Christmas", and this is what I came up with:

hahahahah!!  Not quite the look I was going for!

I recalled seeing a beautiful copy of vintage French Christmas sheet music over at The Graphics Fairy, which is my favorite place to find gorgeous images.  If you have never visited, be sure to check it out!  Karen never disappoints, and shares some beautiful images with us daily!

Aaaaah!  This is more of what I had in mind!  I added this pretty sand dollar from a piece of scrapbooking paper that I had purchased in Maui last winter.  I wish that I had gotten more of this paper, as I've never seen any like it here!

 I t's a bit hard to see here, but I also added some really neat paper (from the same Maui shop) that looks like woven grass cloth.  In person, it is amazingly realistic!

Of course I had to glitter the entire candle, so it will look magical when lit!
I just looked down at my keyboard as I was typing this, and I noticed glitter all over the keyboard.  Hmmmm...........now how did that happen??!!

And to further tie in the coastal and Christmas themes, I added a couple of jingle bells, that I painted an antique bronze tone and applied a bit of glitter to, as well as a pretty shell that I picked up on one of our trips.  I used my handy dandy dremil tool to drill a hole in the shell, then added some glitter and hung from a gold cord.  Oh, I added some of my favorite taupe seembinding which I crinkled, and made a generous bow and hung the bells on the ends.

I'm really happy with how it turned out!  I think I'm getting the hang of this "Coastal Christmas" thing!
I'm linking up with the following great parties. Check them out for some great ideas!
The Graphics Fairy

Our Snowy Chateau

Greetings Ladies!
This morning we awoke to the most beautiful site at the Chateau!  The rain that we were having last night turned to a wet and heavy snow, turning everything into a winter wonderland!  I just came in from snapping these shots, so now I am warming up with a cup of hot cocoa.  The wind is really picking up, and more than once a bunch of that wet snow fell from the trees right smack dab on my face!  It was a bit cold, to say the least!  (You can click on each photo once to enlarge it if you want.)

Our Chateau

As you can see from our flag, it was really getting windy!

The view looking away from our house.  This pretty light has the most magical twinkling lights!!

The shrubs look so pretty in their blanket of snow!

I just love the way our retaining wall looks with all of the snow on it!!

That is one chilly looking little birdie!

View of our backyard and the woods behind our house.  So pretty and so peaceful!

A quick and easy arrangement of some greenery and pinecones.  I actually used faux snow on this.  It was my first time using the flocking, and I learned the hard way that it is best to spray it outside!  Boy, does that stuff make a mess!

Another snow shot, and a few birds braving the elements to dine at our feeders!

Hope you all are having a warm and cozy day!

Snowman Mantlescape

Hello Ladies!
Can you believe that in two short weeks, Christmas Day will be here?!  How are you doing with all of your preparations?  I finally got our house all decked out from head to toe, but of course there always seems to be last minute decorating and crafting projects calling my name!!  Today I wanted to give you a little "tour" of our mantle, which I have decorated with my beloved snowmen.

I just love this little guy!  He looks vintage, though he is not, and of course he came covered in glitter!

Candles, snowmen and greenery.

 My mom gave me this pair of dapper looking wooden snowmen candleholders years ago. Aren't they cute?

I made several of these votives last year.  I just took some glass votives that I already had on hand, and used a bit of Mod Podge to adhere some scrapbooking paper with a sheet music motif.  Easy, peasy!!

 

 This little cutie is one of my favorites!!

 I made this large pinecone wreath several years ago from pinecones that I collected on our walks. It's really heavy!  Until yesterday, it was in it's natural state.  I decided to spray it with some Heirloom white, and then added a bunch of Martha glitter.  I do like the way the Heirloom white makes it pop against the dark brick, though I wish that I'd have used a bit less of the paint and let some more of the natural color show thru!  Oh well, no going back now!!

And here is a look with all of the lights off, and a roaring fire going!

Santa Paws!  What a serious looking little face! Notice her jingle bell collar?

And here it is with the lights on!  Fun and festive!  I usually wait 'til Christmas Eve to put our stockings up.  Part of that reason is that they do not match like so many of yours!:)  I've been trying my best not to buy anything new this Christmas, decor wise, and I'm not much of a seamstress, so I haven't taken the time to make matching ones.  Maybe I will get brave between now and Christmas and try and stitch some up!
Well, thanks so much for joining me on the tour!  Can't wait to see what you talented girls have been up to!  Have a great weekend!
I am linking up with the following fun parties:
Beyond the Garden Gate Tete's 2nd Hand Collection Party

Snowman Mantelscape

A Hand Crafted Christmas

Greetings, ladies!
My very favorite type of Christmas decorations are those that have been created by hand!  Sure, I love to buy new ornaments every now and then (especially hard to resist them after the holidays, when they can be purchased for a song!).  But to me those that have been crafted by hand have so much more meaning.  So, I thought I would share some that we have on our tree.

One of our neighbors hand paints ornaments and presents us with a new one each year.  Isn't this cardinal gorgeous?  I love birds, and have quite a few bird themed ornaments on our tree, so this is one of my favorites!

I had so much fun creating these ornaments that I filled with hand torn pages from vintage sheet music books.  I have them in my Etsy shop.

A few years ago, hubby and I took a trip to Nova Scotia, so our neighbor painted us this pretty lighthouse at Peggy's Cove, which we were lucky enough to visit.

And I love this pretty angel that she painted!

A cute little angel ornament that my mom hand stitched.

Another angel, that a favorite Aunt of mine created.  Doesn't she have the sweetest face?

And she made this little cutie, too. Love her wings!

Another of our neighbors creations, which she painted in honor of the beautiful swans that live on our lake.

I picked up this adorable little Santa at a garage sale a few years back.

 I made this set of Parisian Ornaments for my Etsy shop.  I've been having to much fun making these pretty paper roses from vintage book and sheet music pages!

 I made a bunch of these ornaments last year from milk weed pods.

A couple of shots of our tree.  It's really tall!!  We even have to wire it to the door frame!
I'll share more of our ornaments and decor over the next several days with you.  Have a great night!