Glittered Parisian Postcard Christmas Ornaments

Bonjour Mes Amis!

Oooh, la, la, it's beginning to look like a glittered Parisian Christmas here at the Chateau!

I first started making these Paris postcard ornaments several years ago and offering them in my Etsy shop.  

I hadn't planned on creating any this year, but had several buyers request them.  So I thought it would be a great excuse to make some more!

I had so much fun creating them, butI forgot how time consuming the ornaments were!  I began by mounting gorgeous copies of vintage Parisian Christmas postcards to masonite boards that hubby cut out for me 

(I'm so thankful that I have a handy hubby!) 

I hand painted each board front and back creamy white, followed by a bit of distressing and an antiquing glaze to give them Old World charm.

 Above is one of my favorites, sweet little birdies flying over Sacre Couer 

(or, "Church of the Sacred Heart").

 I added my wonderfully crinkly seam binding ribbon, jingle bells that I spray painted silver and coated in fine sparkly glitter (yes, I said I spray painted the bells!  If something isn't the right color, I never hesitate to paint it!!)

 The piece de la resistance are these gorgeous glittered paper roses, which I've created from pages from a vintage French book.  They are a very lengthy process and are truly a labor of love!  Of course I had to add tiny rhinestones to the centers for more bling!

 The look so pretty hanging from a tree with their wire hangers!  Or you could display them in pretty bowls, or give as a nice gift!

 I also had to add glitter and more rhinestones to the cards, as you can never have to much glitter or bling!!

 I'm also offering them with the option of red crinkly seam binding ribbons.

 You find them in my Etsy shop, if you care to take a peek!

 A few last shots!

I wanted to thank all of you for your prayers for Nana Diana's sweet little grandson.

He has been very sick, and in the ICU for many days with a mysterious illness. Thankfully, it appears to have been hopefully solved!  Please continue to pray for him, and for Diana and her family.  They truly appreciate the outpouring of support they've received.  You can read more about it here.

Please Pray for This Little Boy

Hello and Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Today is a day that we can gather together with family and friend's, enjoying not only a feast, but each other's company as well.

While you are busy preparing, could you please remember this sweet little boy in your prayers?

He is the grandson of my dear blogging friend Nana Diana.

He is very sick, and has been in the ICU for several days.

The doctor's have been running lots of tests, to try and find out what is wrong and making him so sick.

My heart goes out to Diana and her family and this sweet little boy.  Please pray for healing and for comfort for the family as well.  I know that Diana appreciates each and every prayer.

Graduation Day!

We have a graduate!

For the past 6 weeks, we've been taking little Katie to PetSmart for obedience classes.

It was our final class last night, and all of the dogs got to wear little graduation caps for photos!  It was hilarious!

Katie turned 10 months old today, and has made alot of progress since starting "school".  We've been working on the basics like "stay", "leave it", "come", and much more.  This past week, she learned "high-five", it's so funny to watch!!  Of course, she is still a wild and crazy little puppy, there is never a dull moment here at the Chateau!

 Our trainer was great, she really knows her stuff!  She made class time fun, and really has a deep love of dogs.
I plan on taking Katie back in the spring for the intermediate class.

My goal is to eventually have Katie become a certified therapy dog, so that she can visit hospitals, nursing homes, etc.  She really loves people, and she has a way of melting the hearts of everyone she meets!
Edited to add:
On a somber note, I just heard that the sweet little grandson of Nana Diana is very sick, and was admitted into the ICU.  The dr's are doing lots of tests, as they don't know what is wrong.  Could you please pray for him, as well as the family?  I can't imagine dealing with something so scary, he is just a little guy.  You can read about it here.  Thank you, I know that Diana really would appreciate it!

Wishing you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Easy Christmas Gift Tag Ideas

Bonjour Mes Amis!

It's been a brisk and windy day here at the chateau, so I've been staying cozy inside working in my craft room!

Today I thought I'd share with you some pretty gift tags that I made the other day, that are super easy, and make use of little scraps of paper and bits of cord and ribbon that you may already have on hand.
Pretty much all you need are scissors, a hole punch, glue stick, images of your choice, cord or twine, and scrapbooking paper and some glitter glue.

I began by cutting my tags from chipboard (sorry, I didn't get a shot of that!).  I actually never buy chipboard, I just save the inserts that often come in picture frames.  Whenever I come across chipboard like cardboard in various packaging, I squirrel it away, as you never know when it will come in handy!  

Why buy something when you don't have to, right?!

For the angel tags above, I used a gorgeous image of a pretty angel, compliments of the Graphics Fairy.  I also found the French Christmas sheet music there as well. 

I covered the backs of all of the tags with pretty Christmas scrapbooking paper and vintage sheet music.  

 Here's a look at some of my tags.

 Aren't these chandelier tags the cutest?  I thought the paper was so pretty, so I kept these tags simple and just embellished with some glitter glue.  Luckily I happened to have some red and white baker's twine left over from Valentine's day projects, so all I did was punch holes in the top of each tag and add the twine.

 Here's what the backsides look like.

 I also happened to have a few of these pretty dimensional snowflake stickers left from last year.

 More tags, front and back.

Since these tags are weightier and more substantial made with the chipboard, and many of them oversized, the recipient could hang them from their Christmas tree if they wanted to.  

 The little birdy tags below are some of my favorites!  I made a bunch of them last year too similar to this.  A sweet little chickadee and vintage sheet music, as well as pretty vintage gold cording, makes for a charming addition to your packages.

 Of course you know how much I love glitter!  And the holidays are a great excuse for me to add some sparkle to just about everything (not that I need an excuse!!).

So I used my favorite glitter glue "Stickles" to add some bling to all of the tags.

 Isn't this little metal caddy just the cutest?  I found it awhile back at the thrift store, and just love it!  It's perfect for storing my crafting supplies as I'm working on projects.

 I thought about embellishing each little pot, but I actually am enjoying it as is for now!

Hope this gives you some ideas for making your own tags.

I think they would be so pretty on a simply wrapped gift, hung from a bottle of wine as a hostess gift, or even give a set to a friend as a little gift!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

In a few days I'll be sharing with you some of my stenciling experiments. I'm having a blast using my DecoArt stencils and chalk paint!

Exciting News!

Bonjour Mes Amis!

Hope you are having a great week so far!

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by the Creative Marketing Director of DecoArt.  She found me thru my Etsy shop, and wondered if I would like to be a part of their Design Team.  DecoArt would send me products to try (they produce some amazing decorative paints, specialty finishes, and more), and I would create pieces for them.  Some I could keep or sell in my shop if I chose, other pieces would end up as sample work in craft stores such as Michael's or Hobby Lobby, as well as appear at their trade shows.  

Hmmmm, let me think about it............

  Let's see, receive a bunch of products to play with, and get paid for my creations????

Yes, Yes, Yes!!!

At first I thought that this was just too good to be true, maybe this was just someone's idea of a joke??

When I discovered that it was indeed true, I let myself get excited!

I honestly thought that I would be receiving just a small bottle or jar of paint for starters.

Well, look what the UPS man delivered to me yesterday!

 Wow!  I could hardly believe my eyes!  I was literally squealing with excitement as I opened box after box of paint.  Over 3 dozen jars of their Chalky Finish Paint, decorative finishes, waxes, and more!

 And dozens of little bottles of their craft paint, in a rainbow of colors!

 It felt like an early Christmas here at the Chateau!

 And, if that weren't enough, a huge stack of gorgeous stencils.  I am in love with their amazing Frenchy stencils, I can hardly wait to try them out!

 So, I am super excited, not only for all of the wonderful products, but for the chance to create for DecoArt.

 To say that I am thrilled and flattered is putting it mildly!

Can't wait for my first "assignment"!

I'll be sure to share with you my creations:)

 Have a great day!

Some of My Latest Creations

Bonjour Mes Amis!

Well, another week has flown by, and we are already halfway thru the month of November!

There just doesn't seem to be enough time in the day to complete all of the projects and ideas that are swirling thru my head (I am sure you can relate!).  And with the holiday season fast approaching, I know that it's time for me to try and get super organized (notice I said "try"!).

So today I thought I'd share with you some of my latest creations that I've added to my Etsy shop.

 I'm always hunting for frames to paint, and when I find a matching pair, I quickly snatch them up!  For these little cuties, I've added copies of gorgeous vintage floral wallpaper.  I am really loving the look!

 Why didn't I think of that sooner?  I can't wait to put some more together!

Love the sweet flowers and colors, too!

 Next up is a set of glass vases, that I hand painted in pretty shades of coral. I've been having fun playing with coral, it's a popular color right now.  And it's also really popular to use painted vases at weddings, bridal showers, baby showers, and more!

 I gave these a generous dose of distressing, and embellished them with some of my glittered hydrangea blossoms, all tied on with sweet creamy cotton lace.

 Love how all of the details just pop, with the addition of the paint and distressing!

 I never realized just how much I love coral!  For the frame below (that comes with glass and backing), I mixed up my own pretty hue, and was pleased with the end result!  Love the pretty wooden appliques at each corner.

 You've probably seen my frame collections in the past.  They are one of my favorite things to do.  I hunt weekly for interesting frames that I can paint.  While the recipient can of course add their own photos or artwork to the frames, for their photo shoots I like to add decorative papers to jazz things up at bit!

For this set I painted the frames, all vintage, gray, cream, and pale pink (love that combo!).

 The frames all have great curves  Isn't this gray one cute?

 And you know how much I love chalkboards!

I repurposed this vintage Homco frame into a new and pretty chalkboard.

I hand painted it a very pale pink.  Notice the cute little flowers that go all along the border?

 And still feeling in a coral mood, I painted this sweet cottage style shelf the same pinky coral that I did the larger picture frame that I shared with you.

 Shelves are always very popular in my shop, and this one just sold.

The other goodies can be seen here if you want to take a peek!

Have a great weekend!