French Poppy

cross-stitch & cocoa

It's rainy and a little chilly today, so what better time to start a cross-stitch sampler and have a cup of warm cocoa.  Actually I should be in my little room working on my cards that need to go to the post office, but I am waiting for the UPS man to show up with a few items I need to finish my cards.  Why do companies say things will be to you next day, when they never are?  It really drives me nuts.  So I decided to stay productive and relax with my hot chocolate and a new cross-stitch.  I love cross-stitching, and it really has become a lost art, well at least when it comes to finding supplies and the craft stores.  I remember you used to be able to find so many different patterns and cloth, now it's not so easy. 

I found this wonderful little book here!  It is called Petits messages au point de croix!  All of the instruction are in french and about the author.  I have no idea what the instructions really say, but sometimes I use this site a lot for translating french phrases.   Once in a while I think the translations get messed up, but you can usually get the gest of it.  I do hope cross-stitching becomes popular again.  I love it and embroidery, but there is just something special about those samplers.  Thank you for your time and if you happen to know where to buy some really good cross-stitching supplies via internet, please let me know!  I would love to find some good linen to do some of these cute little samplers on. 

Teresa

Lovin' these colors....

I don't know if it's the artist in me or what, but my mind is always full of different colored palettes.  Right now I am loving robin egg blue mixed with a lighter colored green, forgive me because I don't know what color of green exactly it is, but it's a pale green.  Mixing in some old gold vintage framed items and some floral in the same color family.  This little robin egg blue dresser is in my bathroom, so now so will this little green color.  Robin egg blue is multi-functional isn't it.  It's great with red, white, pink,  black, just about any color.  I even think orange goes with it.  What color combinations are you loving?   

Vintage Barn Show Weekend!

It's Sunday night, I am pretty tired.  We did a lot of lifting, standing, and lifting this weekend for the fall Vintage Barn Antique show.  Sorry there is no link to a website yet, but maybe they will have one soon.  The show is very similar to the The Farm Chicks show.  Which by the way I have to share the exciting news that I have been invited to be a vendor at their new show this coming June!  I was and am very elated about this.  Also, I have been invited to the Portland Gift & Accessories Show this January.  Busy times ahead for French Poppy Greetings!  Let's look at some photos of this weekend's show okay? 

 

 

Honestly I didn't get as many snap shots as I wanted to.  It was a little busy and I enjoyed spending time chatting with new faces.  Thanks to those of you who stopped by and shared some moments with us, bought some items and just graced us with your presence, we truly appreciate it!  It was a wonderful weekend.  I did get to meet a very special person..

 

This is  Barbara Schriber's booth.  I was very happy to meet her since after reading a few articles from her and mother, they are part of my inspirations to start my own greeting card company.  Barbara was so very kind and generous with more inspirations and wisdom.  I am very grateful to her.  She is a wonderful example of a woman who has true entrepreneurship spirit and persevere after her dreams.  She made me feel that if you work hard and believe in yourself anything is possible.  With my faith and believes I truly believe that God puts you in contact with people who are there to give you encouragements and a boost up.  I cherish those little presents from Him.   It was a true pleasure chatting with her.

Okay off to get some rest!  Oh and by the way...I want to thank my wonderful friend Lori, who is responsible for getting my designs onto T-shirts!  They were a great hit at the show!  And, if you are interested in purchasing a "Vintage Queen" tee, just let me know.  I am going to try and put them on my blog with a Paypal purchase button sometime this week.   Also, I have a few other items for sale too, more on that later.  Ahhh, rest time.

{new cards}

I have a few new cards listed at the etsy store!  Please enjoy these little illustrations that are of a vintage bottle, some cupcakes, and a coffee cup.  Inspired by some kitschy, well not too tacky, old vintage bottles.  I think I am really liking these glass containers.  I see they still use them on the soap operas, you know, for those of you who are soap fans like me, or like my mom calls them "her stories".  They always have these great tables with glass bottle containers full of whiskey/bourbon/vodka, whatever it is they are drinking straight, seriously do people really do that?  I love the look.  Recently I found two really really antiqueish glass bottles that once held someones drink of choice.  Anyhoo, just wanted to share the new illustrations that were inspired by those bottles, coffee and my craving for cupcakes along with a vintage tea towel.  They are french inspired also, of course, with little french quotes, along with the English translation.  Researching these french words all the time is really helping me learn their language a little.  It would help if I could hear how it's really pronounced, but when I am stuck on it I just ask my college kids, they each had a few years of french.  Someday I just may be able to converse, who knows. 

    

Vintage- old -fashioned recipes are one of my favorite things.  I love baking from them.  You know the old recipes that call for Oleo (butter) (margarine)?  Honestly I had no idea Oleo was butter (margarine) until my late mother-in-law told me.  She gave me an old recipe that called for Oleo, and I was completely confused and lost.  Some of these vintage recipes are so different than the ones today.  I love the way they measured things, and their terminology.  This weekend I made this chocolate meringue pie from a recipe that was in the new issue of Country Home.  It has some wonderful vintage pie recipes in it and I hope to try them all.  If you have an vintage recipe you would like to share with me, please I will take it!! :)  My dream someday is to have a vintage baking cookbook with illustrations.   Maybe we should have a vintage baking recipe swap?   Just a thought..

 

weathered & worn

This is my really old worn leather rocker.  Believed to be around 50 years old or so.  It sat in my bakery/cafe and was sat in by many.  It was a favorite chair to come sit in, since there is nothing like an old worn in piece of leather.  Rocking just makes it all the better.  It's had stories told in it over coffee and a pastry.  Now it sits in my living room, where I can enjoy it everyday, although I think it misses all the company it once had.  I love mixing old leather with lace, ( and yes I think of that Stevie Nicks song everytime I say that)  also mixing in touches of rose prints makes it even better.

   

These are my ladies with old worn silver and books.  The painting is a print from my daughter's hand.  This was a watercolor done on really old aged paper.  One of my favorites.  I also love aged silver pieces everywhere I can put it in the house.

And finally, see that little blue teapot?  Well that just arrived today from a lovely young Florida woman, Miss Daisy Cottage herself.  I am very thankful for our new friendship we have now, and thank her ever so much for sending me this token of friendship.  I love, love blue things and she remembered that I had said that before, now that's just too sweet.  Thank you Kim!

I am working up the courage to redo the walls in the living room, I want to age them like Elizabeth is always doing to her walls.  I adore it, so I do believe it's time I do it!  courage, teresa, courage....why I am so afraid to do something out of the ordinary I don't know, but it's time to try something new!   

    

new design & gatherings

New design for French Poppy.  I love chandeliers, don't you?  Above the candles will be little shiny crystals.  I am working on several new designs right now plus gathering vintage items for the upcoming Vintage Barn Show!  I love the old french potato masher I found, I can't decide if I should keep it or sell it.  Today will be full of painting old furniture, probably white, and working on finishing my other designs.  Life is good!

Oh, and here is what one of my new t-shirts will look like...brown tee's with a pink chandelier!  Above the candles will be crystal embellishments.

 

*snippets of the office/studio

Enjoy little snippets of the office, see my dusty typewriter?  Wow, I really need to pay more attention to dusty stuff.  Someday I would love to have an office/studio that is big, huge!  One that fits all of my things.  As it is right now, it's very small, cramped and things have to take their turns, for example when I paint, all the paint materials come out, when I am doing designing on the computer, the scanner, and my computer drawing pad are busy, when making cards you will see lots and lots of paper, glue, crystals, folders, envelopes, etc.  And of course lets not forget bill paying day, out comes the checkbook, and all the bills and my hair!!  Enjoy my little snippets..

Happy Monday!

Enjoying the Vineyards

Rolling hills of the vineyard.  We live a short distance from our neighbors to the north, Canada!  BC to be exact.  Their vineyards are breathtakingly beautiful this time of the year.  Covered with plump sweet grapes ready to be bottled into succulent wine.

Oh how I would love to be up there for harvest day, when you can be like Lucy (as in I Love Lucy) in the big barrel and squish grapes all day!   I will have to find out when they do that at one of the many vineyards that are there, but all in all it was a lovely day, nice and relaxing.  Canada is very, very French, well where we live anyway.  It feels like you just stepped into a French Provence.  The language, the food, the cultures are so similar.  I feel really lucky to just live a few miles away and get to be transported into my own little french world.

 

They say stop and smell the roses, I say stop and smell the grapes, mmmm heavenly!

painting chipped windows

What to do with old chipped paint windows?  This one I salvaged, but it only had the top window pane left in it, the bottom part broke.  If you have a window like this, and still want some use out of it, paint your favorite saying, letters, etc. on it.   I painted the words free-hand, but I recommend doing some trace with the letters because you get crisper straight lines that way.  Being impatient as I am, I didn't take the time to do that, but instead just started painting.  I just your regular bottled acrylic paints.  Next windows I do, I will be sure to trace them on for a more authenticity look.  But this little guy will do for now.