A fabulous desk....

 

 

Sometimes, one needs to be a lady.

 

Technology aside, a girl really needs a fabulous desk. One that invites journaling, hand scripted postcard writing, planning, and prettifying....

....somewhere to keep treasured photographs in embellished frames...an iPhone screen or digital display just isn't the same...

 

....a place for a special collection of books, just for me. And a bowl full of hand stamped French script calico bunting, trimmed with teastained lace, gifted to me by my gorgeous friend Annabel...

 

...a beautiful pen in a darling penstand, makes writing something to look forward to. This little gem was a present from my husband, and is embellished with seed pearls and genuine turquoise beads...

A true ladylike desk is something to love, and softly lit by twin crystal lamps, is a welcome sight in a forgotten corner.

 

Truly, one of the good things in life.

 

...Mimi...

 

 

An Elegant Christmas

 

We're having a low key Christmas at our house.

 

A more elegant Christmas.

 

Not for us, the oversized plastic tree of years gone by.

 

No sequinned or blinged out wreaths either.

 

Not a scrap of tinsel to be found.

 

Instead it's a German Ivy, trained over a bamboo hoop for the last several months. An ironwork Eiffel Tower and some charmingly rustic jingle bells tied with tea dyed muslin providing a nod to a traditional Christmas.

 

A baby Thuja Conifer, perhaps all of 80cms tall, is displayed in a perfectly proportioned white French Urn, white feather boa at it's base, tulle and hailspot netting fascinator, resurrected from my daughters dance costume recital as tree topper. She and I made some miniature ornaments fit for a miniature tree. Little tags that say 'Peace on Earth, Goodwill to all Men' in French. We threaded pearl glass beads in shades of pewter on to bracelet elastic, and added tiny feathered angels and glass reindeer to perch amongst the foliage. White rosebuds from a bouquet from Husband, are dried and repurposed continuing our neutral theme. Fairy Lights add the mandatory Festive glow.

 

 

 

And to greet our guests in the entry hall, a twig tree in a silver vase, prettily adorned with miniature white owls, a linen bow, and a glittering life sized owl to keep it company.

 

No green or red. No loud or brash. No Santa or Nutcracker.

 

I know.

 

It's not for everyone.

 

But for us...it's perfect.

 

...Mimi...

Very Special DIY Gifts..The Modern Girls Decoupage`...

So you thought that Decoupage` was all about Victoriana images and antique music, didn't you.

Here's my Modern French twist on Decoupage` Baubles.

Aren't they fab?

These were Christmas baubles that had seen better days, and I was about to toss them, as you do, when I had this idea. Note too, that I've since successfully used polystyrene balls to achieve the same result.

I downloaded and printed out vintage French poster images by Rene Gruau, a graphic artist and fashion illustrator I admire, and also found some fabulous vintage advertisements for Dior, The Lido, Vogue and others.

Here are just a couple that I used....

If you Google 'vintage French posters' you'll find lots of gorgeous stuff.



So, knowing nothing about the 'proper' way to decoupage`, I cut my images into all sorts of triangle shapes so that they'd be easier to apply to round surfaces. Then I simply painted my bauble with Royal Coat, (a bottle of which I'd had in my craft cupboard for about ten years from my previous flirtation with Victoriana images and wooden boxes), and started applying them.

I didn't worry about creases, preferring to see them as part of the charm of the bauble.

So here's what I started with....

And here's how it looked finished...

These are the reverse sides of the first picture in this post.

Two coats of Royal Coat to finish and they were done.

I thought about spraying them with glitter, as I do adore a bit o' bling, but decided against it, preferring the vintage look.

The best thing about these, is they don't have to be stored after Christmas. Not being an obviously Christmassy montage`, means you can display them in a glass bowl, all year round, injecting a bit of French Frou-Frou, into your day...

Gorgeous!

 

   

Sparkles, giftwrap blanc, and yarn...

 

I adore Butchers paper for gift wrapping. I think elsewhere in the world, it may be referred to as Carpenters paper.

 

It's a blank canvas that does not limit you to snowflakes for Christmas, pirates for boys birthdays, roses for Mothers Day and golf clubs for Fathers Day.

 

It's also sold by weight..isn't that odd?

 

We paint it, potato stamp it, write French greetings on it, or paste favourite photo memories on it to tailor it to our recipient.

 

But here's our favourite way to use it.

 

Plain, simple and yet so effective.

 

Wrap your gift in plain Butchers paper. This one was a chunky scented candle, and the other thing I love about the Butchers paper is that it's thinner and more pliable, yet sturdier than flimsy gift wrap for oddly shaped gifts.

 

Now we've discovered this brilliant stuff at our local dollar store called Eva Foam. It's thicker than craft cardboard, more pliable as it is indeed a sort of foam, and super glittery, thus saving us the task of glittering it ourselves. Lacking Eva Foam in your area, of course use anything from glittered craft cardboard, to Victoriana or designer label images pasted to cardstock.

 

Cut a pleasing shape from your foam or cardstock, be it a simple rectangle as pictured, or something more complex like a star, heart, favourite animal or car, or designer logo. I've done some very special designer ones which I'll share with you tomorrow, so stay tuned.

 

Now simple bend your glittered shape gently in half, avoiding creasing it overly much, and cut two little tiny slits, much as you would imagine buttonholes to sit, in your shape. These are to thread your yarn or ribbon through.

 

Tie your yarn or ribbon around your gift (we use a couple of rounds to make it look generous), and tie firmly in a knot on top of the gift.

 

Now thread the ends of your yarn, up through the slits in your glittered shape, seat in firmly on top of the knot and tie in a bow.

 

Ta-da! Very pretty and stylish gift embellishments for the teeniest, tiniest price of a fraction of a cent. We estimate you'd get at least one hundred glittery embellishments out of one sheet of glittered foam or cardboard and one ball of yarn.

 

Nice!

 

 

...Mimi...