Tag: blog hop

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Let’s Go Mardi Gras! Belatedly Quick Mardi Gras Decorating Ideas for Your Home

French Ethereal
 

Louisiana’s grand two week celebration held in New Orleans each year and known world-wide simply as Mardi Gras may not be city host to the grand parade, massive celebrations and frat house parties this year due to Covid-19 restrictions, but Mardi Gras is being celebrated BIG in other ways!

The Crescent City has come up with a fun alternative all its own called “Yardi Gras” where sororities, fraternities, businesses and other sponsoring “krewes” and homeowners are lending their front yards and inside their homes as backdrops to display all of the wonderful Mardi Gras floats, flowers and more!…

A large statue of a dinosaur wears a beaded necklace and top hat, standing in front of a decorated house.
The Atlantic

Here are a couple of photos I found out on The Atlantic website for the City of New Orleans. You just have to boogey on over to see more of the crazy magic that is Mardi Gras!…

A decorated two-story house appears to have tentacles emerging from its upper windows.
The Atlantic

I’ve learned since moving to Texas that New Orleans is only six hours away and just over the Texas-Louisiana border, not unlike the five hour drive from our former home in Murrieta, California to Las Vegas, Nevada!

Just a hop-skip-and-a-jump!!! So maybe next year I’ll get to visit Mardi Gras… ;)’

Can’t wait to try the food! YUM!

It’s wearing frightful color combination in public and rolling your eyes at the guy in your office who–like clockwork, year after year–denies that he got the baby in the king cake and now someone else has to pony up the ten bucks for the next one.

Chris Rose, as quoted in GoodReads

Two of my friends, Loretta and Karen June, who love to visit New Orleans during Mardi Gras season!

Here are my friends from our IOOF lodge here in Denton who found these Mardi Gras shirts last year at a Buc-Ees gas station (a big deal here in Texas!) on the way to Louisiana.

Two nuts trying not to laugh!!! XD

Another friend from Lodge, Torrance, shared her mantel with me and I get to happily share it here with y’all!

(Oh, and Torrance and her husband went by Terrell, Texas two weekends ago and picked up a shirt for her and me!! Woot!) Bummer we had all the crazy snows this week here in Texas as I was looking forward to wearing my Mardi Gras shirt to school… Since the City of Denton has very few “snow plows,” school was cancelled in shifts this week. Most of us haven’t had internet and many are without power all over Texas ~ which is WHY this post is getting out to you late. 😉

Love love love Torrance’s living room mantel decorated with French New Orleans masks and all the bright colors associated with Mardi Gras! She even put up a small Mardi Gras Christmas-type tree! Too cute… <3

My version of a Mardi Gras display…

Here is a fun link to a Mardi Gras celebration caught on film a few years ago…

Everywhere else, it’s just Tuesday…”

Yahoo search on Mardi Gras quotes

Here on our library table (vis-a-vis our tea table/end table) I had fun creating my own Mardi Gras vignette. I am so happy I found this French couple at the thriftshop last fall! They work perfectly into so many tableaux…

Picking up the bright and fanciful colors and creations This is Mardi Gras in a scaled-down version. I looked for anything I had that was trés French, sparkly and ethereal!

courtesy my friend Karen June Bays

Well, friends, even though Louisiana didn’t get to have their “official” Mardi Gras again this year due to Covid-19 and not enough people having been innoculated, and then all the snowy weather with Snowpocolypse 2021, I hope you enjoyed a little celebrating in your own home!…

Big hugs,

Barb 🙂

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A Spring DIY and Craft Round-Up

French Ethereal

Welcome to a Spring DIY and Craft Round-Up and if this is your first time visiting here to French Ethereal, I am so glad you are here! Each Wednesday I host a link party called Share Your Style but this is my first time hosting a blog hop and I’ve invited some of my favorite designer friends to join in. Here is my Spring DIY…





If you are coming over from Yvonne of Stone Gable, don’t you just love how she has decorated her home for spring? Love her styling and her flowers look absolutely real!!

My Spring DIY French Clay Pot Paint & Refresh


Here’s how my large flower pots looked before I began working on them. Not pretty. The outer clay surface had water getting underneath from rain and they are only three and four years old, and of course I wanted to save them. 😊

I began by lightly brushing off all dirt and loose pieces of clay, then Mr. Ethereal and I moved them onto the patio and onto opened paper bags. (Later, I moved them over to plastic trash bags to apply the sealer.)

Supplies needed

  • Paint brushes including a chip brush to throw away once used (for sealer)
  • Exterior paint in desired color for main color ~ I used Glidden Premium Exterior Paint + Primer – Flat White (right off the shelf)
  • Liquitex Acrylic Basics – Burnt Umber (brown paint)

*This is the same Burnt Umber I used when I painted over a small cabinet to antique it. You can see that post here.

  • Miracle 511 Impregnator Sealer (for tile) ~ comes in a deep blue bottle.
Love these pots and their pretty swags!

Protect your plants

If your pots have plants in them, use an cut-opened plastic trash bag tied around the bottom of the plant to protect them from paint and sealer. 


Begin by dry brushing paint on your pot. You can also apply glue underneath broken pieces of clay to help adhere them back in place; I chose to use paint as my “glue.”

Keep brushing paint using random strokes ~ a little more paint here, a little less there. Stipple paint into the grooves of the floral detail, if desired.

To me, these pots looked a little too white for me so this is when I decided to add some “antiquing” with the Burnt Umber.

Here this pot is partially antiqued. 🙂

Antiquing your pot

Add a small amount of Burnt Umber paint to a plastic tub and thin with water. Use a brush to add low lights in spots on the pot. Rub back with an old cloth.

Eventually, I dipped my cloth into the Burnt Umber thinned paint on the brown trash bag and rubbed that over the pots. This worked better and was “less streaky.”

Seal your pots

I wish I had realized this when I first bought these expensive pots so they wouldn’t have cracked off any clay, but I didn’t. Happily, we had leftover sealer from laying travertine tile in our Big House in California and I think this will make all the difference. I plan to seal the other clay pots that aren’t already painted and fired, too, in a few weeks. 


A good shot of the travertine floor ~ part of a Settee Covers DIY.

*Use sealer outdoors or with lots of ventilation. It stinks, literally, and can make you feel ill. When I sealed our tile flooring in our former living and dining rooms: my children and husband would go upstairs, close their bedroom doors, and I would brush on the sealer while wearing a construction mask with micro charcoal filters. It does stink!



Here are the finished pots beginning to dry and

 I am really happy with the results! 


Thank you so much for visiting today! I hope you will consider following my blog and/or any of my other social media accounts. I appreciate you! 💝 I’d also like to thank all of my friends on today’s tour ~ all the posts are linked at the very end for you!


Up next on today’s Spring DIY and Craft Round-Up is Cindy of County Road 407 with a fun and easy-to-make Kitchen Towel Apron. So fresh and perfect for future parties with friends and family! I know you’ll love her project!!





Barbara ~ French Ethereal | Cindy ~ County Road 407 | Judith ~ Botanic Bleu | 
Laura ~ Decor to Adore | Amber ~ Follow the Yellow Brick Home






Also sharing with
Tuesday Turn-About ~ My Wee Abode


You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter





Enjoy the tour and happy creating!
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Short + Sweet ~ 5 Minute Spring Mantel Refresh

French Ethereal

Welcome everyone, if you are new to French Ethereal
or are already a good friend now, I am so glad you are here!
Today I am sharing a quick and easy 5 Minute Mantel Refresh using things found around the home. Joining me are friends who are part of this month’s Short + Sweet blog hop hosted by
Benita at Chasing Quaintness, thank you Benita!  


If you are coming over from Judith at Botanic Blue welcome!
If you missed last month’s Short + Sweet posts you can find them here. 

Let’s put together our mantel, shall we?
😉



For this mantel

For this spring mantelscape I looked around at the spring bunny centerpiece I had put together recently and decided to pull the second bunny to use in today’s decor.

This little French Script bunny I found last year at H.E.B. grocery down in Waco, Texas. Here is a similar little rabbit if you are looking for one of your own.

Destination Holiday Sitting Bunny Decor


This is not a sponsored post ~ I just love H-E-B grocery and the fun decorations
and their flower selections!
With this bunny I brought in some of the green moss to put under her feet, then picked out some faux pink peonies, white rose stems and a couple of white hydrangeas.

For your mantel add in your favorite flower stems real or faux ~ part of the fun in decorating is changing something to suite your particular decor!
🙂

Next to bring in are: candlesticks with a little sparkle and a few tea light holders. I balanced the taller candlesticks with two on either side of the vintage mirror. The tea light holders I used the “rule of three.” The tall and short complement each other ~ just a little decorating hint ~ the contrast in heights adds visual interest to one’s decorating.

The last thing to add is something really personal ~ in this case the chocolate bunny molds, also used in the centerpiece challenge.
Simple and Sweet and easy to recreate in your home with items you have in your own stash of spring treasures.




Thanks for stopping by today! Benita at Chasing Quaintness is up next and I know you’ll love what she is sharing with us.
Also follow the links below to see what everyone else has
for you on today’s Short + Sweet tour.





Hugs,
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Share Your Style #188

French Ethereal

Good evening and welcome to our 188th SYS link party! This week your party host is Lynn, from the blog The Vintage Nest. 



We are so thrilled you all dropped by again to party with us! Christmas is just around the corner and this is definitely the place to find some amazing inspiration.  I spent hours pouring over your wonderful link posts and it was so hard to just pick a few to share this week with our readers.
Before we get started, please make sure to pay a visit to all of your SYS team members!

• Lynn: The Vintage Nest / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / Google+ 
• Barbara: 21 Rosemary Lane / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / Google+ 
• Kristin: White Arrows Home / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / Instagram 
• Barbara: French Ethereal / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / Instagram
• Meredith: Southbound / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / Instagram


~~~~ A few of my Favorites ~~~~

Orphans with Makeup gives us an excellent tutorial on making some handmade “vintage” ornaments.  These are just gorgeous!  thank you Mary for this inspiration.



Rever en Couleur (Dream in Color) shares her kitchen brick wall transformation and it’s beautiful.  Years ago, I whitewashed my brick fireplace and have never regretted and get so many compliments.  If you have been thinking of doing it…..Just do it!


Marty, a long long time friend on blogger, puts a spin on Christmas decor with her gorgeous rusty orange theme.  She explains how she did it very inexpensively.  Click on over to see this non-traditional theme at her blog A Stroll Thru Life.

Are you looking for a last minute, easy, inexpensive, personalized gift? The blog H2O Bungalow shares her tutorial on how to add words to a candle.  These are just so charming.


Finally, this post really really captured my heart.  When my children were little, a holiday tradition was the making of the gingerbread house and on New Year’s Eve, they got to “destroy” it and eat wasn’t what as hard as a brick.  They thought that was the grandest thing!  The blog Home Cooking Memories shares with us what could easily become a new tradition.  How fun and delicious is this?  A gingerbread house milkshake recipe.

 Congratulations to all of this week’s featured bloggers. If you have been featured please make sure to grab our cute feature button to proudly display on your blog.

  We wish you all a very happy holiday and we’ll see you next week. 

Now on to the PARTY!!!!

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    Share Your Style #186

    French Ethereal

    Welcome to week #186 of Share Your Style! This week, Meredith from Southbound Blog is your host.
    A graphic image of the Share Your Style linkup logo.
    Hi everyone! I’ so excited to be hosting this week!  The Christmas season is one of my favourite times of the year, and since it’s the first week of December.. no one can tell me anymore that it’s too early to start kicking off the season!  Truthfully, it’s never too early – and my decor starts going up early November 🙂
    Before we get started, I want to encourage you to pay these talented bloggers a visit: 

    I’m sure I can speak for all of us when I say we would love for you to follow us on our blogs and social media. It’s a great way to keep up with the latest and get to know us.

     

    To get started with the holiday theme I’m going with this week, here’s a recent project I shared of a super simple, DIY Glitter Believe sign that was made with NO POWER TOOLS!

    https://southbound.blog/diy/diy-glitter-believe-sign/

    You can view the full tutorial here, along with 5 other Budget Holiday decor projects!
     Thank you to everyone who links up with us each week – I absolutely love getting to sit down with a cup of coffee and look through all of the amazing projects that are shared with us. And now, onto my favourite posts from last week!
    https://dining-delight.blogspot.com/2018/11/christmas-fireplace.html
    I absolutely love this Christmas Fireplace display from Dining Delight!  I almost went with a red buffalo check theme for my decor this year, but ended up going the complete opposite direction with white + rose gold, so I’m obsessed with how this one turned out!  I think this will be my theme for next year.

    https://www.5minutesformom.com/141523/driftwood-christmas-tree-craft/

    How adorable is this Driftwood Christmas Tree from Five Minutes for Mom? I love adding natural elements into decor and can’t get enough of the coastal look! It’s a bonus that this is a SUPER SIMPLE craft to make!

    https://walkingonsunshinerecipes.com/mason-jar-hot-chocolate/

    I find that one of the easiest gifts to buy or make is a selection of hot chocolate!  Not everyone likes tea or coffee, but I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who could turn down a nice cup of hot chocolate! I really want to make some of these Mason Jar Hot Chocolate sets for gift exchanges!  Thank you to Walking on Sunshine for sharing.

    https://www.suburbansimplicity.com/chocolate-covered-marshmallow-reindeer/

    How cute are these Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Reindeer?! They look so adorable AND delicious!  I think they’d also be delicious when made with peanut butter balls for the heads, if you’re not a huge fan of marshmallows. Thank you Suburban Simplicity for sharing!

    https://playdatesparties.com/12-days-holiday-candy-holiday-truffles-boozy-twist/

    I sense a bit of a food theme (on top of the Christmas theme!) this week – but these boozy holiday truffles from Play Dates to Parties sound delicious.  You know how great truffles are to begin with.. and boozy ones?? Sign me up!

    Congratulations to our featured bloggers, and thank you again for linking up with us! Please be sure and grab our Share Your Style button and share it on your blog.
    A graphic image of the Share Your Style linkup logo.
    • We would really appreciate it if you would provide a link back to our party from your blog post.
    • Please, don’t pin from images or thumbnails in this post. Click on the link and pin from the original source.
    • Please, no repeats for one year!

    Party On!


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