home decor – French Ethereal

Happy Tuesday, y’all! Fall is definitely showing a tiny bit around our little city with just a few trees putting on the tiniest bit of oranges and reds in their leaves. With those changes, I’ve felt the need for some changes indoors myself.

Just one change in the dining room is bringing me a huge burst of happiness… Getting back to who I am with a change in our dining room chandelier is a must!

Ever since we moved to our Manor Home three years ago, I’ve been iffy about the drum chandelier. It’s okay and I know transitional is “in” right now and I liked it at first, but…

It was driving me crazy!

An advertisement came across my computer one day for Lamps Plus (No, this wasn’t sponsored; I wish!), and I casually clicked over to see what was on sale… And I have been in love with Kathy Ireland chandeliers ever since visiting my friend Kathy’s home in Escondido, California during our teas.

This is the Kathy Ireland Chateau de Conde light.

She had one similar to this one which had a carved wooden piece in the middle on the main pillar of her chandelier, which I loved. I think the candlelight cups on the arms were also of carved wood. I have never seen another like it available at Lamps Plus since… It’s a bummer when styles change and you can’t find a particular chandelier anymore.

Here’s a little video I shot this weekend and posted on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17961326833480808/

I finally broke down and drove down to Lamps Plus in Arlington to see this chandy and fell hard for it! I love its Shabby Chic look. In fact, when it was delivered, it wasn’t shabby enough for me on the arms and pillar pieces, so I drove over to Home Depot to get some metal sanding paper.

After a quick sanding, which took about an hour, I wiped this chandelier down and then waited a week for Hubs to put it up for me. 😀

At some point, I might change out the plastic sleeves covering the electrical connections for the candlelights as there are more realistic-looking sleeves out there.

Now the dining area of our home feels “like home!” And I am sooo looking forward to adding some greenery for the holidays but for now I am not rushing anything. 😉

Yesterday’s tablescape post was the first of many as I am so excited to share this chandy again and again…

Just a few crystals hanging down from this chandelier repeating the sparkle from the hurricane lamps below.

Getting back to the basics around here! Feels good. Feeling the love… This new sparkler reminds me of the chandy we hung in the RV, too.

That lightweight plastic and glass crystal chandy will be making an appearance soon! 😉

Well, that’s it for today, friends. Let me know what you think of this new sparkler. If it isn’t your taste, that’s okay, too. 🙂

Looking out towards the porch as it gets cleared and the back garden.

Enjoy your week,

Barb 🙂

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Share Your Style #317

September 8, 2021September 8, 2021 French Ethereal

Welcome to this week’s Share Your Style #317. Happy Wednesday to you all, dear friends! 🙂

This link party is for home decor, DIY, crafts, recipes and the like, but you are more than welcome to share any of your family-friendly posts with us all. Please feel free to share this post too and join my small but loyal band of friends. I appreciate you!
As always, I am glad that you are here… 💜

I am Barbara Chapman and I’d love it if you’d follow me here on my blog and on any of my other social media sites, too. Thank you!💜

French Ethereal: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest

Happy Wednesday, y’all! The shed is coming along but not quite where I’d like it to be to be able to share the inside, so hopefully next week. 😉 Other than that, we had a quiet Labor Day weekend and just worked on getting the backyard into shape and more things moved into the shed.

I did however get out in the garden and shoot some evening plant photography! Hope you’ll stop by and check out my little garden. <3

So with that, let’s get this party started…

***Here’s what I shared this past week at* *French Ethereal…***

Early Fall in the Garden ~ a look during our lovely evening light…

And here are this week’s featured posts…

Baskets6 — Fall is a good time for completing small projects, like this upcycled basket by **MaryJo of Master “Pieces” of My Life** ~ Weathered Baskets DIY. Love it!!!

**Sandy from Dinner at Eight** shared her 2021 planting story in this post ~
The Backyard Landscape – First Phase. You’ll love Sandy’s labrador puppy! He’s very cute!! ;)’

Asian-style-Vietnamese-dishes-buffet — **Debbee from Debbee’s Buzz** is back with an awesome foodie post ~ Cultural Cooking Adventures: Vietnamese Dishes. Serious yum!!!

**Niky from The House on Silverado** speaks my language here with this post on How to Dry Hydrangeas the Easy Way. I just successfully got a small bouquet to dry perfectly since moving here to Texas! Excited to share this post so you can learn how, too. <3

I am loving **Penny of Penny’s Treasures** new look in her kitchen!!! I think many of us have been cleaning and clearing out this year and Penny explains what all she has done in this post ~ Less is More Wall Decor, New Snack Bar Chairs and a Fall Tour.

I am loving this post by newcomer **Sinziana from Coffee Time Classics** called
365 Days of Lifestyle Photography – Week 3. Fun photos and lots of good information, plus a challenge we can all jump into! Come check it out… 🙂 And welcome, Sinziana!!

**Robin over at Junk Journal** shared the before (above) and after photos of this DIY project ~ Spoon Rack Display Transformation. Jump on over to see how it turned out!

A big Thank You to everyone who linked up this past week. A special thank you to y’all for always promoting Share Your Style on your blog and on your social media channels! I do see it when I stop by and I appreciate the love. 💜

If you’d like to follow my Share Your Style board on Pinterest I’d appreciate it, thank you! I do post all of the featured posts from each week’s SYS there. 💜 Thanks so much!!!

Happy linking, everyone!

Barb 🙂

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Share Your Style #316

September 1, 2021September 1, 2021 French Ethereal

Welcome to this week’s Share Your Style #316. Happy Wednesday to you all, dear friends! 🙂

I am Barbara Chapman and I’d love it if you’d follow me here on my blog and on any of my other social media sites, too. Thank you!💜

French Ethereal: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest

***SYS is getting out a tiny bit late today because… A BIG box with Bright and Shiny came today!!! (Okay, really more Chippy White…)

Of course I had to snap a few pics… 😉

And, I am sooo inspired by all the fall posts coming out (and the fact that this weekend was just the tiniest bit cooler) that I am looking for fall posts now… If you have some fun ones in the works, do link those, too!

As for myself, I’ve moved more garden items into the shed and have been cleaning everything before it gets in there. Three mice were living on the hutch, so it was sprayed and wiped down with disinfectant before it ever got carried in last week. Now it’s just wiping all the other things. 😉 And I tweaked the SYS logo pic just a bit for fall… Still loving the dried roses in the background.

***Here’s what I shared this past week at* *French Ethereal…***

My Crazy Summer Pumpkins or the First Real Pumpkins Post of Fall

And here are this week’s featured posts…

With fall weddings in the works, I just had to share this fun post by **Michelle** at her new blog **Wedding Soirées Blog by K’Mich**. My son and daughter-in-love had their first dog in their wedding photos… Luna loved being with them and I think she knew it was special… (So doggone adorable, don’t you think?!!)
Dogs in Your Wedding Doesn’t Have to Be Hard

**Penny from Penny’s Vintage Home** is back with her sweet New Mexico garden in this post ~ Morning Glories in the Late Summer Yard. Love it!!!

Laundry Room Open Storage Shelving — **Kippi from Kippi at Home** shared her Mud Room-DIY Laundry Room Makeover Reveal. Love how these shelves turned out!

**Debra from Common Ground** brings us her lovely kitchen in this post ~ Majolica in the Late Summer Holiday Cupboard. Soooo pretty!

**Renae over at Peacock Ridge Farm** shared this wonderful recipe for
The Best Chicken Salad. Serious yum!!! Renae also has a nice post about creating a {How To} Create a Perfect Wrapping Station for Holiday Gift Giving. The holidays are never far from our thoughts, are they?! Great ideas!!!

green sequined dress, green satin kimono, formal wear, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge, Style Imitating Art — Sooo excited that **Shelbee from Shelbee on the Edge** shared this post in her continuing series called Style Imitating Art: Ellen Terry as Lady MacBeth by John Singer Sargent. Lovely rendition and the turquoise blue-greens are stunning as is Shelbee’s amazing dress!

***The Soul of a Rose***, John William Waterhouse

I love Sargent’s work and have several of my own from others who painted in this style. This group of painters were called The Pre-Raphaelites. Here is The Soul of a Rose, my personal favorite print bought on my birthday one year, and one I have as a greeting card ~ which was taped up as “art” when we were living in our trailers, you may recall. Love love love this ethereal style of art they captured in these paintings!!!

**Thrifting Wonderland** is back with this pretty apple post ~ Fall’s Almost Here Table Setting. Love the apple plates and of course I love the silverplate!!! I have the same Rogers Bros. pattern. <3

Newcomer Jennifer of Curated by Jennifer shares her fun fashion find in this post ~
Floral Set by Faithfull the Brand. Love it!!! Welcome, Jennifer!

Lynn over at My Journey Back shared this adventurous post on finding a good dog park in her post ~ The Dog Days of Summer. Cool post! And isn’t her Staffordshire terrier cute??!

And because we all love a good find… **Tara from Stilettos and Shiplap** went looking for a nightstand and… came home with these!!! {Be still our French-antiques-loving-hearts!} ~ French Vintage Friday: It All Started With a Nightstand…

If you’d like to follow my Share Your Style board on Pinterest I’d appreciate it, thank you! I do post all of the featured posts from each week’s SYS there. 💜 Thanks so much!!!

Let’s party, friends!

Barb 🙂

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My Crazy Summer Pumpkins or The First Real Pumpkins Post of Fall…

August 29, 2021August 29, 2021 French Ethereal

Pumpkins will grow in Texas, friends! I accidentally proved this in our consistently rainy North Texas springtime weather this year. Here’s our white Cinderella pumpkin growing on the vine in March…

Early this spring, I chucked last fall’s pumpkins into our compost pile thinking they would just squish down and eventually turn into dirt. Well… One of the Connecticut field pumpkins sprouted and so did a couple of Cinderella pumpkins!

Connecticut Field pumpkin courtesy of Google through Pinterest

I did nothing other than keep adding grass clippings (okay, Mr. Ethereal did!) and forking over the compost once to aerate the whole pile. I left the three pumpkins vines alone to grow…

The fall rudbeckia I picked up in Oklahoma to plant outfront.

I guess I never took any photos of them growing! I meant to but every time I went to photograph them, I was in the middle of taking other photos and thought, “I don’t want them to show in those pictures.”

I was saving the pumpkins to feature by themselves, but really, they were ready to harvest in early June…

Three made it full term and the other flowers never matured. It just got too hot here in July! I left the three on the vine… Well, because I was still giving them water (to keep the vines alive and hopefully get more pumpkins), the nice Connecticut Field rotted on the vine from just too much moisture on its underside… :(((

Then, I harvested the two remaining: one pale orange Cinderella and the creamy white Cinderella… I brought them inside to sit on the nice cool dining room tile flooring. THAT would keep them nice and cool! Or so I thought…

Then there was a weird smell…

I thought it was the new dryer in its plastic packaging that I was smelling. It smelled like someone was smoking pot! Awful… REALLY awful!

Well, once I noticed the pumpkins (about two days later), I FINALLY I took a look at them and the orange Cinderella was water and mush all over the floor. I shoveled it into the trash can and took that mess outside, cleaned the floor, turned on the kitchen fan, and eventually the yucky smell went away.

Only the white Cinderella made it…

It is nice and dry and no mold spots on it. I think I will try growing pumpkins again next year since three did grow. I’ll do it the same way and make sure to rotate them and get them off the ground this next season.

So that’s the story of our Texas pumpkins! And if you haven’t seen this month’s Pinterest Challenge post about decorating an early fall mantel, you can find that here.

Happy early fall hugs,

Barb 🙂

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Share Your Style #315

August 25, 2021August 29, 2021 French Ethereal

Welcome to this week’s Share Your Style #315. Happy Wednesday to you all, dear friends! 🙂

I am Barbara Chapman and I’d love it if you’d follow me here on my blog and on any of my other social media sites, too. Thank you!💜

French Ethereal: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest

We finished up the shed this past weekend and began moving gardening things inside, so I’ll be getting that post out for you soon. So ready to have the yard and patio looking good and everything NOT such a chaotic mess! Ready for a fall tour as soon as those things are cleaned up. 🙂

Let’s get to the party…

***Here’s what I shared this past week at* *French Ethereal…***

And here are this week’s featured posts…

**Tara at Stilettos and Shiplap** created this mantelscape and don’t you just love it with her tile surround and all the Shabby Chic/Farmhouse look of the mantel and the gorgeous picture frames?!! I shared one of her photos last week but THIS is the one I should have shared. <3 So… I am resharing!
A Late Summer Mantel Refresh.

Here is **Jeanie of The Marmelade Gypsy** at her birthday bash! Come visit and share your birthday wishes!! ~ Still Home: This is What 70 Looks Like!

**MaryJo from Master”Pieces” of My Life** shared this fun fall crafting post ~ 5 Easy Ways to DIY Pumpkins. Really fun ideas and who doesn’t love to have a few more faux pumpkins in our stash?!!

**Debra over at Common Ground** brings us her light and airy sunroom ready to head into fall with this post ~ Sunflowers in the Late Summer Hearth Room. So cozy… <3

**Melissa from Howling Liz Blogspot** shared this sweet Daisy Crochet Bandana in her latest link up for all of your crochet folks!! Love how cute this is!!! <3

Newcomer **Cheryl from Sew Can Do** shared her Melly Sews Empire-Waist Maxi Dress Pattern Review. Welcome, Cheryl!!!

**Renae from Peacock Ridge** is back with this crafty post ~ How to Make Velvet Pumpkins. I made some a couple of years ago and they are super easy to make. 🙂

If you’d like to follow my Share Your Style board on Pinterest I’d appreciate it, thank you! I do post all of the featured posts from each week’s SYS there. 💜 Thanks so much!!!

Let’s party!!!

Barb 🙂

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Share Your Style #314

August 18, 2021August 25, 2021 French Ethereal

Welcome to this week’s Share Your Style #314! Happy Wednesday to you all, dear friends! 🙂

I am Barbara Chapman and I’d love it if you’d follow me here on my blog and on any of my other social media sites, too. Thank you!💜

French Ethereal: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest

I don’t know where time goes to… but, though I worked on posts, I didn’t get anything published… (whaaaa!) We took last weekend off from out in the garden (except for a couple of minor things) and we had a few days with rain, including last Saturday. A nice break from heavy weekends of working outside most of the weekend!

A view of the shed from right by the mandarin orange tree (during the rainstorm). Hubby was just finishing laying lino as the storm began.

Charles did go out into the shed early Saturday morning before the rains came in and finished glueing down the linoleum along all four edges. Looks good and now after we get some things moved in, I’ll share what we’ve done in there. 🙂

And I’m getting back to my “roots” with more decor posts this week…

And here are this week’s featured posts…

Completed split letter monogram in Design Space. Letter H with Harris written in the middle. — **Niki from Life as a Leo Wife** shared this Cricut post that I thought would be interesting! It’s called Split Letter Monogram Cricut Tutorial. Really cool idea for holiday gift giving ideas, for use in so many home decor applications!!

I know it’s early but crafters might want to make these cute bats for this year’s Halloween, so here is this fun post by **Olivia Ohern** ~ How to Make a Hand-Sewn Stuffed Bat. Cute idea and not too spooky. 🙂

**Lynne over at Thrifting Wonderland** has this post for you, First Week in August at the Thrift Store. So much fun!!

**Penny from Penny’s Treasures** is back with this lovely post ~ How I Changed the SunRoom into a SunPorch! Love all the changes and I’m sure you will, too!!!

thrifted style, leopard overalls, kimono style, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge — **Shelbee from Shelbee on the Edge** is back too with this fun fashion post ~ Adventures in Thrifting Part 12 ~ Leopard Print Overalls. Love ’em!!!

**Tara from Stilettos and Shiplap** shared this lovely post ~ A Late Summer Mantel Refresh. So serene…

Cottage Style Breakfast Nook-The Crowned Goat — **CoCo from The Crowned Goat** shares some small but big changes in this final post for the week ~ The Evolution of the Breakfast Area. Love ’em all!!!

If you’d like to follow my Share Your Style board on Pinterest I’d appreciate it, thank you! I do post all of the featured posts from each week’s SYS there. 💜 Thanks so much!!!

Let’s get this rainy day party started,

Barb 🙂

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Share Your Style #313

August 11, 2021August 11, 2021 French Ethereal

Welcome to this week’s Share Your Style #313! Happy Wednesday to you all, dear friends!

I am Barbara Chapman and I’d love it if you’d follow me here on my blog and on any of my other social media sites, too. Thank you!💜

French Ethereal: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest

Happy Wednesday to you, dear friends!! Well… Tomorrow is it, folks! The kids come back to our elementary school. We’ve been at trainings these past seven work days, prepped the school with bunting and paper lanterns (see yesterday’s $10 on the 10th post), have t-shirts and bulletin boards with Harry Potter-themes. It’s going to be a magical year at Hodge Elementary with us “Hodgewarts.”

The staff lounge got a makeover today with soft turquoise-greens and gold ephemera and contact paper over a long counter. Now we are ready for the students tomorrow!

Here on Share Your Style, fall is definitely falling on many of your posts but late summer ones abound as well… 🙂 Should be another fun week for you with features! 💜

***Here’s what I shared this past week at* *French Ethereal…***

Elementary School Essentials Back to School Supplies Bundle- Grades 1-4 — School Supplies to Send into Class this Fall ~ $10 on the 10th

And here are this week’s featured posts…

summer-activities-Pittsburgh-Pirates-game-family — A fun post with **Debbee of Debbee’s Buzz** as things get back more towards “normal” ~
The Return of Traditional Summer Activities and Family Visits. “Take me out to the ball game…” 😉

Near and dear to any pet owner’s heart ~ Caring for Your Senior Dog by **Pam at An Artful Mom** just ticks all the boxes for love this week!

Welcome to newcomer **Olivia OHearn** who shares her tips and tricks for creating this sweet fall flowerpot in this post ~ How to Découpage Flower Pots with Paper Napkins. So cheery!!!

“Hello there!” says this chipper squirrel. Part of **Jeanie from The Marmelade Gypsy**‘s newest post ~ Something Different at the Ditch. Cute!!!

I love mantel decor and I know you do, too! **Renae from Peacock Ridge Farm** shared this Summer Mantel Refresh – Elegant Mantel Decorating Ideas. Ooh la la!

**Debra from Common Ground** is back with some barnyard fun in her post ~
August in the Cookbook Cupboard. Love her decorating style!!!

Jars of blackberry jam — **Paula who writes Virginia Sweet Pea** shared her delicious recipe in this post ~ How to Make Blackberry Jam. Seriously yum!!! Check it out for free printable labels, too. 🙂

Don’t let the rabbits fool you that it’s time for Easter! **Penny of Penny’s Treasures** has been on a late summer cleaning and prepping in this post ~ Getting the Studio Ready for a Busy Fall and Winter. Love her storage cabinets!!!

Summer Peach Cake / www.delightfulrepast.com — **Jean from A Delightful Repast** is back with a mouth-watering recipe for
Summer Peach Cake… Can anything call your taste buds harder?? Yum!!!

How to make fall hydrangea wreath with pumpkins — And last up for this week is **Karin of Karin’s Cottage** sharing her gorgeous
How to Make a Fall Hydrangea Wreath with Pumpkins… Lovely!

If you’d like to follow my Share Your Style board on Pinterest I’d appreciate it, thank you! I do post all of the featured posts from each week’s SYS there. 💜 Thanks so much!!!

Let’s hope this fall is magical for you…

Barb 🙂

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Share Your Style #312

August 4, 2021August 4, 2021 French Ethereal

Welcome to this week’s Share Your Style #312! Happy Wednesday to you all, dear friends!

I am Barbara Chapman and I’d love it if you’d follow me here on my blog and on any of my other social media sites, too. Thank you!💜

French Ethereal: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest

Happy Wednesday to you all! Hubby and I spent another weekend outdoors working around the back garden. I’ll be sharing what we are working on out there soon, but it’s starting to take shape. Other than that, two days are done for this new 2021-2022 school year, yeah! Only 180 to go… 😉

I worked on some posts but none got published yet, so… Next time! 🙂

Let’s check out this past week’s featured posts…

And here are this week’s featured posts…

About this time every year, we gardeners get the doldrums out in the garden, but **Penny from Penny’s Treasures** shared this wonderful post on what to plant for late summer prettiness out there! ~ Freshening My Stale Flower Beds.

A wonderful post here about family, fun and Christmas inspiration in July…
Thoughts on Loving Well with **Coco from The Crowned Goat.**

Oh, I was at such a quandery as to which perfect photo to choose from **Jeanie of The Marmelade Gypsy**‘s wonderful post ~ Paris in July: Something Old! But of course I went for roses… 😉

I love **Debbie of Debbie-Dabble Blog**‘s posts as they are a fun mish-mash of daily life! Good stuff!! In this post ~ And the Landscaping Continues ~ she shares more about the new neighbor, helping landscape that home’s yard, and more. 🙂

**Lisa from Fresh Vintage by Lisa** shared this lovely post about How to Make a Paper Snippet Roll. I love all the combined ephemera!!! Such a great idea for repurposing little ribbon rolls! <3

Cloches capture the heart, don’t they? I love **Debra’s of Common Ground**‘s beautiful late summer vignette. Do stop by and check out her woodland scenes!

French Vintage Treasures French antiques decorating with vintage decor — **Amber from Follow the Yellow Brick Home** shared a bunch of lovely French finds in this rosy post ~ French Vintage Treasures – Junkin’ Finds from Summer 2021. Love them all!!! (They can come over here anytime…) ;)’ Amber also shared How to Make an Edible Strawberry Roses Bouquet. Yum!!!

Lastly for this week is this lovely crochet piece created by **Maya Kuzman from The Little Treasures Blogspot** ~ The Charlotte Crochet Pouch. Lovely… <3

If you’d like to follow my Share Your Style board on Pinterest I’d appreciate it, thank you! I do post all of the featured posts from each week’s SYS there. 💜 Thanks so much!!!

Let’s party, friends!

(my wishing for fall to come a little quicker!)

Barb 🙂

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Sharing a Marie Antoinette French-Styled Hutch for Mid-Summer

July 13, 2021July 13, 2021 French Ethereal

Ahhh summer!!! Now that the shed is in and we have begun working on moving the fence, I am feeling happy and can decorate again… Today it is all about Marie Antoinette…

I was at Target last month sometime and found this fun Marie Antoinette card.. I LOVE what it says and it cracked me up! I am thinking you will enjoy it, too:

All I said was, ‘Let’s have cake,’ or ‘Let’s eat cake,’ or something like that, and suddenly everyone got all pissy!”
Poor Marie Antoinette… So misunderstood!… ;)’

Brittanica shared a fun video debunking the myth that Marie Antoinette said, “Let them eat cake.” She did say,

Qu’ils mangent de la brioche.”
This was written down by a writer named Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr who reported that he found the quote in a book, when Mademoiselle Marie Antoinette was just five years old!
Apparently it was already a popular phrase, and no, someone so out of touch with how peasants lived wouldn’t have understood why those people couldn’t afford to eat brioche, a wonderfully sweet bread…

I pose another thought…

Remember how you’ve heard in the past, or may have seen portrayed in movies, beggars or peasants coming to the back kitchen doors of estates and being given meals or bread from those kitchens??

What if brioche that was leftover from noblemen’s meals was shared with them??

Perhaps that is what Marie Antoinette was referring to…

Interesting thought, non?

Today, of course, we have food pantries and soup kitchens of which we can donate canned goods and foods to to share with people in need. Our IOOF (Odd Fellows and Rebekahs) group donates boxes full of foods every couple of months, several hundred pounds.

Here in the hutch

For our mid-summertime hutch, I thought about the abundance of hay and vegetables which will be coming into harvest very soon.

I’ve picked a few tomatoes already this summer and I’ve sprayed Tomato Set on all four plants hoping they will be pollinated again and set even more tomatoes! I’ve taken some of my white and green onion tops and planted them in the garden, too. I love watching their allium heads come up!

And of course there is always tea time! I was just reading about The Traveling Teacup over at Barbara’s site, Mantel and Table. So sweet! If I wasn’t working most of the year (and ended up being too worn out each day…), it’d be fun to send another teacup out there!

I did share the book Choosing to See by Mary Beth Chapman, wife of Christian singer Stephen Curtis Chapman. It is the story of the loss of their daughter and God’s hand in the family’s getting through this tragedy. Very powerful and I think you would enjoy it so I’ve linked it. I am not sponsored so just for you.

Anyway, I gave this book to a friend and wrote inside the book that for everyone who reads it to enter their name/sign the frontispiece, and then send the book onto the next person who needs its encouragement. 💜

I had no idea that this post was going to go in the rabbit trail directions that it is taking, but sometimes we just have to Let go and Let God, right?

Apparently I was supposed to share this book with you, and I know I haven’t before. 🙂

Back to Marie Antoinette…

Then when my mother-in-law and sister-in-law were here last month, we drove over to McKinney and Farmersville. In Farmersville, Texas (about an hour away from here), Gini and I went into a cute clothing shop so she could pick up some Farmersville t-shirts and I found this dish towel…

It was a sign that I needed to put these two finds of Mademoiselle Marie-Antoinette together and make a vignette!

And this is how this this Marie Antoinette French-Styled Mid-Summer Hutch came to be!

I’ve put together everything French-related that I have, plus summertime harvest teacups and china. Many of these pieces are thrift shop finds.

The stack of plates are the new-to-me Castleton plates my mother-in-law brought from their IOOF thrift shop in Sacramento, California.

Same with the gorgeous hot chocolate pot ~ which couldn’t you see Marie Antoinette having a cup of cocoa seated in a chair designed to hold her poofy dress pulled up next to a small tea table??

And here’s the full hutch ready for company… and Marie to visit! 😉

Happy mid-summer, friends!

Barb 🙂

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Christmas in July ~ How to Make Your Own Rudy Reindeer Sign

July 10, 2021July 10, 2021 French Ethereal

Rudy and one other of Santa’s Reindeer out in my best friends’ garden.

Hello and welcome to this month’s $10 on the 10th challenge, friends! Thank you to our host Tammy of Patina and Paint for coming up with this fun idea for this month’s theme ~ Christmas in July!

Today I am sharing my Reindeer designs that I used to make and sell to around our neighborhood in California, in front of grocery stores on weekends, and to many friends back in the late 1990’s/early 2000’s for a little extra holiday money…

The top photograph was sent to me this winter by my best friend Janet. She still has these two reindeer some 20 years later… A little faded but still cute!!!

Supplies you will need

plywood
sandpaper
latex craft paints – brown for body, red for collar, white, black and tan (in ears, or use brown with white mixed to lighten).
paint brushes (large for the body, smaller for face and legs and tail detail)
wood glue
silver and/or colored glitter (for jingle bells – glue on over silver paint)
old fence board
surveyor’s stake
wood screws
marine varnish – to protect your Reindeer from the weather
Drill and drill bits – for pilot holes for screws

When I was making these Reindeer and other holiday signs, I began with a Grade 1 sheet of thick plywood.

Back then those sheets cost about $32 and I could make quite a few decorator signs out of each sheet. I used every piece of wood I had to decorate these Reindeer; Santa and Mrs. Claus, little ghosts and the pumpkins I made.

I made a lot of tea signs back then. They were all a lot of fun to make!

With the wood supply shortage this year, that same sheet of plywood could cost about $82 each… So, use old scraps you have lying around in the garage… 😉 Or buy the smaller plywood sheets sold in stand-up bins at the big box stores.

You can also use an old fence board and a surveyor’s stake to make a fun Christmas-y sign under your Reindeer and the surveyor’s stake will hold up both. These Reindeer are fun to stand out in the yard (or in a flower pot with a Christmas tree behind). The old fence boards were what I used with my tea signs, as you can see.

How to make a Rudy Reindeer

Begin with drawing out a Reindeer shape on paper and transfer to plywood. Draw out the Reindeer’s harness, jingle bells and nose on scrap plywood.
Cut out plywood pieces with a scroll saw, jig saw or hand saw.
Sand each piece smooth along all edges. Wipe down with a damp towel, let dry.
Using latex craft paint, paint each piece letting dry between layers of paint. Add eyes, a smile, hooves and a painted tail and fetlocks, if you like!
Paint the harness, jingle bells and nose and let dry ~ drill pilot holes and screw onto the body with 3/4″ – 1″ screws.
Sprinkle on glitter over glue on jingle bells, let dry. Use glitter wherever you’d like! Rudy noses look especially cute with red glitter!!!
Drill holes in body and screw onto the surveyor’s stake.
Paint a separate fence board (if you desire) with whatever fun saying you’d like to say for Christmas (or holiday). Example: “North Pole this way!” (with arrow pointing)
Varnish your signs on all edges, front and back with non-yellowing marine varnish (used to be about $45/gallon; it goes a long way!)