And the winners are.......

Hi all! Thank you so much for all of  your lovely comments and participating in my blog giveaway!
I put all of your names in one of my vintage strawberry baskets and picked out 4 of you for the individual pkgs and one of you for the grand prize collage.

So without further ado, the winners are:

Bailiwickstudio (Ephemera pkg.)
Joyanna (Vintage Linen pkg.)
Littlethings1 (Vintage items pkg.)
Mrs.Kwitty (Tea fun pkg.)


     
And the Grand prize winner of the French inspired Collage is Artsnark!!!
Enjoy your goodies, I hope they bring you inspiration and fun.


To everyone, I want to say thank you for following my blog and I hope my words bring you joy and also sometimes cause you to pause and ponder.
Talk to you soon,
deborah

Whooohooo, you have put me over the top!!!

Hi all,
Today is a huge event for me and you are all the reason why!
Because of you I have hit my goal of having 100 blog followers and I am sooo excited. Of course when I started this blog adventure I never dreamed that I would have 10 followers let alone 100! To think that anyone would take the time out of their busy day or night to read my blogging words just boggles my mind and humbles me all at the same time. And to celebrate I thought a blog giveaway would be the perfect way to say thank you!
All you have to do is leave a comment telling me which giveaway pkg you would like to receive the most and I will put your name onto the list for that pkg.
There are four catagories:
Vintage pkg.
Tea pkg.
Ephemera pkg.
Linen pkg.
And for the grand prize  which is a one of a kind french inspired collage, all of your names will be included.
Hope that makes sense, lol.
So there will be 4 separate winners and then one winner who will also win the collage. So actually you have two chances to win!
Heres are the photos of the pkgs. with a little explanation of their contents. The grand prize collage is still in creation at the moment so it will not be shown until I announce the winners.
I will announce the winners on May 1st!

Linen fun. Two hand embroidered pillowcases, a hand embroidered peacock hankerchief, vintage yellow tassel trim and a pkg. of vintage blue ric rac.

 Ephemera (old paper lol)!   Vintage sheet music, vintage french book pages, wallpaper, fruit label, paper bag and advertisement from my last Paris trip, vintage women's digest booklet, vintage playing card.

 Tea time!   A box of my fav french tea, teacup note pad, frilly candy cup basket, I love tea button, one of my teapot magnets.

Vintage finds!   Very old ornate frame, tin candy molds, vintage poker chips, retro buttons, cool old bottle, weathered old strawberry basket.

Good luck everyone and thank you again for making my blogging goal come true :)
deborah
PS. Anyone can sign up for the giveaway, you don't have to be a follower, I'm an equal opportunity blogger :)

100th blog follower giveaway fun!

Hi all,
Just wanted to give you a sneak  peek at some of the giveaways that will be happening here on my blog as soon as I reach my 100th blog follower!
I decided to have 4 categories and then a grand prize also.
Soooo, keep watching for the upcoming fun,
deborah

What did I do now?

Hi all, I don't know what I did to my blog this time, but I noticed that my last post didn't post it's entirety  on the front page.  It says "read more...." and my readers must click on it to see the rest of the post, so no pic is out on the front either. I don't know if it's something I did and can't remember how I did it, lol, or if blogspot is changing things up on me, so I am writing this to see if this happens again. And since it's such a rainy stormy day here in Calif today I'm displaying a photo of my garden pond from last year. I can't wait to fill it up with fresh colorful flowers again.
talk to you soon,
deborah

Huge giveaway coming!

Hi all,
I'm getting really close to my 100th blog follower and I am soooo excited about it.
When I do hit the magical number I will announce my big giveaway. Here's a sneak peek of what it will entail!
Talk to you soon, deborah

The neighborhood.

 

Hi all,

a couple of weeks ago, my hubby and I took a walk around our local town and this victorian house with it's worn iron gate just caught my eye.

Oh the history this gate could tell.....

debbie

French cows!

Hi all,
I'm just in a french state of mind today and wanted to post a few pics of my past Paris memories. I don't know about you but I never get tired at looking at french country sides or architecture or even the Eiffel tower. For me, there's such romance and artistry in all aspects of the french way of life, whether it's from their vibrant painted doors and window shutters or just the every day goings on of parisian life, it all is just so tres magnifique!
I don't know why but I fell in love with these white french cows (I bet you didn't know that there are french cows, lol) on one of our day trips to the french countryside one afternoon. If anyone to this day asks me what one of my fav memories of our trip was, I will without a doubt say it was the up and close encounter of these darling cows. They all had bells around their necks and when we walked up to the fence they all strolled over and gave us the sweetest stares!! The pic of me smelling the roses was in the garden of the amazing sculptor Rodin. And last but not least is the sunset of the Eiffel tower from the banks of the Seine river.
What more can I say?

Talk to you soon,
deborah

And the winner is.....

Hi all,
Yes, it is finally the time to post my press kit giveaway winner! I filled the teapot up with all of your lovely names and the name that rose to the top is.....
Barbara from Southern Lady's Vintage!!!
Barbara is one of the sweetest ladies you could ever meet and if you haven't ever visited her etsy shop, you really should hop on over there and check out all her wonderful vintage goodies and beautiful gift tags that she creates.
Congrats Barbara, I will be sending out your little package soon and I hope it brings you a teacup full of joy and sweetness just like you bring to all of us :)

Thank you to all of you who took the time to leave a comment and for all of your lovely words you gave to me. They were all truly a gift!
Please don't be too disappointed that I didn't draw your name, because I will be having more giveaways and you never know whose name will rise to the top of the pot next time.
In fact, when I hit my 100th blogger reader (I'm only 20 away) I will have a super duper giveaway with many winners, so stay tuned and keep on blogging!!
Talk to you soon,
deborah

It's a giveaway!

Hi all,
I have been wanting to post a giveaway for a while now so here we go!! I was going to give a teacup package giveaway when I launched my Traveling Teacups business but that adventure is a bit on hold right now so I thought why not stick with the teacup theme anyway? So that's what I am going to do.
This giveaway is inspired from the press kits I have been making for the Petticoats and Parasols event in Georgia on April 22nd. Sadielouwho from Lollishops sent out a call to her lollis asking if anyone would like to make up press kits for giveaways to the Petticoats and Parasol attendees and of course I said a happy Yes! I put together 11 packets and one of them will go to one of my lovely readers :)
You will receive a teacup crepe paper tag, a pink movie ticket stub tag and one of my petite teapot magnets! And my special winner also will receive a vintage button that is attached to the front of the package on the lace trim.
All you have to do is leave me a comment and I will announce the winner this Friday March 12th.
Talk to you soon,
deborah

French Market

Hi all,
I just joined up on the website The French Cupboard! I have always wanted to be a part of this site but couldn't afford the full membership so I was sooo thrilled when I came across their new section just for us etsy sellers. It's a seasonal membership and I signed up for the spring time slot, which runs from March 1st til May. Here's the etsy shop page called "French barn". If you see an item you like just click on it and it will take you to the etsy shop that sells it. There are many lovely shops on the French Cupboard site and if you are a lover of all things french, vintage and shabby chic then make sure you stroll on by onto the cobblestone pages of this wonderful french village and peruse to your hearts content, you'll be so happy you did.
Here are a few of my favs : The Petite Maison, Noelle Garrett Designs, My Painted Porch, and Counting Your Blessings. Happy shopping :)

talk to you soon,
deborah

My latest french creation.

Hi all,
I have to show you my latest french creation. It's made out of a biodegradable flower pot and then transformed into a french container. Of course I added tulle and natural fabrics, like burlap and linen and then added a bit of pom pom trim and fleur de lis stamped imprints. And last but not least I added a vintage black gorgeous button that was difficult for me to let go of, lol.
Then a bit of tarnished silver glitter to each fleur de lis for a hint of bling.
Enjoy the french vibe,
deborah

I love bloggers!

Hi all,
Just wanted to give a shout out to the blog "bridal gown". Kerrie the author is a real sweetie pie and she showcased my petite tussie mussies on her post the other day. A couple of months back I created a bunch of frilly girly petite paper cones for her daughters 3rd birthday party and she posted pics of them and wrote wonderful words on her blog that made my heart sing with joy. It really inspires me to create even more when someone gives such positive feedback to my creations. Constructive criticism is needed at times too, but the positive works everytime!!! So thank you Kerrie for the lovely words and much success to your bridal blog.
talk to you all soon,
deborah

French shopping and the ocean!

Hi all,
a couple of weeks ago on my way to the bay area for a Dr.appt. I got a chance to visit the ocean for a day. Of course I had to do a bit of shopping on my way to the sea, lol, and much to my surprise I happened upon a little french shop called "The Posh Moon".The owner of the shop, Carol, said it was the first day that the sun had shown for awhile and everyone was in such a happy fun mood everywhere I went. I fell into easy conversation with the owner of the shop, because she also is a lover of all things french. Her little store is just filled with french style clothing and Paris decor. I had to really hold my self back from going on a shopping spree because it was all so beautiful. During our conversation, Carol talked about how she had hosted Paris trips to France with a small group of women in years past and I almost fainted, lol. She said she had recently been wanting to get together another Paris trip and before she could speak anymore I breathlessly asked if she had a sign up list that I could get on! She was so thrilled that I would be interested and took my name and number to add to her french adventure list. One of my dreams is to go to Paris with someone who speaks french and since I don't seem to be grasping the language myself, lol, this would be the perfect opportunity for me to fulfill that dream. So we'll see what happens and I'll start saving my money! Here's a pic of Carol and I in her shop and the quaint little seaside street.

Then on to the Sea! I took a long walk along the ocean cliff and breathed in the sweet sea air with each step. The sun was starting to set through the clouds and the sparkle of the water tickled my eyes with joy and serenity. I feel Gods presence so powerfully when I stare at the waters. No doubt in my mind or soul that He exists and cares for me and each one of us with each wave that crashes onto the sandy shore. Which reminds me of this Bible scripture in Psalms 17 and 18 that says "How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand....". And with that thought I will leave you with views of the ocean and hopefully the knowledge of how much he cares for you!
talk to you soon,
deborah

Front page of Etsy!

Hi all,
I got a lovely surprise from Etsy on Monday! My Victorian box was featured in a front page treasury created by the shop Cottageinthesun. For those of you who don't really peruse the etsy site, front page features are really difficult to get, but Miss Cottage persevered and created a group of photos that caught the Etsy gods eye and her lovely treasury became a front page star!!
And to top it all off, someone from Australia saw the feature and snatched my little box right up!
I want to give a big shout out "thank you" to Miss Cottage and also send you over to her shop to
see all her wonderful vintage tin creations. She uses salvaged antique and vintage 1800s to 1900s tin ceiling tiles to create various shapes to fit anyone's style and decor. I actually had her custom make a fleur de lis shape for me last year and it is sooooo beautiful with all it's vintage character. I bought it so I could put it out in my garden but it sits in my Paris room at the moment and may never make it outside :)
So when you get a chance, check out her shop, you'll be happy you did.
Talk to you soon,
deborah

Blogger heaven going on!

Hi all,
There's a blogging event going on right now that will put all of you blog addicts into a tail spin!
It's being hosted by Lisa on her blog A whimsical bohemian. She is actually the creator of this whole blogging event. She started it in 2007 and her whole premise is to bring bloggers together from around the world who may never ordinarily meet. The event is called "One World, One Heart" and really is an amazing adventure. Every blog that is involved is having a giveaway so make sure you skip on over to her site and check out the list of blogs participating. You'll never be able to get through them all, but the ones you do get to will keep you flying high for days. And who knows maybe you'll be one of the lucky winners of a wonderful giveaway too.
Talk to you soon,
deborah

French box on etsy voter article!

Hi all,
Just had to write about my french box getting in the Etsy storque article today!
I always wonder if this whole online world really is for real, and when something like this happens, it confirms to me that it really is, lol.

talk to you soon,
deborah

This is for you mom!

Hi all,
Hey, I know, it's been awhile since I've blogged but
after reminding myself of the mantra "blogging without obligation" I am proceeding without excuses, lol.
This blog post is for my mom today because lately she has been thinking about butterflies and I remembered that I had taken some photos of this gorgeous creature last summer as it swooped in and out of my garden fluttering and landing on this beautiful lilac flower.
I took a chance by getting up to get my camera to take these pics and sure enough it was still there, almost as if it was waiting for me to photograph it and capture it's beauty with my lens.

Thanks mom for the inspiration, debbie