French Inspired

 

How do you all get inspired?  What are your best sources?  I wanted you to talk to me today about this.

Have some coffee with me.   Where do you get your inspiration for your decorating.

I live in a really rural area with very few magazine racks and very few resources in the library.  My best ideas have come from you.  The blogs are a wonderful way to see what is going on.

I joined Courtney last week for Feathered Nest Friday at The French Country Cottage and she had a post about her inspirations and the first book she featured was The French Inspired Home by Carolyn Westbrook.  Of course I had heard of this book before on blogs, but I have looked for it for awhile and not found it, so I ordered it.   I am now so inspired, this book was beautiful.  Some images from the book below, photography by Keith Scott Morton.

  

 This was very Shabby Chic, I get this look.

 

 How beautiful is this?

 

 Wouldn't you like to blog here?

 

All the photos above from the book: The French Inspired Room by Carolyn Westbrook.

 A few parting shots from me.  Thanks for stopping by for coffee, please leave a comment sharing your favorite inspirations. This is another re-post.  I am doing some housekeeping on the blog and sharing some favorite posts this week that fit the season.

Sherry

I will link to;

Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style 
Strut Your Stuff Saturday at Six Sisters Stuff 

Tweak It Tuesday at Cozy Little House

The Scoop Party at Cedar Hill Ranch  

Make It Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House
Rooted in Thyme Simple and Sweet Fridays
Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits at Stonegable 
Transformed Tuesdays at PJH Designs

A Quite Moment

Can you tell I am longing for a quite moment at the beach.  I am about as far away from that as possible.  Landlocked in the Midwest with an ice storm moving in.  I will post all the week's post now because I may lose power.  I will come back and link them up later if I am not able to on time.

But, I can dream.....about the beach.

Real French pressed glass goblets.  I found these at Marshall's last fall for $2.00 a piece.

Thanks for joining me down at the beach for a quite moment.

Pewter seashells by Wilton Armetale.

China by  Imperial pattern Whitney

I will link to:

 Tablescape Thursday  at Between Naps on the Porch

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home
Feathered Nest Friday at My French Country Cottage
My Favorite Things at Bargain Hunting and Chatting with Laurie 

Go and visit these lovely blogs.

Brocante Style

French flea market (brocante) style is very appealing.  I haven't ever been to France but, I have stared at these images for so long on blogs and in magazines I decided it was time to try the look.

I was timid about this French style.  It has a reverence about it.  I am sure it is all the religious artifacts used when styling this look.  It seems to be popular for a reason.  The beauty of the images; religious artifacts and white, seem to bring comfort.  The radiance of this style draws you in for a moment of peace.

I just used things I owned to copy the look of French brocante, nothing is authentic.
garden statuary: already owned
china: is English by Creative-Tops

I will link this to:

Tablescape Thursday  at Between Naps on the Porch
Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home
Feathered Nest Friday at My French Country Cottage
My Favorite Things at Bargain Hunting and Chatting with Laurie 

Go and visit these lovely blogs.

Winter Blues

Winter blues in my tablescape today that is, in the form of fake flowers and a floral table runner.  When there are no flowers to pick, this variety gives my home and instant pick-me-up.

The most timeless combination of blue and white would cheer even the most winter weary soul.  

  White ironstone by Hotel Balfour available at TJ Maxx.

Ruffles are so flirty.  They hang there all billowy teasing you at the table's edge.

 I will link to:

Tablescape Thursday  at Between Naps on the Porch

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Feather Your Nest Friday at French Country Cottage

My Favorite Things at Bargain Hunting and Chatting with Laurie

Go and visit these great blogs.

Happy New Year!

May you have a very Happy New Year!

 I am loving this old clock.  It is one of my favorite things.

 I will link to:
Vintage Inspiration Friday  at Common Ground

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Feather Your Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
My Favorite Things at Bargain Hunting and Chatting with Laurie
Seasonal Sunday at The Tablescaper
Shutter Love Tuesday  at Trendy Treehouse

Go and visit these blogs for more great images.

Romantic "Irish" Lace Placemat

With Ireland on my mind for March, I thought I would make these placemats.  They remind me of all things romantic and Irish lace.  

 Materials:

For 4 placemats you will need:

3/4 yd. of  44"-45" wide fabric (linen works great)

7  3/8 yds.  of 2" wide flat lace trim

thread

 

I had a really old pattern for this, but all you need is a placemat (mine was 13"x19") to pin down for a pattern and you are set.  Lay your pattern out with the width of the fabric and cut out 4.

 

Pin the wrong side of the lace trim to the right side of the placemat having the outer edge of lace along raw edge.

 

I went on and sewed this in place starting the seam out from the edge of the width of the lace.

 

Here is the placement of where I stitched that seam.

 

 

When I sew the next piece of lace; I start in the corner where the two pieces of lace meet to sew the next piece of lace in place.

Miter trim at the corners.  Start and end at one corner using the fabric underneath as a guide.  Leave yourself enough lace to create a seam for this.

 Turn under and lap the ends at the corner, so that it looks mitered.  Stitch close to inner edge.

 

I have already stitched this seam, but I am showing how I sewed it.

 

On the wrong side of the placemat trim within a 1/4" of stitching. 

 

You can now trim the lace that is sticking out at the corner.

 

After you trim it, it will look like this.

 

Now, you will trim all the fabric away under the lace within a 1/4" of stitching.

 

Press all trimmed edges toward placemat.

 

On the right side top-stitch placemat close to first stitching, catching the raw edge in back and sewing it the way you pressed it.

 

You have now have made a lovely "Irish" placemat.

I am linking this to Cindy's My Romantic Home Show and Tell Friday.  Please go to her site and see all the wonderful things bloggers have been doing to make their home romantic.  I am also linking this to Just Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative.  Please go over over and check out all the great entries there.