Bunting and Numbers

Shock, horror, I realised this morning that it was Saturday already and I still hadn't made my inchie and tag for this week's challenges. The good weather we are having at the moment is just too tempting, gotta be outside and enjoy it. But it is really windy this afternoon so I took myself off to the craftavan and got on with the weekly challenges.


The Tag Tuesday challenge for this week is "BUNTING and FLAGS". As I am in France at the moment, I am missing all the Jubilee celebrations in the UK, so I decided against going with the Union Jack and the colours red, white and blue, and instead stuck with my beloved neutral colour palette.

I used thick, handmade paper for the background, little pieces of a vintage French damask napkin for the bunting, a dark coloured pure French linen thread for the cord, and bits and pieces to decorate the bunting with, ie MOP button, bling, snippets of lace etc -

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 The EVERY INCHIE MONDAY challenge for this week was NUMBERS. I made a little inchie number book, couldn't think of anything else. I stamped 10 inchies in different colours, almost rainbow colours, and then stamped the numbers 1 - 10 on them. And you know what took the longest time? Not cutting the inchies, not stamping the colours or the numbers, but trying to get the linen thread through the tiny holes in the corners of the inchies!

It feels good to have caught up with these challenges.

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Hmmm, I don't know whether I showed you this bookmark before, made it a little while ago. I don't think I did, but forgive me if I have already bombarded you with photos of it, lol. I am actually using it every day. Why on earth haven't I made myself one before now? So much nicer than using bits of torn paper or worse, putting the book down open and wrecking the spine -

Have a great weekend wherever you are, toodlepip xxx

White Lace, White Flowers, White Wednesday

You would think that the view from our cottage would be pretty much the same every day. Not so. Every morning brings a different picture. This morning, for example, there were quite thick clouds below us, hanging over the valley -

The white clouds reminded me that I hadn't yet done a WHITE WEDNESDAY post, and the beautiful scent of the mock orange by the gate, drifting on the gentle breeze, made me choose those delicious little blossoms for the post -

And then I thought, what about all those beautiful white wild flowers growing along the path in front of our cottage? So I toddled off with our doggies in tow, and collected a few more white flowers -

And then I had another thought ( my husband keeps warning me about thinking, lol ), why not put white flowers and white lace together? I grabbed a few pieces bought at the last vide greniers I went to -

 

This is a gorgeous antique French nightdress, with the most delicate and fine hand stitched broderie anglaise -

I am linking this post to WHITE WEDNESDAY No. 154 over at the FADED CHARM COTTAGE. Check out all the other beautiful white posts!
Toodlepip xxx

As promised

Hah, I bet you didn't think that I would get round to it, did ya? But as promised yesterday, here are some more recent brocante treasures, spied from afar, drooled over,  haggled for and happily brought home.

I adore these little candlesticks for the bedside table. This one has white enamel marbled with beautiful light blue veins -

This is a very old Digoin cafe au lait bowl. It is plain, no fancy decoration, but I just love it. The way the glaze has changed colour over the years, so rich and deeper in some places is just exquisite

Another old cafe au lait bowl. The stripes are a gorgeous jade green, which makes me think its 1930s, and the glaze is beautifully crazed -

This antique candlestick is THE most gorgeous shade of duck egg blue-

I fell for these opera glasses big time, because they are so small! Definitely smaller than others I have come across. Perhaps they were for a very privileged young girl, whose parents had a box at the Opera. Oh dear, thats done it, now I can see a whole story unfolding in front of my eyes......

YAY!!! More of these absolutely fabulous parcel carry handles. Geez, they are so hard to find these days, hadn't come across any for years -

Swoon! I mouthed a silent OOHHH, when I spied this on a stall. The leather case is so old and worn, it had to be something good inside... and there was, a beautiful little parfum bottle with the sweetest silver top and tiniest glass stopper -

I should have saved these for an ephemera post really, but hey, PARIS and VERSAILLES? Carte Postales booklets in lovely condition -

This is one of my all time favourite finds, a gorgeous silver plated pendant with a delicate thistle design -

This is the back -

And this............ this is whats inbetween the front and back, a tiny mirror!-

These 1930s bottles were very old stock found in an old pharmacy which closed down about 30 years ago, the vendor told me. Gorgeous little apothecary bottles with tight fitting, ground glass stoppers -

Typically French salt cellars, used in every home, bistro and restaurant, even to this day. I have a couple which we use all the time for the amazing fleur de sel and freshly ground pepper -

I love the faux snakeskin pattern on this old glasses case, and the dinky round spectacles -

Tins, a girl can never have too many tins, especially when they are French, red and with such a pretty design-

Wine bottle carrier, made from fine silver metal wire -

And last but not least, this stunning braid, in the most elegant blue with gold overlay. Parisien of course -

There is still so much more to photograph, sigh. I will try to get some done tomorrow.  Have a wonderful day wherever you are, especially my dear American friends on this Memorial Day.
Toodlepip xxx