Cheesecloth Romance

My romance with cheesecloth began years ago. Its see through mesh quality is lovely and I especially like using it as a window treatment. I wanted to share a quick and inexpensive way to create a romantic window treatment or room divider using cheesecloth.

A few weeks ago I created a room barrier with some white muslin. I got the effect I wanted in the space, but it looked a little blah. I wanted to keep the room airy and allow light to flow, but the stark white muslin wasn't working for me.

I remembered that I had about 24 yards of white cheesecloth and it was the perfect solution to my problem. I didn’t want to permanently attach the cheesecloth, so I attached the cheesecloth in rippling waves with straight pins.

This treatment softened the white muslin and gave it an ethereal feel. When I pull the panels back now, they look beautiful.

Organizing

Deep down inside of me resides a neatnik. I was so happy to be able to do a little organizing today. After being sick and then hurting my back (a long story), I needed to make my neglected workspace a little less wild.

I’ve found an inexpensive way to store a lot of my creative tools: plain old white bakery boxes. They’re inexpensive and really brighten up the space.

How about this pink bakery box . . . Laduree’s anyone?

Of course, I do have the assorted vintage boxes and paper suitcases hanging around here too.

The wonderful ballerina card is from Heather.



I love this antique French ribbon.

Here is something I decided to work on one day and then set aside. Will I ever finish it? I hope so.

My Carolyn Quartermaine book and magazine. I have these out where I can see them. Her work inspires me!

A pretty detail on a table in my workspace . . .

Thank you all for the response to my PORCH article. Some of you noticed the photo change on my sidebar, but as you see now I’ve changed it back. I felt a little too self-conscious having my photo on my blog. My hubby loved it and said he thought it looked like an album cover. If I ever record an album, maybe I’ll use it.

PORCH Petals

I wanted to thank all of you for your well wishes. I am on the mend now.

I wanted to share some exciting news! Have you heard of the new magazine publication PORCH? This is a wonderful new magazine created by bloggers with an eye for beauty. While blogging is a great way to share the beauty of our lives, it’s still nice to hold that beauty in our hands and peruse gorgeous pages at our leisure with a nice cup of tea or coffee.

The latest PORCH Petals issue features:

Verbena Nested Treasures
Ruffles & Roses
Vintage Lizzy
Counting Your Blessings
Our Scented Cottage
Cindy Forrester
Flatwoods Folk Art
Rhonda's Rose Cottage Designs

It will also feature yours truly, Fete et Fleur. A sneak peek of one of my photos.

Click here to find out more about PORCH

A Weekend of Promise

This weekend started off with so much promise. I had dreams of all the work I was going to get done.

Here was my list:

1. Weed the backyard
2. Organize excess clutter
3. Clean my wood floors
4. Clean my bathrooms
5. Make artwork
6. Shop for food
7. Get ready for the week

Things crossed off my list, a big ZERO!

I came down with a spring cold. I did manage to pick some spring flowers from my garden before it began to rain. Here are the photos I took before the rain came pouring down.

Sweet snowdrops

Freesia in various colors . . . I love these fragrant flowers

The view from my bedside

This sweet man patiently took care of me all weekend and I'm on the mend now. Here he is writing away like the bard he is.

Where I Got Those Scissors!

So many of you asked where I got the scissors. I purchased them from one of my favorite places on earth, Bell'occhio. This is a fabulous shoppe in San Francisco and not to be missed if you are visiting the city.
Click here for the scissors.

I hope you all have been having a great weekend! I've a bit of cold and have been resting in hopes that I'll be better tomorrow. I haven't been the best at keeping up with my comments lately, but I'll be visiting you all soon.

~ N ~

I'm in Love!

I'm in love with these . . .

Are these not the coolest scissors you've ever seen?

I used to love to make paper tassels, but stopped making them because the cutting is too time consuming. Now, with these scissors it should be easy to create them again.

They can only be used on paper, and cut one to two sheets of paper at a time.



Look at this fringe in just two cuts!

I hope you all have a beautiful weekend!

Christmas Trees in March

It was a glorious morning today as we set out for our walk. We were jabbering away, when I noticed glinting and gleaming from a trash can up ahead. I stopped and couldn’t believe my eyes. Sticking out of the trash can were 7 (YES, I said 7!!) Bethany Lowe Christmas trees!! They still had their store tags on them and the whole lot purchased at a store would have been $209.00! I didn’t move right away because I kept thinking to myself, Why would someone throw these away? I stepped closer to the trash and I realized they were in almost perfect condition. My hubby looked at me and said, “What do you want to do?” I began pulling them out of the trash and said, “I can’t let these get thrown away!”

Part of me couldn’t believe I was pulling something out of a neighbor’s trash. The other part of me was pretty mad at this kind of WASTE! I rarely get this upset, but I was pretty riled up.

Recently, I watched the movie called Wall-E. Have any of you seen it? It opens with a small robot who is the only “being” left on earth. Earth has been buried in mounds and mounds of trash. It gets even scarier, but I won’t tell you the rest. If you get a chance, you may want to see it. It's very thought provoking.

I’ve always tried to be easy and kind to the earth by recycling all I can. I have done this for years even when it wasn’t chic to do so. Even in my artwork, I try to use non-toxic, re-purposed and biodegradable items. I don’t normally let loose about something like this, but take a look at these beautiful trees.

What do you think? Were they trash worthy? What about giving them to charity, or at the least leaving them on the sidewalk for free? Why stick them in a smelly garbage can with food spewed everywhere to take up more space in a landfill? I just don’t get it.

Being able to blog about this brought me hope, because I know there are so many of you out there who feel the same about this kind of waste. There is hope and we just need to change our thinking about the way we live and realize that everything we touch and everything we do sends a ripple through our universe. It doesn’t just affect our lives alone, but the lives of every living thing in our world and beyond.

I can see these trees glowing in the light of the fireplace, while children spin and dance about them, their gentle giggles swelling to joyful laughter as they tumble to the ground and admire the trees’ shining beauty.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Today our family celebrates St. Patrick's Day. Marrying into an Irish family makes this holiday a special one, but it is also a special day because it is the birthday of my father-in-law. He was 100% Irish, born on St. Patrick's Day. It can't get any better for a full-blown Irishman. This year we will be celebrating in spirit with my father-in-law. As some of you know, he passed away last year on February 28th. I miss him and think of him often.



An Irish Prayer

Death is nothing at all. It does not count. I have only slipped away into the next room. Everything remains as it was. The old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged. Whatever we were to each other, that we are still. Call me by the old familiar name. Speak of me in the easy way which you always used. Put no sorrow in your tone. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together. Play, smile, think of me, pray for me. Let my name be ever the household word that it always was. Let it be spoken without effort. Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was. There is unbroken continuity. Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight? I am but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around the corner. All is well. Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost. One brief moment and all will be as it was before. How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting, when we meet again.

Everyday Creations and Beautiful Tools

We’ve been having strange weather here. It’s almost as if winter has returned. It gave me a perfect opportunity to finish some winter projects I had set aside in a basket, not to be seen again until next winter.

Many years ago, I taught myself to knit and I really enjoyed it tremendously. It's been fun remembering this skill and creating something substantial that can be used everyday.

All photos © Fete et Fleur Designs

I love these elegant scissors!

These little beauties are pretty expensive, but I had amazing luck when I found the ones above. I walked into my favorite fabric shop and found them at 70% off!!

I find that using graceful tools brings a greater pleasure in creating projects.

Do you have special tools that make you feel the same way about your projects?

It's finished ~ A Shoe Fit for the Queen

When I first previewed photos of the silk shoe below, I wasn't quite ready to be done with it. This shoe has been a major labor of love. Working with the blue silk was a bear. It tends to show every little spot. I worked with several adhesives before I finally found one that worked the best and didn't stain the silk. I almost gave up in the middle of putting it together. I'm glad I didn't. I have kept the style simple and really didn't add much more to it other than the French trim to the back of the heel. I like to think that Cinderella or even Marie would have loved to have worn it.

This shoe now listed in my Shoppe


Other things in the works:

These tags will be going out with my paper ledger shoes. I really have too much fun making these tags. I'm becoming a crepe paper ruffle making maniac!

Details . . .

While I was cleaning away this weekend and putting things in order after a hectic week, I found inspiring details around our home popping out at me. I photographed them to share with you.

Over the last year of blogging you will see many posts like this one in my archives, posts which reveal romantic details in my home. That’s because that is who I am, the Details Girl. I’ve never had a large budget for dream room makeovers. It has always been a shoestring budget for me.

My rooms are filled with simple white muslin, the $1.49 a yard type and lace found at tag sales.





I’ve learned to let cupid china cups satisfy my cravings for more sumptuous decorating fare.







I imagine that the simple rooms I've created with their old brick walls belong to some faraway cottage in the French countryside.

Be inspired by the little things in life . . . they can fill your soul with beauty.

Roses by My Bedside

White roses are a favorite with me. These have opened and seem to glow from within.

Years ago I was on a vacation back East. We were driving through Essex, Massachusetts. It was a beautifully cool spring day and everything was green and lush. The air was so pure it was as if our lungs were drinking in liquid oxygen.

The heavenly scent of these roses remind me of that day.

Wishing you all a beautiful weekend . . .

Glittery Daze and Nights

There is a new blog and artist in blogland, Valarie of Glittery Daze and Nights.

Valarie purchased a pair of my shoes last year and created the most amazing display box out of glass and dresdens to display them in. When I saw the photos yesterday my jaw dropped. I asked her permission to show her creation here on my blog. This box is a work of art and a queenly display for the shoes and a gorgeous crown created by Holly of Holly Doodle Design.

Valarie, your creation is beautiful and I am honored you would display my artwork in it. You can visit Valarie's blog here.

A Space in Time

Photo © Fete et Fleur Designs ~ Cloudy Sky

Today, I awoke with thunder and lightning rolling overhead. My heart raced from being startled awake. The thunder lasted ten minutes and then faded off into the distance. A quiet set in around me.

Do you ever wish you could stop time? Just for a moment? And in that moment let time wash over you and experience everything in a deeper sense. Lately, when I find myself stressing out, I breathe deeply and settle into myself and wait. I am surrounded by a sense of wellness, and then my heart is calm again.

The idea of being outside of time is comforting to me. In a fast-paced world, where we hardly have a moment to breath, it is nice to have a place to linger, where all things stop moving around us.

I say to myself, “It’s time to get off the train.” In that space between times, I wander in fields knee-high with buttercups and trail my hands in the tall grass. Eventually, the train whistle blows, telling me it is time to leave. That moment in the in-between is bittersweet, but I know I will come back to this place of peace . . . where all things stand still and I feel the grace.