Brocante Food Stall

A vegetable stall at a Brocante

in France last summer.

Delicious red tomatoes and strawberries

grown locally.

I'm joining Gemma for Ruby Tuesday Too

thank you for hosting.

Thank you for popping in to say hello!

Take care and

be kind to one another.

à bientôt

Shane

Our Friendship Spans the Oceans....

My heart skipped beats recently....
when I arrived home from work  to find a parcel 
waiting for me by the front door!
Not just any parcel I might add
but one that had crossed oceans to get here.

I was elated when I read the sender's name...
my dear friend
Mary
of
A Breath of Fresh Air

My heart was 'all a flutter'
as I knew I was in for a treat!
I posted about Mary's previous parcel here

When I found Mary's blog a few years ago
I knew I had found a soul mate
who enjoyed many of the same things as I do.

We both share a love of France and all things french
we also both have family living there.

Mary has a love of life which the French call

Joie de Vivre

She is an inveterate traveller and enthrals us all
with her amazing photography and interesting narrative
of  her overseas trips with her husband Bob and friends.

One thing is certain
Mary and Bob will never be short of conversation
when sitting in their rocking chairs on the verandah!

I think I can hear a little voice in my ear...

....what's that? me in a rocking chair.... NEVER!
ha ha!!!!!

Mary dear
you know just what I love...

Vintage Notions

the exquisite vintage buttons and spools of cotton,
ribbons and hand made tatted lace
 vintage cards including the one above
 and lovely old postcards.
I love everything.

Merci,

Never let it be said that distance is a barrier to friendship.

I'm joining
Judith for Mosaic Monday
Wen for Simply Neutrals Tuesday
and
Stephanie for Roses of Inspiration

Thank you ladies for hosting!


Be kind to one another

Merci à bientôt


Shane

French Vintage Finds & Fabric Dyeing

Isn't this the sweetest baby's top

it is all hand made with exquisite hand made lace

and tiny pin tucking.

I found it at a Brocante in my daughter's village.

The back is just as beautiful

the fabric is the finest lawn or voile

with tiny mother-of-pearl buttons

I was delighted to also find this vintage broderie anglaise

I only have 2 metres

so I'm saving it for a very special fabric book.

I apologise for the darkness of the photos - it has been another

dark, wet and miserable Spring day!

I always look for old books and postcards

and I was happy with my finds

this one was over 100 years old!

I would love to buy more but there is limited

room in my suitcase!

After reading Suzy's post on dyeing fabrics and lace

with the juice from her home grown loganberries,

I delved into my freezer and found a packet of mixed berries.

I boiled ¾ of a cup for a few minutes, sieved them

and added the juice to ¾ of a cup of water

and boiled for 30 minutes.

These pieces will all be used in my new book!

I'm linking to

Judith for Mosaic Monday

Stephanie for Roses of Inspiration

and

Wens new party - Simply Neutrals Tuesday

Take care and

be kind to one another

Merci à bientôt

Shane

Village Brocante in France

Hello dear friends

Looking through my photos I found these ones

taken when I was in France earlier this year.

 

 Each time I'm there we visit

one or two Sunday brocantes in

nearby villages.

We arrive mid morning

to fit in with baby's sleep time!

Wandering up and down the roads

amid throngs of other bargain seekers,

all the while checking out each table and van

full of everything you can think of.

Though this time there seemed to be

an inordinate supply of unwanted "junk"!

Children's used clothing

(not of the beautiful vintage kind)

more the local supermarket brands,

games, barbie dolls,

children's books - which my daughter picked

over and bought for the girls.

Mainly the 'old school' variety

that her husband loved when he was young.

As you can imagine I was looking for

old french linens and lace

but the only worthwhile items were on a

dealers table - very heavily priced.

I was tempted but stayed strong and didn't buy!

I bought some lovely old books

which I will show you once I've

photographed them!

 

The two older girls had a marvellous time

on the bouncy castle you can see in the background!

We queued up to order our BBQ sausages

and french fries.

Sitting at one of these tables eating our lunch

we watched the world pass by

and rested our weary legs!

 

Are your children/grandies like mine

 and need to check out the local toilets

wherever they happen to be?

 Through the door on the left happened

to be the entrance to the local one here,

so off I went hand in hand

with my two!!

I'm linking this post to

Mary for

Mosaic Monday.

Thank you all for your visits and leaving

me your lovely comments.

WELCOME

to my new followers

thank you for being here!

Merci à bientôt
take care of one another!
 

♥ Shane ♥

 

 

My French themed Collages

This is one of the pages

I made for my dear friend

Suzy of

Suziqu's Threadworks

for our French themed

Collage Swap.

The laces, fabric pieces

and trims are some

favorites from

my collection.

I've been waiting to use this

beautiful image of a little

French girl - and my swap with

Suzy was the perfect time.

On the back I created a little

organza and lace pocket

to hold a lavender tag

and an old french postcard

which I picked up at a Brocante

in my daughter's village

when I was in France this year.

Je t'aime label came from 

my friend Lilla

it is perfect for this collage and

I combined it with tulle and lace

for a lovely soft look.

Lilla has a great blog

where she has lots of

amazing on-line

tutorials.

Here is the link for

her etsy shop called

La vie en Rose.

I love this sweet image too

it's from Karen of

The Graphics Fairy

Thank you Karen

you inspire all of us with

your amazing images.

The French label is also

from Karen's collection.

I'm very fond of these old organza

flowers and this one came

from Karla of Karla's Cottage.

Karla collects old hats to

get these exquisite flowers.

She might have some in her 

etsy shop.

I included some pieces of fabric

and laces from my stash

for Suzy

and wrapped it all

in this french themed

paper!

I'm linking to the following parties

please have a look and even join in the fun!

Claudia at A Favorite Thing Saturday

Mary at Mosaic Monday

Kathryn at Make it Pretty Monday

Mary at Masterpiece Monday

Becky at Blissful White Wednesday

Thank you all for visiting my blog

and a big

WELCOME

to my new followers!

Take care dear friends and

Be kind to one another

hugs

Shane ♥

Beautiful linens found in France...

Bonjour dear friends - Ça va ?!

Today I thought I would show
you some of the little treasures

I found at a brocante in

Thorigny-sur-Oreuse

I fell in love with this little pouch

as soon as I saw it!

It is very old and was worn

with a First Communion dress,

probably to hold a handkerchief.

The fabric is so fine
I would call it
handkerchief linen -
please tell me what you think it is?

I've always loved old collars - they really

do speak to me of times past,
I wonder who wore them.
I would love to know
what the dress was like.

I can think of many

ideas for re-using these collars.

I know it's stained and well worn

but for me that's the appeal!

Are you like me and have a 'thing'

for monogrammed sheets

and pillow slips?

Well these weren't the complete article,

just the tops but that's OK!

I'm so grateful that others

recognised the beauty and potential

in these exquisite pieces
and saved them
for future generations to enjoy.

Maybe this gorgeous piece

sat on someone's dressing table

in days gone by.

It's so delicate

and exquisitely embroidered.


I hope you've enjoyed seeing
some of the bits I found!

Thank you to all my lovely friends
for popping in to say hi!

****WELCOME ****
to my new followers
I'm so glad you're here too!

Take care
Be kind to one another
hugs and love
Shane