French Friday Freebies!

Oh my!It is Friday already, and time for me to share something I have not yet shared about my trip to Paris. Plus, I have two free downloads of French receipts for you. Today I am going to show you a few of the goodies I picked up at the fleas. I tried to only bring home small items. As it was, our bags were stuffed to bursting on our way home!

This little french lady asked me to bring her home with me. I said to my husband...."What can I do? She seems intent on coming with us!.........
She is only two inches high. I am planning on creating a lovely skirt for her.

Before I move on to the flea and my purchases, I do want to show you a few photos I have been saving because I love what they show. Here and there, as we walked through Paris, I would see the most amazing things. There are many old, I mean really old, structures in Paris. And many of these have colors and textures and creativity that you just have to capture on film. I did my best to do just that.

This fence really caught my attention. Beautiful design and perfectly aged.

This is the corner of a building. It looks more amazing than the photo shows : (

I am not even sure what these are....gargoyles? It was raining later, and water poured from their mouths!

And here are a few of the little treasures I brought home....vintage rosaries, with gorgeous beads on them and a beautiful little prayer book for mass. The pattern on the inside of the book is marvelous, and it has it's own bookmark cross.

A few more little goodies I picked up here and there. (I must be part magpie!) I did make an extra effort to find religious medals.

This is one little flea where you can poke around on the tables and find bits of this and that.

This woman is having a hard time deciding on something.....I wonder if she is French or if she is visiting and trying to decide if the item she is wanting is worth the euros!...or maybe, if she has room for one more item in her suitcase.....yes, I think that fits her facial expression.

And here are two wonderful old receipts from Paris businesses. Click on them to enlarge and then do a "save as" to your computer. I hope you have fun playing with them. A few posts back I have two canvases I did with vintage ladies, and I used these as backgrounds.

And of course, I am leaving the dessert for last! Can you imagine what it was like for me to be in Paris and not able to have anything with gluten in it????????????
Oh well, I could look all I want. I did have one dessert (paid for it more than once!). It was delicious!

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope you enjoyed your visit.

Hugs,
Terri

Happy Tea Cup Tuesday!

Hello All! Can you believe it is Tuesday again....already????
Time flies when we are having fun! Martha and I are having a grand time playing tea cups with you each week. Please stop by and see the fabulous Martha, she will have gorgeous cups for you to oooh and aaahhhh over(like I do each week!).
Today I am sharing a cup with you that I use often. It is not an old cup, I have had it for about 10 years or so. It was new when I bought it. This cup is full of vibrant colors and is a lovely summer tea cup. I have always loved the beautiful pansy flower and this tea cup is covered with them! It is a well made cup and feels very good in the hands.

This is, I believe, a split handle with a thumb rest at the top.

It was made by the Duchess China Co. One of the many companies that have changed hands over the years.

I use this tea pot with it. The colors are complimentary and so spring like as well. Very vibrant. It was made in England by the Windsor China Co. This pot holds about 5 cups of tea. Yea!

A vintage compact I bought in France, along with a butterfly pin I also found there.

An ATC (artist trading card) that I created to remind myself to encourage my hopes! The back says...."not your fears". The lovely girl image is from Paperwhimsy.
The stamp set is by Tim Holtz.

Thank you so much for dropping by today. If you have a tea cup you would like to showcase with us please make your post first and then come back and sign up with Mr. Linky below. It is really easy, just fill in the two blanks and you will be automatically added to the list and we can all come see you!

Hugs,
Terri

Ooops! I forgot the first time I posted this, that I have a Tea Cup Tuesday Giveaway going on!!!
I am offering for your reading pleasure...

I am reading one of these books now, and it is really fascinating. It is about teatime history through Jane Austen's eye's. Just leave a comment and mention that you would like to enter for this book.
Good luck to you all.

French Friday in Montmartre!

Hello All
Welcome to French Friday, where I share something French. I began this special day because in May I traveled to Paris for the first time in my life and spent two fabulous weeks there. I have been sharing bits of it each Friday, as well as having some giveaways.

Today, we are going to Montmartre! We had a bit of a long metro ride to this special area of Paris. When we got off the metro we began to make our way up, up and up, many stair steps until eventually we reached this incredible plateau close to the top of the hill that is Montmartre.

I realize now that I did not take any photos on my way up, probably because I was focusing on not collapsing! LoL!

The first photo is the view once we reached the first plateau, looking back towards Paris. The second photo (above) is if you turn and look behind you, then you see this lovely fountain. It is much nicer than in my little photo. I was so hot and sticky, I wanted to jump right in : )

To the side of the fountain are more (ugh!) steps, and then a few more, and then........you see what crowns the hill, Sacre Coeur! It is a basilica of the Roman Catholic Church, which is dedicated to the sacred heart of Jesus.

We had visited Notre-Dame earlier that day, and it was just incredible. But somehow, Sacre Coeur was even more beautiful. I really can't say why. It was just a feeling. We spoke to a nun there for a little bit. She was telling us about the present Pope, which we were embarrassed to admit we did not know. Some how, I always get flustered in front of a nun!

We were not allowed photos in this church, so unfortunately I can not show you the absolutely incredible wall paintings inside. Right outside the front doors though, I took these two photos. The stone medallions on the walkway and (below) the lion handles on the gorgeous old doors.

Here is a photo of one of the sides of the basilica.

Just around behind the church you come to the main square where there are a large number of artists outside painting. Many of them want to paint or draw you. It is very interesting to see all the different kinds of artwork being done there.

I took this photo of this artist.....he was not too happy about that. Sorry, I did not know.

Below is a creperie, one of many in Paris. It smells heavenly by one of these. Notice the jar of Nutella, it is bigger than that man's head! Huge! We learned that Nutella is a favorite on just about anything.

Now, this shop below really caught my attention. First off, it is on a quaint winding cobblestone street. It looks so.....I don't know....old world? To me.

It was just filled with gorgeous delights to eat!

I only looked in the window : (

MMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmm

This is a corner coming down again from the hill.

Cafes are everywhere. So pretty!

We turned the corner and stumbled into the textile center! Whooo hoooooo! Don't you love surprises like that???

Piles and piles of fabric up and down the sidewalks. I went into one shop and bought some trims and some beautiful feathers.

This fabric and notions shop was just packed full of all kinds of supplies for the creative mind!
Oh how I would have loved a U Haul!

Montmartre is a place of creativity and beauty. The views from the top of the hill are inspiring. I wonder if it is much changed from when Vincent van Gogh was there, or Pablo Picasso, or Claude Monet?

I hope you enjoyed our trip today.
Thank you so much for stopping by.
Hugs,
Terri

Tea Cup Tuesday Time!

Oh how I love Tuesdays! Why do I love Tuesdays? Because I get to spend it with you!
I love coming to your blog, I love seeing your china, and I love hearing from you.

Martha and I are absolutely thrilled to be sharing our tea cups with you all. Martha is an exceptionally lovely lady, who always has beautiful china to show on her blog Martha's Favorites. Make sure you stop by today and give her a visit (and a hug!).

Today I am showing you a cup and saucer I only just acquired. It is not a fancy cup, but it is an elegant cup to see and hold. It is actually a little more yellow than the photo shows. I think the rose is so vibrant it washed out the cup!

I just love the fluted edge of this bell shaped cup. I have been using it regularly since I found it in an antique store a couple weeks ago. It is a delicate yellow color with gold stars.

This beautiful rose is from one of my new rose bushes. It is soooo hot here, I am amazed that the roses grow at all. I need to water them extra each day. Is it hot where you are too?
It is a testament to how much I love hot tea that
I still drink it everyday, even when it is over 95 degrees!

This tea cup is made by Queen Anne (Shore and Coggins at Longton UK). One source says that Queen Anne was another backstamp of the Rosina China Co. It can get quite confusing. This cups backstamp indicates that it was made between 1950-1959.

I thought I would show you one of my favorite little tea pots. This has a purple thistle pattern on it. It holds about 3-4 cups of tea, depending on the size of tea cup it is.

It was made by Wade. I have other lovely pieces by Wade as well and really love their china.

I am enjoying reading this book about the history of having tea in England through the eye's of Jane Austen. It is a very interesting book, using text from her stories as well as letters she had written, to shed light on how it was during her time. Fascinating! When I purchased this book from Amazon, I bought two so I could use it for my first Tea Cup Tuesday giveaway! So for all the month of July you can comment and add that you would like to win the book. At the end of July I will use a random number generator online and let you know who won!

Thank you so much for visiting today! I am excited to stop by your place and see what you have to share.
If you want to join in this week, please post your Tea Cup Tuesday post first,
and then come back here and fill in the two blanks on Mr. Linky.
Then you will be automatically added to the list.
Have a wonderful day,
Hugs,
Terri

This weekend I actually had time to play! Oh, I love to play! I made this fun ATC for the monthly lottery over at Paperwhimsy. The theme is "Castles", I luckily had an old stamp of a fantasy castle, which I stamped over some H20 shimmering watercolors. The images are from Paperwhimsy. I do enjoy dreaming about beautiful homes, just like this whimsy girl.

I love to make all kinds of jewelry. This is what I call a "vintage collage necklace". I used some white flowers from my friend Marlynn, and created a side focal piece, and then used a vintage rhinestone and cameo for the main focal piece, backing it with an old scrap of lace. This is a mix of vintage beads, vintage rhinestones, vintage lace, a vintage clasp (not shown) and some natural stone beads I fell in love with.

The pearl necklace at the neck is from an antique store, and the crystal necklace is from a thrift store.
I left them on the mannequin just for show, I don't think I would wear these all together! Now I need just the right top to wear my necklace with.

I am all excited about making my first cloth doll. I bought Cloth Doll Artistry by Barbra Willis at Joann's Fabrics last week and I have been mesmerized by it ever since. I hope tomorrow to get to give it a go. I am looking forward to collecting fabrics for the outfits.
Thank you again, for stopping by.
Hugs,
Terri

Winner of my French Friday Giveaway!

Congratulations toooooo.........

Createology!!!!!

We had many many entries in this giveaway. As always, I wish I had a gift for everyone of you, for you are all certainly gifts to me!
Thank you so much for your many visits and lovely comments : ) I do so love hearing from each and everyone of you. I am little by little trying to visit everyone who comments or follows, it takes time, but I do really enjoy seeing all your very creative blogs, your art, your homes, your family, your pets, your stories, your thoughts, your food, your faith, your hope and dreams. Thank you for sharing yourselves with me and with us all.

Upcoming is another giveaway, for Tea Time Tuesday and French Friday.
As I have mentioned before, I am working on new videos, thank you so much for your patience. I haven't been creating much this summer, but I am working on a few things now and hope to share soon.

Hugs to you all!
Terri

French Friday Yea!

I so look forward to French Friday, it gives me a great opportunity to relive my trip...and I enjoy sharing it with you!

Today (Friday) by midnight I will draw the winner of the Limoges cup and saucer. I can't wait to see who wins. So check back tomorrow! If you haven't commented and said you want a chance to win, you can still do so today!

Today I thought I would share some of the beautiful sights one might see while touring around town. And also, a few more flea market photos too! Seeing them again makes me wish I could go again this weekend!

The beautiful Seine! There are walkways down closer to the river that you can walk. It is very peaceful and if your lucky, you are in the shade!

I don't remember what this building was, a museum of some kind (there are hundreds!), but it was so different than what I might see here in my home state, I had to take a photo.

Here again, something else I wouldn't see here at home! It looks like a castle, but it is a building next to the Seine.

This is a 1860 fountain of St. Michael slaying a dragon near the Latin Quarter.

This is a major intersection in the Latin Quarter. Notice no lines on the road??? Even on roundabouts, there are no lines. I was on a tour bus holding on tight as we went around, watching as we missed hitting other vehicles by an inch! Absolute pandemonium!

I love this Art Nouveau looking Subway sign! I also enjoyed riding the subway, except on the hottest and busiest days, while I was having a hot flash! Ug! I actually pulled out my trusty personal fan and used it one day during a particularly long flash, a few of the French women could not stop themselves from looking at me and giving the tiniest hint of a smile. Normally there isn't any eye contact...the French are very cool ; ) at least in Paris.

I was totally loving the old buildings and their gated windows!

Another flea market. Twisty narrow lane ways with hundreds of stalls filled with all kinds of fascinating things.

See what I mean?

I thought these old slips were a little pricey.

I loved this one with wall to wall old books.

More buttons and fabulous purse closures!

Ah, the very trendy vintage rosaries....I didn't buy any of these, but I did get 3 at another flea. I wish I had turned the price tags around so I could remember how much they were.

Some wonderful textiles and lace.

An eclectic stall with all kinds of things.

Thank you so much for visiting Paris with me today. I hope you enjoyed where we went.
Come back and see who wins the teacup.

I appreciate you all and all your very kind comments!
Hugs,
Terri