She Dreamt of Paris...Rhondamum's Mon Amour de Toutes les Choses Francaises

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so sorry i'm soooo late with this post but had camera issues + the kiddos & i were sick most of the week...just felt a wee bit better and finally fixed the camera and edited pics galore...

i wanted to join in the fun at sweet Rhondamum's 2 day French Love event Mon Amour de Toutes les Choses Francaises which happened this past February 16-17...she's so sweet + kind...she is leaving her 'mr. linky' up for anyone would like to add their love of the French pics/posts on her blog...boy am i lucky!

Rhonda has a very impressive collection of all things FRENCH...i mean a ton of gorgeous French lovelies!!! so many Eiffel Towers that would make you drool, so many Frenchness that you'd think you were in France...no lie! she has such beautiful French items, she can have a French General type of store...i mean, seriously...sweet Rhonda...you truly have an AMAZING collection!!! i love it all!!!

well, i don't have as much as Rhonda but i did surprise myself as i was putting my collection on the table for pics...i can't believe how much stuff i really have...i only like to display a few things at a time...the rest would all be in boxes...i know shame on me but i really don't like clutter and i really like plain + simple...i know it's hard to believe with all the stuff in this slideshow...but i only have a few French stuff displayed throughout the house...maybe if i had a room dedicated to my love of the French, i could properly display ALL my collection.

i absolutely love French music and have a nice collection of different type of French music, ranging from bossa nova, new French, jazzy French, old-time French, romantic French...you name it...i also adore French movies...like Amelie (i still have to watch this!), chocolat, French Lietenaut's woman, etc.

i also found at an antique store a whole package of 'learn how to speak French' tapes...one day i'd love to speak it fluently...

i started a flickr group about 'Sweet Marie-Pour l'amour du Francais' please go and check out the gorgeous eye candies that beautiful soules are adding to the group...it's so inspirational and simply magnificent!

i also tend to participate in Frenchy type swaps like stinkbonejones aka Jaime's 'Let them eat cake' alter cake box swap (2008) and here

i also love to create with a French Flair...almost all my handmade creations have something Frenchy like...i think i'm psyching my soule + universe for a dream trip over to Paris...one of these days i'll get there...i promised my lil' gal, Shioban a trip to Paris...maybe when she's a bit older...but for now, all i do is dream of Paris...

thank you, sweet Rhonda, for hosting this wonderful event! i loved visiting other kindred spirits and seeing their lovely collections and learning more about the French...

enjoy + bonne nuit...

xoxo jo ;)

and the Stockings were hung...

Bonjour! Whew...This past week has been overwhelmingly productive. Finished several wips and have been sending packages all over...again, I apologize for the prior week's mishap and short post but running on empty for quite some time now and well, I'm pretty sure most of you know how that goes!

Here are some pics of my Vintage Stocking (i participated in my sis, Mary Ann's wonderful Vintage Christmas Stocking Swap 2008) I made for my sweetest partner, my French sis, Rhonda . She said her theme this year was red...I wanted to do something with toile and linen but the shoppes I went to didn't have much of the fabric I wanted or the reasonable prices I wanted either. Since the economy isn't doing well and we're on a tight budget, I found some beautiful materials that were very reasonably priced! I had most of the papers + ribbons and found some neat stuff also reasonably priced to add to her stocking...I know Sweet Rhonda has 2 very sweet gals, so I made them each a box of goodies of their own, to include some homemade (by my lil' ones and I) 'magic reindeer food' (hopefully the lil' princesses will enjoy sprinkling some magic on the lawn on Christmas Eve...I LOVE that tradition!)

Here's a shot of my 'Joyeux Noel' version of Le Tour Eiffel with Rhonda's sweet vintagey-red stocking...

hoping Rhonda likes the pattern...at first I thought it was too loud...but with the right embells, it turned out really very sweet!

a lil' tea cup to keep her warm throughout this chilly winter season...(packed some delicious teas + chocolate for her too!)


Simple tag to wish everyone a Beautiful Holiday: ' Joyeux Noel'

i'm sooooooo appreciative of my sis, Mary Ann because participating in all of her cool swaps always gets my creative juices flowing...raising a family plus trying to create can be tricky but somehow i get through (i work my darndest to finish on time, but sometimes life can get in the way...i'm sure most of you know this whether you have kids or not...we're all busy...but somehow, creating something sweet that will warm someone's heart is a gratifying reward...) that's one of the reasons why i love participating in my sis' swaps or other creative swaps...i truly enjoy sharing some love...good karma always wins, right?!

lil' surprises are in store for you Sweet Rhonda!

Here is my Christmasy-version of Le Tour Eiffel...I'm hoping she's going to like the design + colour combo...I really dig the sliding gift box...don't you?!
Packages all dressed up for you Sweet Rhonda...

Remember these? Paper ball ornaments...wow...I just adore paper...the endless possibilities!!!



This silver beauty was found by my sis, Mary Ann (thanks reya for picking this one up for me...thanks for being my eyes and hands...you're the best present picker ever!) from a very pretty French Shoppe, called Annabelle! I believe it also has a sweet sent in the eiffel tower candle...I know how much you LOVE the Eiffel Tower. So, so, so.......... ADORABLE!!!

Once Rhonda receives my package, I will post more pics of her goodies! But for now, please enjoy!
Bonne nuit, xoxo jo ;)