Feature Friday: The Patisserie Cushion

Happy Friday!

We've got a swell feature today from our friend Nik at Linenandwood.

She's made this beautiful cushion cover using antique grainsack and our very popular Patisserie stencil to give it a French feel.

The red stripe embroidery is original to the grainsack.  I just love the striped grainsacks.  Laura made me a pillow with one for my living room.  It adds a whole new dimension instead of flat burlap feel. 

Can't you see a few of these pillows in a breakfast nook?   One for a bakery, one for a vegetable market, one for a creamery?  Too cute!

Here's a link to the cushion cover on Etsy.
You can also check out Nik's Etsy shop, Linenandwood.
Here's a link to the Patisserie stencil at the Maisondestencils store.

Have a wonderful weekend, see you Wednesday!

Etspiration Wednesday: The Garden

Hey Readers,

I have a confession to make.  One I probably should not be making, but I am shameless and the first step to solving a problem is admitting you have one.  This is my backyard.

You've fled in terror?  Okay, when you come back, I'll tell you my plan for taming this huge thwack of nature. 

It wasn't always like this.  That huge tangle of blackberry and horsetails and wild roses has actually crept closer and closer to our house as the years have passed.  If we don't do something soon, I'm quite convinced we will become engulfed by Oregon wilderness.

The issues are these: 

• We're lazy.  Let's not mince words here.  We let it get that bad. 

• Every plant has thorns.  When I do work back there, I wear gauntlets I could tame a falcon with. 

• The hill is totally a hill.  This is not some graceful, rolling slope.  It's a rather shear drop and we're worried about erosion if we tore it all out.  (They don't call Astoria "Little San Francisco" for no reason.)  

• Final and cutest reason:  we have friendlies in those bushes.  Deer pass through there all the time.  Our favorite is a little chipmunk who Graham and I watch every day.  He runs from our cherry blossom tree to the nature tangle.  I named him Ambrose.  

So here's my dream:

I would love to have a terraced garden with flowers and veggies.  It would have stone steps for you to walk up.  And a proper place for a table and chairs since our back porch is the size of a potholder.  I'm thinking that it could happen this summer.  Maybe not the actual vegetables, but definitely all the design.  I've been daydreaming on Etsy for accoutrements for this dream garden.  Want to check them out with me?

1A:  Heirloom Brussel Sprouts Seeds Image Courtesy MoonlightMicroFarm

1B:  Antique Wooden Cask Mockingbird Lane Image Courtesy LinenandWood

1C:  French Jardiniere Image Courtesy Mypetitemaison

1D:  Mason Bee House Image Courtesy Utopiawoodcrafters

It's bee season here in Astoria.  Carpenter bees, scary unidentified wasp things, honey bees, you name it.   I'd love to have a place for good bees to hang out and pollinate my garden instead of my front porch, where they delight in dive bombing me as I come and go.  I also like the design of the Mason Bee House in 1D.  It blends in with the environment really well. 

2A:  Garden Stencil Image Courtesy Maisondestencils
2B:  Organic Round Zucchini Squash Seeds Image Courtesy Nimblenitecap
2C:  Numbered Galvanized Pots Image Courtesy LaMorteStyle
2D:  Le Jardin Sign Image Courtesy CountryBlissDesigns

I learned through this garden adventure that you can buy seeds on Etsy.  Who knew?  I cannot find these fantastic round zucchini anywhere out on the coast so I'd love to plant them in my garden.  I'm told they're more of an international grocery store type item.   They're perfect for making individual veggie pizzas.

3A:  Vintage Wooden Fruit Crate Image Courtesy AnUnexpectedJourney
3B:  French Architectural Salvage Image Courtesy MyFrenchAntiqueShop
3C:  Organic Carrot Seeds Image Courtesy WinsomeGreen
3D:  Jardin De Fleurs Stencil Image Courtesy Maisondestencils

How great is that architectural element in 3B?  I love salvage, love it.  There's a killer architectural hardware shop here in Astoria called Vintage Hardware.  It's my no-no store.  I can spends lots of money there.  But of course, a salvage shop is only as old as as its junk, so an Etsy store with European salvage?  More's the better!

4A:  Vegetable and Herb Planter Stakes Image Courtesy GoldhawkPotteryEtc
4B:  Jardin De Fleurs 12x12 Stencil Image Courtesy Maisondestencils
4C:  French Garden Urn Image Courtesy DreaminParis

I love the garden markers in 4A!  There were oodles of them on Etsy, but these were my favorite.  Very simple, easy to read (and isn't that the whole point), and you get a few of them for one price.  Awesome!


Thanks as always to the Etsy shop owners for use of their images.  See you Friday!

Feature Friday: Chateau de Cheverny Tablecloth

Happy Friday Readers!

We've got a great feature today from a new business!  Our customer Cindy has started an endeavor she calls Green Mountain BoHo.  She's making all sorts of linens with Laura's stencils.  Check out this super cool tablecloth she made using the Chateau de Cheverny stencil.

Each instance of the stencil represents a place setting.  How neat is that?

Chateau de Cheverny is a great stencil if you are looking to achieve that vintage grainsack look.  The originals are getting rather difficult to find nowadays.  You can find it here at the Maisondestencils store.

Cindy has an Etsy store you can check out here.  She also has a facebook page you can check out.

Our thanks to Cindy at Green Mountain Boho for use of her images.  If you'd like to have an item you created with Maisondestencils' stencil featured on our website, drop me a line here.  I'd love to feature you!

Thanks, see you next week!

Etspiration Wednesday: Mother's Day

I know, I'm a little early with a post about Mother's Day.  But there's a reason!  My sister called me late last week and said, "You know, Mother's Day is this weekend."  To which I replied, "WHAT?"  I had plans of course (I'm a good daughter, if a wee bit of a procrastinator), but nothing done yet.  Nothing to get in the mail (and geez is our mail slow up here) in time for a Mother's Day as determined by Laura.

"That can't be right!"  I exclaimed.  She assured me it was.  I hung up the phone and started searching the internet like a headless chicken.  Well, a quick look at my calendar informed me that Mother's Day was not so soon and I still had time.  But clearly, I had to get my rear in gear with regard to a present for our Mom.

I realized around that time that it would be a good opportunity to do an Etspiration for Mother's Day.  I started tooling around Etsy for, you know, stuff about moms.  Mugs with the word "Mom" on them and the like.  Then it occurred to me; why not do an Etspiration about our mom?  She's certainly the mom I know best.

So here you have it, a tour of Etsy inspired by the maman de la maison!

1A:  Finnish Flag Pillow Image Courtesy Mazizmuse
1B:  Suomi Finnish Squirrel Pillow Image Courtesy TouchWoodDesign
1C:  Sisu Wood Sign Image Courtesy Banished
1D:  Finland Roots Print Image Courtesy MyRoots



The first thing you have to know about our mom is that she's Finnish.  Like most Americans, she's a lot of other things, but she would tell you that her Finnish bits are the best bits.  She's very proud of her Finnish heritage and every since we were little, she talked to us about Sisu.  Sisu is one of those cultural words like "umami" or "chutzpah."  Most reference books define it as sort of an iron determination, an unwillingness to give up.  I think I'd wager that having a little sisu makes you a strong person because of adversity, not in spite of it.  I know my mom's got it in spades.

So here are some fab Finn related items from Etsy.  I'm in love with the squirrel pillow in image 1B.  TouchWoodDesign makes pillows like that for dozens of different nations and they are all amazing.

2A:  Costa Rica Fair Trade Coffee Image Courtesy RedRoosterCoffee
2B:  Black Cow Coffee Tin Image Courtesy VintageHardware
2C:  Minnesota Coffee Mug Image Courtesy DailyGrinder
2D:  Queen Of Everything Stencil Image Courtesy Maisondestencils


Our next stop on the mom tour is coffee.  Our mom is a coffee fanatic.  It has to be strong and there has to be a lot of it.  Our dad always complained that you could fill the cracks in our driveway with mom's coffee.  Isn't the Minnesota coffee mug in image 2C neat?  That's where our family emigrated to after leaving Finland.

3A:   Queen Bee Stencil Image Courtesy Maisondestencils
3B:  Cookies and Cream Fudge Image Courtesy Jewelofthelion 
3C:  Mum Pillow Set Image Courtesy Annakrycz


A word on cookies and cream.  When I was little, my mom used to always tell me she invented cookies and cream ice cream.  She would crumble up Oreos on vanilla ice cream and voila, cookies and cream.  Now, this was back in the early 50s, so who am I to say?  Maybe she did invent the flavor!  All I know for sure is that cookies and cream fudge sounds amazing!

4A:  Vintage Oscillating Fan Image Courtesy AffordableAdornment
4B:  Mother Definition Stencil Image Courtesy Maisondestencils
4C:  Vintage Bauer Bowl Image Courtesy WhereSourGrassGrows

As a child of the 40s and 50s, my mom grew up with the heavies.  Chrome fendered cars.  White porcelain Wedgewood stoves.  Rotary dialing Bakelite telephones.  Trends have come and gone and she has seen almost every item from her childhood swing back into style for home decor.  She loves collecting all these relics from the past and has shared some of them with me for my own home.  I have a great Bauer bowl like this that sits on my kitchen table.  Unless you go artisan (which you can on Etsy) you just can't find pottery like this anymore.


Thanks to our Etsy sellers for use of their images.  This collection was a blast to compile and I hope that you and your mom's have a wonderful Mother's Day.  On its rightful day.  May 13th. 

Feature Friday: The Backporch Shoppe Signs

When Laura first started designing stencils, signs for home decor were her bread and butter.  To a large extent, they still are, but crafty folks have realized you can stencil on anything from burlap to plaster to ceramic.  We thought this week we'd highlight a wonderful customer who makes stunning signs with Laura's stencils.  They can really transform a space from dull to dramatic.  Take a look at the handiwork of Darline from The Backporch Shoppe.

They are so good, I couldn't pick just one.  (Isn't that a potato chip slogan?)

One of the things we like most about Darline's signs is they have great shapes.  They aren't just rectangles or squares.  The scrollwork shape here on this Paris Flower Market sign really emphasizes the vintage feel of her work.

Doesn't her paint look perfectly chippy and old?  We loved that weathered look she's able to create.  She does a lot of decor for weddings, (in fact, we featured her in last Wednesday's Etspiration) like the sign above, but she has art for other occasions as well.

As she wrote in her email to me, she uses Laura's flourishes extensively in her signs to add that little extra bit of interest.  If you have never looked, there's a whole category at the Maisondestencils store dedicated to Flourishes and Scrolls and the possibilities are endless as to where you can add them.  Signs, pillows, labels, homemade wrapping paper.  You name it!

Isn't this Air Postale sign just the coolest?  I love the postmark, it adds that special authentic feel to the sign. 

Many thanks to Darline for use of her images.  Please check out her Etsy shop here, it has the greatest stuff.  

Have you made a sign using a Maisondestencils stencil you'd like us to feature?  Drop us an email, we'd love to hear from you.

Take care, have a wonderful weekend.  I see blue sky here on the coast so I think I'll unplug from the computer for a little bit!

Special Promo Wednesday

Hiya Readers!

We are taking a break from Etspirations this week to talk about something near and dear to our hearts!  Promotions!

We want our little blog to have more viewers, and we want your blog to as well.  To that end, we are offering a button trade! 
We'd love to put your button on our blog, and please feel free to grab our button right over there to the left. 

If you are unfamiliar to this concept, there are around a million tutorials on the web, here's a nice, easy to follow one.


Speaking of your blog, have you made something with a Maisondestencils stencil you'd like to show off?

We'd love to feature you as part of our Feature Fridays segment.  If you are interested, please email us
and we can have a chat about your work and how we can best showcase you on our blog.

Here's a link to my email if you're interested!


Thanks so much for reading!

Happy Sunday!

Greetings Readers!

I hope you are having a marvelous Sunday!  I don't have anything stencil related to post, but I wanted to share the glorious weather we're having here in Oregon.

 

I hope wherever you are, you're having as much fun as my little boy Graham did eating sand.  :)