for the love of france...

...and good design, and golden shiny wonderfulness -- I have teamed up with Susan from the blog Fleurishing, who is hosting a giveaway in celebration of her three years of blogging.


You may remember that, about a year ago, I created a set of custom-stitched pieces for the nursery of her (then) soon-to-arrive twins. Those twins are now almost a year old and oh-my-goodness, are they precious. (Want a fix of adorable-twin-baby-cuteness? Follow Susan on instagram.)


(photos of Henry and Marie's nursery courtesy Courtney Apple)

Aaanyway, Susan is celebrating her third year of blogging in grand style; she's launched a brand-spankin' new
site design, and she's hosting three giveaways; one for francophiles, one for mamas, and one for design-lovers.

One of my pieces, a quote from Audrey Hepburn (as the title character) in Sabrina, is up for grabs as part of the francophile giveaway!


Susan came up with and recommended the quote and I thought it was perfect. Taking inspiration from Susan's love of gold and the pieces that I did for her nursery, as well as my own romantic visions and ideals of Paris and its nickname of The City of Light, I went with this golden color scheme.

Speaking of Paris -- I miss it... It was the first overseas city I visited (in 1997?) The last time I was there was in 2006, where I spent 10 days wandering the city taking photos and spending time with some of the most inspiring people I've met to date.

(a series of self-portraits I took in the mirrors of Paris:)


It was on this trip that "chez-sucre-chez" was first spoken (A mistake I made, with my less-than-stellar French language skills, to say "home sweet home.), and where I first started to feel the courage and passion and maybe the spark of confidence and hope that perhaps it was possible to live the life that I dreamed -- maybe one (I) could be a full-time maker/artist.... It seemed that all of the people I met, (especially my friends, the beautiful Hanania twins, Estelle and Marion - who continue to inspire me always with their make-it-happen creativity and talent.) were making art, or fashion, or music, -- and making their living from it. That trip certainly marked a turning point in my life.

So --- viva la France!!
Please go on over and check out the Fleurishing blog -- Susan has great taste, you may want to add this blog to your list of bookmarks! And follow the directions for your chance to win some French-inspired goodness! It's not only my piece, but also goodies from Nichole Robertson, girls can tell (a fellow Philadephia-area artist who just opened brick-and-mortar store Ocassionette), and Ink and Iron.

(PS-- Juuuust in case you're not feeling lucky, or you do enter and don't win and are really sad about that, I have the piece up on Etsy - both in the colorway above and in another, or as a custom-order in your colors... find it here.)