Wednesday, April 16, 2008

New Items..."YUMMY" New Inventory!

OK...Are these new Paris-themed bags not just TOTALLY to die for???
These beautiful leather bags are literally works of art: they are made using photographs taken by the artist herself, in Paris, then transferred to the bags - creating art you wear.
Its safe to say, your friends will likely NOT have one of these, so now is your chance to get this major fashion "scoop" first and be the envy of all the girls! Don't you just love it when that happens?? :)
They are expected to be available for us to ship out to you by about April 25 (next Friday) so get your orders in NOW! Obviously, if they come in sooner, we ship 'em sooner! Don't miss out!


Perhaps its how real they look (AND THEY DO LOOK REAL!) or perhaps its that my tummy is growling right now (too many hours at the computer, skipping lunch...) but just working with the pictures of these new "faux gateaux" (fake pastries/goodies) makes me SO hungry!
We're so happy to once again be carrying these wonderful fake delights -- they were incredibly popular a few years ago when we carried the cakes and I know they will be again.

Truth be told, we decided to take a break from carrying them for a rather odd reason --they were SO realistic that we actually had some problems with people thinking they were real -- they would actually try cutting them and then end up returning them because they thought they were getting the real thing!

I see now that even the manufacturer has begun putting a pretty "warning" label of sorts on the cake boxes ('For decorative purposes only! Not edible.') -- smart move!

Perhaps they were having their own "experiences" on their end with people thinking their products were real...?


We now have the pink 9" cakes, absolutely GORGEOUS mini-cakes (much like a petite four, just larger and we have them in either traditional "flavors" or a beautiful, all-white assortment!), cookies, French bread loaves, and a bread basket assortment. YUM!!

Our fancy, large, Pastry Tag is the perfect accompaniment to any of the "faux gateaux" -- as an added touch in display or especially when giving one of the faux items as a gift!

There are also so many other new things already added to the site AND many that are on their way. There is no way to cover everything here, but here is a sampling of some of what's been added recently:
Skeem candles, pictured below...(two sizes: large and GI-NORMOUS) which are one of the hottest brands around (for good reason). They burn cleanly and without the typical waste associated with most candles. The scents are many and the strength makes them worth their weight in, well, wax? :) Check 'em out!
These ceramic glove forms in the picture below were "rescued" from a defunct glove factory and are in wonderul shape (and, their shape is wonderful!). They were actually used in the glove-making process and are approximately 12 years old (their age varies slightly). They're fabulous for display of jewelry, but we also love the idea of hanging a little sign on one saying "talk to the hand!" :)

We've also added some absolutely stunning new decor items such as the toleware-style Robin Candle Sconces, and the matching Robin Planter/Cachepot. Coordinating beautifully is our new set of two, terracotta Robins done in vintagey-mellow coloring...beautiful!

Literally JUST IN are these gorgeous bird/mercury ball hanging pieces (below)! Get yours NOW, because you know what they say about "a bird in the hand is worth two in..." oh, never mind.

The absolutely gorgeous moss-covered baskets (set of two!) are truly something wonderful.

Then there is still more now in stock from the uber-fab Cavallini & Co. - makers of the best, the finest italian paper goods on the planet -- at least we think so anyway.
Just to name a few (seen below) are the newest Paris Landmark gift tags, a gorgeous new set of Bird gift tags, stunning Butterfly Carte Postale postcard sets, and quite a few new blank books (two are shown below).





Also on their way to us, as I type, are these very chic and very affordable (even better!)
French canvas buckets (collapsible for storage, too!) and the canvas French newspaper logo totes. I'm in Francophile-heaven.

OK.....Drumroll....
Saved "the best" for last (although ALL the new things are "BEST").
I am EXTRA excited to be able to finally offer you the much-coveted, typically WAY TOO EXPENSIVE French, vintage-style bottle racks. Now, the one pictured below is an example of what they look like -- not the very one we're getting. But CLOSE! The only difference is the height. Ours will be just a teensy bit shorter. But other than that, you get the idea!
I have one of these personally and I just have not yet taken all the pics for the site. The pics are coming soon and in them I'll show many of the ways this awesome piece can be put to use...
This past Christmas, I had mine set up on my kitchen counter for weeks with ALL my Christmas mugs on it. (That tells you how many mugs I have, for one thing!)

It was the talk of every gathering/party we had -- no one had ever seen anything like it and I was afraid if it weren't so gigantic, one of them would have absconded with it! :)
Before that, during the Christmas Tour Of Homes that our home was featured on, the rack was in its normal place in my office/packing & shipping room where it typically holds all my scads of bolts of various ribbons for gift-wrapping for the store. When the ladies touring the building saw it, again, each one was captivated by it and wanted one for their crafts/ribbons supply!
Just a quick note: we still have some of these wonderful "World Landmark" shower curtains. They are probably the coolest thing I've seen in a long time. We have Paris, London (shown below), Venice, and the Brooklyn Bridge! Get yours now!
Finally, a big "MERCI" to all of you who entered the "April In Paris" giveaway. I hated that only one peson could win, though. Yuck. :(

I've got A TON of crafty-type projects to do and feature next on the blog -- I bought a "boat load" of vintage, chippy window frames at a local flea market (thank you, hubby, for understanding and going along with me on this purchase) that I now need to come up with some great ideas for. Hmm...
Also plan to make my own version of the now-famous dress form project (turning a new dress form into one that looks vintage with just some paint!).

Plus, a few other creative projects that have been waiting in cue long enough.

Hope to hear from you -- especially if you have any helpful ideas on how to utilize and transform about a dozen old, large vintage windows! :)

Saturday, April 5, 2008

WE HAVE A WINNER!!!




Its official -- comment #15 won our April In Paris giveaway!! Congratulations, Jean!!

We used this really neat random number generator online to pick the winner, which is good because if left up to me, I'd like to send ALL of you a prize package!

I just can't thank you enough for taking the time to enter the little giveaway game. I'm sure there will be more to come in the future -- I'll just have to think of the next theme for the giveaway! "Christmas In July", maybe?? :)

Jean, all I need from you is the address to which we should send your goodies! To the rest of you who left comments and entered...my heart is just sick that I can't just send all of you something!!

My family is always telling me that if I wasn't careful I'd simply give away my whole store! Oh well, I just like to see people smile. :)

Thank you, again, for all your comments -- reading them was so wonderful! Merci!