August (ahem!) giveaway N°6 - an original oil painting

Last week I told you it was my last giveaway for August, but today I have yet another fabulous gift for you to win, so I have to stretch the month a little.  I'm sure you'll forgive me though when you see what a wonderful new giveaway I have for you today.

This beautiful oil painting is an original, created especially for readers of My French Country Home by the talented artist Carolina Elizabeth.   The painting is an oil on linen panel.  It comes unframed and measures 5" x 6".   Carolina painted this lovely bouquet with the style of My French Country Home in mind!  Amazing!!

 Carolina sells regularly: via her lovely blog Carolina Elizabeth, and also via the website the Daily Painters Guild.

  

Like so many of us, she has found that internet has provided her with the means of being creative, showing her work, reaching out to people, but still being at home for her family.

If you would like to try to win this beautiful painting simply pop over to Carolina's blog, sign up as a follower, take a look around, and tell us which you prefer of the lovely paintings she shows .  Her speciality is still life, and there are some beautiful landscapes too.

And of course you are all dying to know whose name came out of the draw last night, ....

I am happy to say that the lucky winner of two beautiful cushions of her choice from Atelier Be is Linda Stansbury who writes the blog All new at 62 .   Congratulations!

If you get in touch with me Linda, I shall send your address over to Jess at Atelier Be

Thank you all for taking part.  Don't forget to check in later in the week to see how my Brocante Tour is going!  They all arrive in Normandy this morning YAY!!

August giveaways - N°5 two stunning cushions

 Can you believe how fast the month of August has passed?!!

Today is my fifth and last giveaway, and I have to thank each of the sponsors who have donated so generously each week to make this giveaway season so spectacular.

Thank you also to everyone who has taken part.  Your enthusiasm for each new prize, and your willingness to share on facebook et al, is amazing.

Without further ado, here is today's giveaway, which I know you are going to adore ...

There is a talented lady, bearing the dreamy name of Jessica Chauvot de  Beauchêne, who lives in a century old village in Switzerland.  She is originally from Connecticut, but she fell in love with a frenchman, and has since settled in Europe.

 She creates these wonderful cushions from old linen sacks, with the original writing, or with logo and writing reproduced in traditional style.

She writes a charming blog, and she has an amazing etsy store, all under the name of Atelier Be.

She and her husband moved to Switzerland  at the same time as her parent's in law were emptying their family's Norman farmhouse which was packed to the rafters with trunk upon trunk of old textiles, etc.    [NDLR, excuse me while I sit down and breathe deeply!]

She  took as much as she could possibly fit  with no clear idea of what to do with it all.   [Pass me the smelling salts]    ......  Eventually creativity sparked and the Atelier was born, the Atelier Be website  and etsy soon followed.  Now she  searches from brocante to basement looking for old fabrics to re-purpose and infuse with new life.  

So Jess's very generous giveaway is for TWO  pillow shams [that would be cushion covers for the British amongst us! ) of your choice, shipped anywhere in the world, so yet again this giveaway is open to all.

How to enter?

First of all visit the Atelier Be etsy store, take a good look and come back here to tell us which pillows you prefer

If you would like a second entry then click here to find the Atelier Be facebook page, give them a new like and come back to report!

The will be chosen by random draw next Tuesday evening at midnight Paris time

And finally, for those who are dying to know if they won the right to commission a pve design   design of their house or pet, I am happy to announce that the winner of last week's giveaway is ......

Kim  who writes the charming blog White Whispers 2 U

Congratulations Kim,  and consolations to everyone else who joined in - you can still have a commissioned portrait, just get in touch with Patricia at pve design and put in an order!

Wishing you all a delightful day!

August Giveaway N°1 - an e-course in home design!

I am very excited to announce an August full of giveaways here on the blog.  Every Wednesday I shall have something wonderful to be won, that makes five Wednesdays between now and September when you can try your luck.

Each giveaway will run for a week, and the winner announced the following Wednesday.

And by the way, I have one Wednesday still free!  If you have an amazing product you would like to promote here just send me an email and I'll see if I can fit you in.

 This week I am delighted to be able to offer three lucky winners a place on this wonderful e-course, starting in October.

 Creatively made Home has been designed by Tracy Leber of French Larkspur, I'm sure you all know her beautiful photography and sure eye for a great piece of design.  I am particularly happy to host this giveaway as Tracy and Jeanne Oliver will be coming to stay in our cottage next September, and I know that their visit is going to be seriously good fun!

With her friends Sara Duckett,  Jeanne Oliver,  Kimberly Taylor, Jennifer Rizzo  Tracy will be running a 5 week course to help you find new creativity in your home

In Tracy's words:

 Creatively Made Home is an all new e-course about creating a home that reflects your heart in everyday living.  It is about inspiring and encouraging you to create and style a home that you and your family love to live in...

 

Here is the jam-packed schedule for the course:

* Each week you will have amazing truthful videos from not only the five teachers but other creative women.

* Each week we will take a room from one of YOU and all five women will give their suggestions telling you how they would transform the room with their style.

* There will be 50+ project videos.

These will be incredible videos that include everything from gardening, cooking, gift giving and decorating.

* There will be written tips from each woman telling you how she starts a room, picks paint, fabrics, etc.  You will learn where to start when putting your own home together.

* Tons of beautiful house photos from each of the five women.

* Videos that truly reflect what life is like in each of their homes.  The stuff that life is really about. 

* Each woman will share their own truthful journey about how they started making their home a reflection of their hearts.

* Each person registered will get an easy entertaining e-book to download.

It will contain go to recipes for beautiful and easy entertaining (they do go together), photos of table settings that take the stress out of having people over, favorite drinks and so much more (and their funniest entertaining story).

* There will be a private Facebook group to connect with other class members.

* There will be a once a week live discussion with one of the teachers!

* You will get printables and pdfs to keep and use again and again.

Can you believe how much fun this will be?!  I'll be taking part in the course myself, and I am so looking forward to a little help in brightening up my home.

So here is how to take part in the giveaway:

simply leave a comment below telling me why you'd like to take part in the course.

For additional entries, share news of the giveaway on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.

Please leave a separate comment for  each additional entry.

Don't forget there will be three winners here and the giveaway is open to everyone so don't hold back!!

The winners will be drawn Tuesday 7th at midnight Paris time, and the names announced on Wednesday 8th, when I shall also announce giveaway number 2!

 

a guest post and a june give away

Today I am honoured and excited to be a guest at The Enchanted Home, that wonderful blog written by the sparkling Tina, who has delighted us with the tale of building her home, and then with the opening of her beautiful on-line store.

If you haven't been there before, check her out straight away!!

And to any new visitors to My French Country Home, that have come over from Tina's Enchanted Home, thank you for dropping by.  To celebrate the month of June, possibly my favourite in the year, I am pleased to announce a little giveaway, you'll find details at the end of the post.

June, here  in Normandy, is the month of roses, the month of dropping by at friends' homes; the month of garden fairs, the month of early starts to get to brocante fairs in fields still wet with morning dew.

Here are a few shots I took over the past couple of weeks, a sample of everyday life at My French Country Home.

sharing drinks with friends who live by the river;

planting up the potager;

misty mornings before hot days;

climbing hydrangeas shouting for joy;

and peonies and roses competing for our attention;

So here without further ado, are the little treasures I have found recently at brocante fairs here, and that I am happy to offer to three different readers for my June giveaway.

First a pretty hand towel embroidered with the letter A, second a hotel silver creamer, embossed with the name Welcome Hotel, and lastly three little duck moulds, so charming on a kitchen shelf.

You know the drill for these giveaways

leave a comment telling  me what you would like to win;

and for another entry share on fb or twitter;

an extra entry for each accomplished task!

Winners will be drawn out in a weeks time, midday Wednesday 13th, Paris time of course!

Thank you for reading me, and thank you to Tina for inviting me over today.

Bonne chance!!

a fantastic giveaway from Parisienne Farmgirl

I am thrilled to welcome Parisienne Farmgirl as a new sponsor to MFCH.  The Creator and Editor Angela writes the  blog Parsienne Farmgirl that you may already be familiar with , and on the 1st April she is heading for a huge new adventure with the launch of her very own e-magazine.

-   Hi Angela, welcome to My French Country Home!  When I read  Parisienne Farmgirl, I can see that you are very family oriented.  You have 4 beautiful children, we know that your mother writes another great blog, Savvy City Farmer;    how important is family to you? 

My family is definitely my number one priority.  I am very selective about what I do outside of the home and am very "home-centered".  When I do get out for some "Momma time" it's very refreshing and much needed, but I really enjoy taking care of my family.

-    I'm amazed at how much you get done with four small children to care for; not only the blog but you school your children;  sew clothes, cook and bake and now you are launching an e-magazine!  

Would you like to tell us a little about your daily routine and your priorities. (dear readers, you may want to sit down before seeing the next bit - it's exhausting !! :)

Girls tease me about that often.  You know, I don't really do it all.  I wake up every morning thinking, "How much can I cram into this day?  From creating a new cake recipe to working out but I never get to it all,  Not one does, no matter how gorgeous a blog they create!  LOL! I stick pretty close to home and I am very task orientated to I accomplish a lot even with homeschooling and a new baby but let's be real, something always gives ... if it's a high macaron production week in the kitchen the laundry suffers a bit you know?  

I do a lot of planning ahead from meals to what the children are going to wer to church on Sunday, it saves my brain from freaking out when things really get moving.  I do love to work and we don't have TV so I suppose I save a bit of time there.  It's a flattering question of course but we are all the same  aren't we?  No one does it all - we all have days where we just need a good shampoo and some time to clean out our fridge!

-   What gave you the idea for the magazine and who are you hoping to reach?

I have to say that I receive the MOST encouraging emails from women throughout the week.  Goodness knows I am not the craftiest person out there, I only sew occasionally, I am not creating and photographing new recipes every other day, nor can I shop for treasures the way I wish I could but there seems to be something about the Parisienne Farmgirl concept that has struck a chord.  Those who live in the city are intrigued by a slower, homespun way of life and what country girl doesn't dream of being an ultra chic city girl? 


The idea of the magazine feels so comfortable. Simply stated I want to reach women who are looking to carve out a more beautiful life for themselves and their families.

-  There is a very strong womanly feel around your blog and your pictures.  How do you explain that blogging is so popular with women?

Oh, I have to say, I am glad you noticed!  How dull to run around and try to be like a man all the time!  I love femininity and I don't really mean frilly and lace.  I mean embracing femininity in everything from our clothing to allowing ourselves to fall head over heals in love with taking care of our families.  I firmly believe that blogging has been such a success with women because we are dying for friendships and for affinity.  These days so many women work, we are spread all over the place... it's difficult to make like-minded friendships.  Blogging opens up an entire world for women who would never have time to make those kinds of friends.  It's like the modern day version of the 1950's bridge game!

Tell us more about the magazine ...


So, Parisienne Farmgirl Magazine "Blending Country Life Simplicity with Champs Élysées Sophistication" is all about inspiring and promoting women. 

  I really want to bless other women with the exposure that has been afforded me in the last couple years.  There are a lot of big time girls out there and small time ones... the ones who can actually buy their families groceries thanks to an Etsy sale or two.  I want the magazine to be a blessing to them - getting the word out about them!  It's going to be a gorgeous publication and we have found the most amazing writers and photographers - all with a Parisienne Farmgirl spin of their own.  We want it to be beautiful... heavy on photographs, light on ads. 

And - between  you, me and your readers I will have my Macaron cook book done and ready for sale by July!  Lots of people ask me about my macarons so I am pretty excited about it!

So finally to the giveaway ...  Angela is generously offering a year's subscription to anyone joining in the giveaway, and if you have already subscribed, you could be reimbursed.  As if that weren't enough, she will also gift this fantastic Linneas Lights scented candle to the winner.  The giveaway is open to everyone so don't hold back.  To enter simply leave a comment below, telling me that you follow Parisienne Farmgirl, and you have taken a look at the magazine preview , to gain extra entries come back and tell me that you have spread the word on facebook, twitter or pinterest.

Winner announced in a week's time, Thursday 23 February!

a Diane James Home give away

I am delighted to welcome the fabulous Diane James Home as a new sponsor to My French Country Home, and to tell you about her amazing giveaway.

This pretty Peony and Rose bouquet looks as if the flowers have just been cut in the garden but they are actually faux!   You have a chance to win this beautiful bouquet, that normally sells in Diane's store for $350.

 Diane James arrangements have become a favourite with interior designers, and are to be found in elegant homes around the world.   When you visit her store you'll be amazed at the variety of bouquets in all your favourite flowers, and the huge choice of beautiful plants that will look good for years!

Diane James creates the most exquisite faux bouquets with all my favourite flowers as well as beautiful faux plants and orchids. Her  natural flair for flower arranging was nurtured when she lived in Europe, where she trained with the experts.  Today her twin daughters, Carolyn and Cynthia,  have joined her in the family company, and together they form a charming and winning team.    In the United States she is a favourite supplier to designer stores like Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus.

If you want to keep up with all their latest news, and see more stylish inspirations, you can check out the company's blog The Buzz

To enter the giveaway is easy.  Simply check that you are a follower here, then head over to the Diane James site and browse her shelves.    Come back here and tell me which of her products you prefer.   If you would like additional entries to the draw, you simply talk about the giveaway on facebook ,  twitter or pinterest.  A separate comment for each new entry please.

Extra good news is that Diane James is generously opening the give away to everyone, no matter where you live!

I will draw a winner in one week, on Thursday 2nd February at midnight Paris time.  The lucky girl (or boy!) will be announced the next day, and hopefully will receive their bouquet in time for St Valentine's day.

Bonne chance à tout le monde!