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A French-Inspired Garden and Home by Judith Stringham

French White Christmas 2013

Sunday, January 5, 2014

The twelve days of Christmas end January 6, 
and I am still creating new Christmas table settings. 


A White Christmas...part 2 
has a decidedly French flair. 



The white urn filled with fresh greenery and a single Sugar pinecone 
is the essence of understated French design. 



A vintage French carte postale pinned to an unframed 
white burlap canvas board with a simple gold-plated fleur-de-lis 
was created earlier this year. 
Detailed directions show how to create this using easily found supplies. 
Of course, you have to fly to Paris to get 
an authentic old carte postale from a flea market. 


More French inspiration... 
A black urn holds an unadorned fresh tree, 
and the white wicker planter holds live olive trees. 



Perhaps another little French-inspired design, a white crown, 
is just the thing to top the beautiful little tree. 



Tied onto the tree with a little white seam binding ribbon, 
the crown exudes simple French style. 



My wooden French designed chairs with the hand-carved floral 
pattern are not new, but are just now getting a new coat of white paint. 



As a work in progress, they will get more coats of paint, 
be distressed a little, and will get a wax finish. 
An upcoming post will show how they looked when I got them, 
show some of the steps of how I painted them, 
and then will show the finished product. 



The white table setting includes a Christmas present, 
a wood carved white picture frame. 



More hallmarks of Country French influences... 
Simple white plates with just a touch of a raised pattern 
along the rim are paired with beaded flatware 
adorned with a small fleur-de-lis. 



A simple setting with just a plate and flatware on a placemat... 
and a small gold Christmas tree place card holder. 



A small cluster of the place card holders are also part of the centerpiece. 



The French-inspired Christmas table includes a view of the 
garden shed with its French roofline and French doors. 



A simple beribboned Christmas decorated swag hangs above the table. 



Noël tops the small collection of white, silver, and gold ornaments. 


A boxwood wreath hangs from a scrolled door hanger by a 
French script fabric ribbon. 



A closer look reveals the ornate fleur-de-lis on the ribbon. 



I made the ribbon by tearing 2 1/2" wide strips from white cotton fabric.  
 Using fleur-de-lis and French script rubber stamps, I stamped the 
strips using an archival black ink. 


Before creating the French white Christmas look for the breakfast area, 
the boxwood had been hung using a blue striped ribbon. 



Is any French kitchen complete without a pet? 
There is a towel on the upholstered chair seat to help keep it clean 
when the cats lie on it. 

Look closely. 
That dark blob on one of the white chairs is my cat Indiana lying on it. 
You may have spotted a cat tail in an earlier photo. 
That's Callie, another one of my cats, checking out 
the French White Christmas breakfast area. 



She likes it.  

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