Visiting Los Angeles This Weekend?

Just in case you happen to find yourself in Los Angeles this weekend and are looking for a bit of crafty holiday inspiration - why not join us for our Gilded French Holiday Workshop on Saturday, December 17th from 4-9! Join Shea Fragoso, Debbie Murray and myself as we each teach three festive workshops - an ornament, a tree and a bracelet! We'll have plenty of holiday cheer, as well as some of our favorite students in the house, for an evening of fun! Sign up at frenchgeneral.com or give us a call at (323)668-0488.

Shea Fragoso's Sparkle Ornament

Debbie Murray's Lace Tree

Kaari Meng's Ruby Bracelet

Paper Arts and Crafts

After years of thinking about it, mapping it out in our heads and dreaming up all sorts of creative inspiration...we have finally designed our first paper arts line!

Filled with all of the old bits and pieces from another time, our first collection, with EK Success for Jolee's Boutique, will be available in all the best craft stores, including Michael's, in the Spring of 2012.

Although this line is perfect for people who love to scrapbook, I hope that it translates to all other sorts of paper crafts - packaging, collaging and decorating your favorite inspiration boards.

All of our favorite old textiles and patterns have been reproduced onto beautiful card stock as well as textured adhesive backed paper.

And of course there are lots of tags, notions and old French paper bits - with twine, ribbon and lace included to make sure everything feels authentic and very French General.

We've worked hard on this collection to make sure everything layers and mixes well - and hopefully you will enjoy crafting with it, as much as we enjoyed designing it!

A Bundle of Winners

As always, I am amazed at all the wonderful comments and inspired by everyone's holiday inspiration - thank you for playing along in the Moda Blog Hop! To make it easy on myself I randomly picked four names to receive a bundle of our red, green and winter white fabric - hopefully to be used for your holiday sewing! Michelle Olsen in Washington, Rachel in Canada, Jenny in Indiana and Judy in North Carolina are the four lucky winners chosen - please write me at notions@frenchgeneral.com and send me your mailing address and we will send out a bundle of colorful fabric to you.
Warm holiday wishes to all!

Moda Holiday Blog Hop

It's that time of the year - lot's of red (my favorite!), holiday cheer and some fun from Moda! Today is the third day of the Moda Holiday Blog Hop and it's our day - as well as a few other friends! We've got one of our favorite holiday recipes, a block pattern and a wonderful holiday give-away on this exciting day!
I usually get all uncreative at this time of the year. I think I've worked with so many beads, buttons, fabric swatches and paper embellishments...that I burn out. I used to really dread it - but now I kinda like it - it feels like my August. Everyone has an August - that time of the year when you get to relax before it all starts up again. But the funny, is that it's the busiest time of the year - so I am trying to relax while all this energy in me knows there is so much to do...so much to get done...the holidays are here!

Some of my favorite holiday inspirations....

Fresh Herbs Tied up with Ribbon

(photo from Homestead Gardens)

Peppermint Hot Chocolate

(photo from Erza Pound Cake)

Creatively Wrapped Packages

(photo from Style Me Pretty)

Homemade Anything

(photo from Food Network)

Speaking about food...cause really...isn't that what we all love about the holidays?! Here is one of my favorite holiday recipes - the classic French Crepe! Crepes can be filled with anything from fruit or simple powdered sugar and lemon - and served for breakfast or dessert.
Inspired by the crepes, Moda has helped us design a block to go along with our recipe:

French General Crepes

How about a holiday giveaway - just to keep things fun! Leave us a message about your favorite holiday inspiration....and we'll choose a couple of lucky winners to receive a box of holiday fabric from French General and Moda - a bundle of our classic reds, a bundle of old greens and a bundle of winter whites - just in time to start another holiday quilt or a stocking or two!

And be sure to follow the Moda Holiday Blog Hop the rest of the week:

Today
Bonnie Olvason of Cotton Way
Liesl Gibson of Oliver+S
Karla Eisenach of Sweetwater
Ellen Luckett Baker of The Long Thread

Tomorrow
Camille Roskelley of Thimbleblossoms
Kathy Schmitz' of Kathy Scghmitz Studios
Edtya Sitar of Laundry Baskets Quilts
Kate Spain
Lisa Bonegan of Primitive Gatherings

Friday
Jen Williamson of Basic Grey
Jan Patek of Brannock & Patek
Sandy Klop of American Jane
Sandy Gervais of Pieces From My heart