French Color: Jaune

Have you seen French Color:  Bleu, Rouge or Chanvre?

French Color: Rose

French Color: Vert

Sibella Court

My old friend, Sibella Court, is coming to town...

Sibella has a brand new book coming out this Fall called Bowerbird...

Filled with her collections of the small bits left behind...

The treasures from her travels...

And the bits and pieces from her favorite shops...

A girl after my own heart...

Come meet Sibella, pick up a signed copy of Bowerbird, hear a bit about how she curates her life, 

and have a glass of Lillet!

You will be inspired!



Save the date:  Saturday October 20th from 5-8pm at
 French General!

R.S.V.P

notions@frenchgeneral.com

all photos by Chris Court, Sibella's talented brother!

The Process is the Point of Making It

Dahlia by Hajime Komiya

I heard this quote the other day while watching a short film about origami at the Japanese-American Museum in Los Angeles: The process is the point of making it.  I thought it made sense in the world of craft.  I always have to go through a very long process before I can actually make something - I think about it, I daydream about it, I might sketch it out, I might even fiddle around with various materials before I finally come to understand how I want to make it.  Once I have gone through the process, I am sometimes able to make something and sometimes not - but I think I am always better for having gone through the steps - the process.

I think this quote has a larger meaning too.  Going through the process of learning something is important to all of us.  Taking the short cuts - imitating someone else or copying their model - is actually pointless and will not lead to growth.  Learn from your mistakes, grow from your mistakes and do your own thing - you will understand yourself and your project better - and you will develop into an authentic person.

Do I need to make up bumper stickers - or can we all just get it?

The Oprah Moment!

This is really fun and kinda exciting!  Do you remember when Oprah gave away 275 cars - one to every member of her audience?  Or how about the time when she gave away a free trip to Australia to everyone?  Good times.
Well, today, with the help of EK Success... I'm gonna pretend I'm Oprah!  We are giving away a handful of our new paper crafting collection to every one who left a comment on our Some Kind of Wonderful Giveaway!  If you've commented on our giveaway's before and never won anything...today is your lucky day!
So here is the drill to collect your bag of crafting materials from French General:
Send us an e-mail  to notions@frenchgeneral.com with Wonderful Giveaway in the subject line.
Include the name you commented with, your real name and your shipping address,  as well as cut and paste your comment in the body of the e-mail.
Please do not send us your name and address if you did not leave a comment by Monday, August 6th at 8am - this giveaway is for the 110 people who did leave a comment between last Friday and today - thank you for understanding!
I would love to see what you create with our new paper line, and if you feel so inclined, please post a picture on our craft network site, www.the-art-of-craft.com
Thanks for playing along!

Some Sort of Wonderful Giveaway

One more month of Summer left to enjoy and savor...well almost!   It seems like school starts earlier and earlier these days...I remember when I was a kid we would return to school in the FALL - not the middle of August!  After spending a beautiful six weeks in France and Spain we are back to work...well almost!  I decided I should take most of this month to actually create and make.  After so much inspiration was found on all of our travels...I need to actually take the time now and let the process work...this is the work for me...actually being still and letting my subconscious take over and letting my hands create something beautiful.  This is always when some sort of wonderful happens and I am pleasantly surprised that I am creative!  Are you feeling the same way?  If so, maybe you'd like some crafty materials to work with?!  To participate in our Some Sort of Wonderful Giveaway, please leave us your name and a comment about your summer crafting!  We have lots and lots of beautiful Jolee Boutique/French General Paper Crafts that we need to get into your hands so you can create something beautiful!
Bonne Chance!
GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!