The Dutchesse Gabriell Governess of the Children

From the studio of 
Marie Antoinette
****************
 
The Dutchess Gabrielle 
Governess to the Children Royale
***
 Some people called her Governess. 

But the Queen called her an "angel"

because she protected her darling children 

and brought much happiness into 

their young lives.

The King had created a special playground 
for his beloved children, that included 
a beautiful elaborate carousel!
Not just any carousel but one that 
displayed animals that had only been 
seen in picture books. 

A striped zebra, a long-necked giraffe 
& a unicorn! Then a couple of favorite 
animals that were familiar, a sweet rabbit 
and a horse. They all sparkled in the sunlight 
and at night, there was special candlelight 
that made the carousel glow!

 

 

The children, Marie-Terese and Louis 

Joseph, loved to chose a different 

animal to ride each time dear 

Gabrielle took them to this special 

carousel created just for them by 
their kind Father.  

Gabrielle treated them to a sugar 

confection that was spun into puffy 

pink fibers that could be eaten from 

a paper cone. It always made the children 
giggle with delight! She also had 

colored balloons to chose from! 
Sometimes one of the balloons would 
escape and they would watch it 
as it disappeared into the heavens. 
 

 

Oh what joy abounded during 

those days! But as they say...  

all good things can abruptly come to 

an end.

 However the memories live forever!
 *** 

Love to all our friends, 
Marie Antoinette
XOXO 

Theater Doll by Marie Antoinette
Story written by Edie Marie 

Please join us at

Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays 
hosted by Coastal Charm 

and 

What's It Wednesday 
hosted by Ivy and Elephants! 

KITCHEN ISLAND LOVE ON A BUDGET!

   
Project from Golden Pond
  **********************

Mama needs an Island! 
We have limited counter space in our 
condo kitchen and 
not enough storage for appliances 
and cookbooks AND most importantly 
a small budget!!

So the thinking caps went on. Since we 
were absolutely shocked at the price of 
kitchen islands we had to be creative. 

While at a Krogers Market Store 
(a supermarket with houseware items) 
we saw this bookcase on sale for 50% off 
and we had some "market" points that we 
could use for extra savings. We would 
need 2 bookcases for our island so 
it was done and done!  

It's a 2 shelf bookcase in black... 

perfect for a touch of contrast I want.  

It's countertop height so that's just right.

We assembled the bookcases and hubby 
left the backs off of them. He then 
fixed them together with brackets and 
we were in business. 

Room for all our cookbooks. 

My favorite cookbooks are my

 Mom's old Betty Crocker Cookbook from the 50's 

and my first cookbook, 

Betty Crocker Cookbook from the 70's. 

(She probably bought it for me)

We wanted a top that could take a beating 

from hot dishes so hubby came up with an idea.

 He cut a piece of plywood and

 trimmed it with a nice leaf vine design 

trim painted black.

He purchased 6 Marble 12x12 tiles from 

Builders Liquidators and set them very snug 

together for the surface. 

 

And here's the finished product...

Oh but wait! I don't want to SEE the 

appliances. Not wanting to make it more 

difficult for hubby I came up with a 

solution I could do all by myself. 

I surfed through the Graphics Fairy 

for a Frenchy design (of course) and found 

 a couple I liked and combined different 

parts from them to make my design.

I copied the design on my printer then 

taped it to the underside of my muslin fabric 

that I had in my fabric stash. The muslin was 

thin enough that I could see the design 

right through it. 

I took my trusty Sharpie, extra fine point, 

and traced the lettering and design. 

Then I started filling in the solid portions 

of the tracing. 

And Voila! 

A fabulous touch of France 

to hang in my new kitchen island  

and hide those appliances.

(This was not the design for the kitchen curtain but this is one 

I have some progressive photos of.)

This is actually the design I used for 

this project... a PARIS motif. 

Ooh tres bien!

We love how functional this little 
kitchen island is. It's a great piece of 
eye candy and serves many purposes. 

What have you made on a budget? 
We'd love to hear your stories!

Bisous (hugs), Edie Marie 

***********************
 From Edie Marie's Studio
**************************
I've been having more fun making 
upcycled necklaces from old vintage 
junk jewelry and new parts. 
Here's my last 2 creations: 

" Let's Be Franc "

A little vintage look copper purse 
that opens and faux French Francs to 
add to the purse theme. The small beads 
on the dangles are Swarovski Crystal 
Beads.

" Sparkling Heart "

The chain and looped piece are vintage 
from the 40's with a dangle of a vintage 
look etched heart and a beautiful 
vintage clear rhinestone. 

 
Some of the tiny rhinestones on the 
looped piece have darkened with 
age adding to the vintage look.

You can see these and more of my 
creations and vintage items at 
EdieMariesAttic Etsy


******************** 
Marie is taking a small break for a 
week or so while busy in her studio 
creating fabulous treasures for us 
to enjoy! She'll be back real soon!

***************************
Blessings to all our sweet friends, 
Edie Marie & Marie Antoinette
XOXO

CALL FOR THE DOLL DOCTOR ON LINE 1

A New Member of My Doll Family

*****************************

Meet Patty Play Pal! 
When I was a young girl I had a 
Patty Play Pal that I adored. She was 
such a beautiful doll and of course as 
time passed and life evolved the dolls 
of my childhood disappeared. 

I had been dreaming of owning another

Patty Play Pal for years and this year I 

finally got one. But the poor thing came 

with only this little plaid dress on, no 

bloomers (oh my) and part of the eyelashes 

missing from her right eye. (which was not 

disclosed to me by the seller I might add - 

tsk-tsk)

None the less, I was so excited with her. 

I knew right away that Patty needed a 

doctor... an official Doll Doctor.

I took her to a Certified Doll Restorer, 

Annamarie Breault in Bay St Louis, Ms. 

She is an incredible restorer of dolls. 

I

Her shop "Hospital" is just adorable!

Here's Annamarie with Patty after cosmetic 

surgery and Annamarie's puppy!

Look at all the treasures in her shop! 

It's such a fun place. 

Here's Patty with ALL her eyelashes, 

a gorgeous 80 year old vintage dress, 
darling little t-strap shoes and YES,
 she now has bloomers! 

Thank you Annamarie for taking such 

good care of Patty while at your hospital! 

Since we're talking about dolls I thought 

I'd introduce you to my little baby dolls too.

The doll in the back is a darling doll 

that a dear blogger friend sent to me. 

In the middle is a smooth molded 

Tiny Tears Doll holding an official 

Tiny Tears rattle. In front is my favorite, 

Tiny Tears with hair. You'll see a Tiny Tears 

bubble pipe in her mouth, a very rare find.

Below is my Thumblina Doll. 
She's so sweet nestled into two of 
my frilly pillows. 
(See the ornament she's holding? 
It's a preview of things to come!)

*********************
Fun With 
My Darling Niece Ryley
*********************

When my brother was visiting over my 
birthday, my great niece Ryley became fascinated 
with the doll making and paper dolls.
(I wonder where she got that from?)

She asked me if I would teach her how to 
make these pretty things and of course I 
was so thrilled to be her teacher.

Her first project was a fashion paper doll creation.
(Ryley is so pretty - the pictures of her don't 
even do her justice.)

 Look at the fabulous job she did! 
I didn't help her at all. I only gave her 
some direction and she took it from there.

 Then, being in love with all my doll 
creations she decided she wanted to make 
 doll, a Caveman Doll! She knew exactly what 
her plan was. Well the only thing I had for the 
head was a Santa head and that was just fine 
with her. I told her we could paint the beard 
if she wanted but she said "no it would work the 
way it was". We then dug through all my fabric 
scraps but didn't find much in the "caveman" style 
so I told her we'd be going to Hobby Lobby that 
day and we would find something that would 
fit the bill for her ideas. 
We found some furry pieces 
and this is what Ryley designed...

 a very handsome CAVEMAN!!
I love how she wanted to design 
his fur hat with a tail. It was a "have to have" 
for her design and she got it! 

What a great project to remember her visit 
with Great Aunt Marie. 
I'm so proud of her creativity! 

I had shown Ryley and her Grandma Lou all the 
dolls I had designed through the years and one 
caught Ryley's eye. She adores cats and fell 
in love with my "Victorian Cat Family Doll". 
Ryley pulled me aside and asked me if she 
could buy the doll, she had $100 saved back 
home and she could pay for her. 

I was so proud of her work and how she followed 
my direction I gave her the theater doll as a gift.
Ryley was sooo excited!

 

Ryley sent me this darling "thank you" card 

after she left and Patty wanted to show it off. 

Hopefully Ryley will carry on my love for 

designing dolls in the future. 

I love you sweetie pie!! 

My other dolls can be seen on

my Etsy, Creations by Marie Antoinette.

Well that's all the exciting news I have from my

 little corner of the world in Peacock Paradise.

Hope you are havin' a great summer of

picnicing and swimmin' in your favorite 

water hole! 

Love, Marie 

XOXO 

*********************

*************************
Greetings from Golden Pond!
*************************

I've been having some fun in my studio 
with Altered Art Jewelry this week. 

After lots of collecting of great junk 
jewelry and discovering how many different 
"findings" you need to help work on jewelry, 
I finally got started and actually MADE some 
necklaces. More thought goes into it than I 
ever thought. I've finished a handful and now 
have them for sale on my Etsy. 


" Paris Flea Market "

 

 " Freedom "

 " Parisian Angel "

 " Tea Time "

So back to the "attic" to make a 
few more. I'm really having fun with 
this! What's stashed in your jewelry box 
that needs to be upcycled and made 
new again??

My Altered Art Necklaces can be found 
on Etsy @ EdieMariesAttic. 
Stop by to see what I've 
blown the dust off of!!

Love & hugs, Edie Marie
XO

Marie's disclaimer: Post written by Edie Marie tee-hee!