Inspired by Whimsy...

I have been shamefully absent and I miss all my lovely blog friends terribly! I promise several long overdue proper posts very soon! Really! I mean it!!

My parents are embarking on a new adventure, moving to their dream house in another province, and I am throwing them a goodbye dinner two nights from now. It will also be the first time that the inlaws come for dinner. So needless to say, I have a lot of cleaning and preparation to do!

So once again, I'm just stopping by briefly to share one of my absolute favorite artists that I have discovered on etsy, the fabulous Amber Alexander...

For someone who grew up reading Beatrix Potter and the Chronicles of Narnia, Amber Alexander's whimsical animal prints were an absolute dream come true to stumble over! 

This lovely darling is currently hanging on my wall, and I hope that she will be joined by many others in the near future!

Have a wonderful whimsical week everyone!

Today's find...

Hello friends, just popping in quick like a bunny because I HAD to show you this amazing artist I just discovered. Blush Envy makes the most divine pieces of paper jewelry I have ever seen. I can't imagine the patience it must take to hand cut and shape each of those stunning little blooms. This just went to the top of my lust list!

Clothes Envy...

I'm so sorry dear friends for my extended absences lately...so much has been going on in my life, a house, mind and body spring cleaning so to speak! My husband and I spent the last two days in the yard creating our own little park paradise (it's almost done!) And today is date day...we will partake of mutual frivolities and enjoy having some fun after all our hard work. And then when my other half returns to his work shift I will be back at my book, trying desperately to achieve my self imposed deadline of the end of the month. But I just had to stop by quickly to share these little gems with you. I stumbled over the sweetest little etsy shop, Flowers and Butterflies, the other day; all I can say is it's a good thing this shop wasn't around when I was this age, because I would have hounded my mother mercilessly for these exquisite frocks. 

Please don't laugh at me when I confess that if these came in adult sizes, I would be ordering them right now. I really haven't grown up at all!

Inspiring me today...

I have a self-imposed deadline of the end of the month to finish my manuscript, so I have been forced to postpone part 2 of my Eugenio Recuenco post till no later than the weekend hopefully. But I had to stop by quickly and post this divine image which makes me entirely too happy!  Hope you are all having a wonderful week!

Eugenio Recuenco Part 1...

This post is long overdue...my apologies! My husband unexpectedly got some time off from work, so we've been taking advantage of the quality time and enjoying some of the nice weather we've finally been experiencing up here in Northern Canada. But I've been planning this post for some time and I'm so excited to finally get to it!

I owe a debt of gratitude to the divine Silent Storyteller blog for answering a mystery for me. I have been in love with a series of fairytale inspired images for some time, but had no idea who the photographer was. Then one day I stopped into Silent Storyteller and discovered the answer...the brilliant Eugenio Recuenco.

I'm sure a lot of you have seen the previous two images before, but you might not be as familiar with the rest of Recuenco's immense and eclectic body of work. I immediately nipped over to his website where I was thrilled to find a veritable treasure trove of darkly gorgeous images. I was, of course, happy to discover quite a few fairytale images that I hadn't run across before. I love this Beauty and the Beast one (my all time favorite Disney film!)

And I'm just in love with this modern take on the sleeping maiden motif which leaves the question of which fairytale this might be open ended to the viewer's imagination. It most reminds me of Sleeping Beauty, but it also has echoes of Snow White and other less known traditional fables.

But Recuenco's repertoire goes beyond lush fairytale imagery. I love the theatrical set piece feel to this whimsical image (not to mention the great outfit!)

And this period style shot could be equally at home in a classic film as a editorial fashion spread.

But what most struck me about Recuenco's work as I spent the next few hours scrolling through each image (and saving a near innumerable number of them to my desktop) was the incredible sense of narrative he creates. Almost every shot suggests that we have been given a quick glimpse into a story that we don't completely understand, but that nevertheless imparts a weight of emotional tension and a complete world all of it's own.

Each of these images suggests so many fascinating possibilities to me...I think I could find the germ of a novel in each of them.

Recuenco's work is very often dark and disturbing to downright nightmarish, but whatever the subject, it is always fascinating and compelling. I particularly like this next series of images which suggest to me the strange gothic novels of British literature.

This series is so enigmatic and dark but beautiful and haunting at the same time.

And it goes without saying that the clothes are to die for!

Stay tuned for the second half of this post where I'll share some more beauties with you and gush a lot more about Recuenco, but for now I'll leave you with this whimsical image that just makes me smile!

Spring Fling...

Just a quick note to let you all know that The French Mouse Boutique is participating in the Etsy Alberta Team's May Madness Sale. I'm offering 20% off everything in the shop for the first week of May. I hope you'll all come check it out and find something you love!

You can also check out the Alberta Street Team blog for links to the over 70 etsy shops that are offering great sales on a huge variety of items.