HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY !

I really hope you won't forget CUCULAPRALINE-FRENCHIC 

for the coming Mother's Day, 

I will show you how wide are the possibilities for gifts in our little shop, and much more is coming every day!

Firstly, of course, the Women Accessories are obvious, like these ones:

 

You will be celebrating the Mother-Diva, 

I am sure your mother will love this concept!

Unless you prefer celebrating Spring with bright and fresh yellow and orange colors?

You will find our vintage scarves, costume jewelry or even the travel cases to put these same treasures, in bright colors. 

You can also find India-style ideas like these ones :

The pendants are made by Louise Marler, and are presented in a box set, perfect for a present,

the scarves come from India and Tibet.

If your mother is more in the classy-classic style, here is what she needs :

The quilted bag was actually made in France, the brooches are vintage from the 50's for most of them, the floral purse is vintage as well, and the Crown leather bracelets are made my artisans-neighbors. 

These are the last remaining, we almost sold them all.

Or maybe your mother is more attracted to the Home Decor goodies? 

Here are a few suggestions:

 The frame is always an easy one, you can even tuck your photo inside. These Retro ones are made by Tracy Porter, the mosaic one is more funky and the gilded one, more conventional, you will find a few others in our store.

More ideas here:

 The coasters are always needed: from Morocco or Africa, the Japanese waste-basket, always convenient, we have different colors, and the tassels to hang everywhere! Who doesn't like them ? We received a whole bunch of them,

But your Mother is maybe a big fan of the vintage stuff?

So what would she think of the pale pink or golden yellow Depression Glass? Or maybe would she prefer a Florentine box or frame to hang?

You can also find Funkier vintage things like these ones:

A bright needlework with Roses or a daisies pillow, both from the 60's, 

salts and peppers in wood from Japan, 

or maybe blue Depression Glass for these cups and saucers and blue vases, Chinese or not, if blue is her passion?

Someone cute got lost in our shop:

 This little kitty on a Paint-by-Numbers from the 60's, vintage as well. 

We have, cats, dogs and horses, all vintage from the 50's or 60's,

Maybe your Mother prefers the handmade things? 

Here are a few examples:

My Collages of Marie-Antoinette are still waiting for you, some of them took the road via Etsy, thank you Etsy. You will find this French Queen on little frames, as on notebooks, offering a wide range of prices. 

The painted glasses can be used and washed every day preferably by hand, however the paint resists in the dishwasher as well, 

just avoid the microwave:

 The Tags with collages may be used as tags for presents, or as bookmarks, another possible little gift all by itself, and very affordable,

Or there are still these round cute things:

An adorned with flower ashtray (more to come), a crocheted "Cocarde" in brooch, a hand-painted shell, or a glass coaster with collages, here we have our yellow and orange again,

You will find other bits and bobs like these ones:

 The gorgeous exotic incenses, the marvelous mercury glass necklaces, the paper bells, we have not a lot remaining, the vintage matchboxes from France to light up the incense,

Or there is more:

The candles, hand-made or not, 

the golden eggs are remaining from Easter, the scented ones are to die for, 

and last & not least: 

David Strother's CDs playing violin, perfect if your mother loves music, 

they are very relaxing and cool, 
not really bits and bobs, but rather master pieces!

and of course, our usual little Tours Eiffel in gold, silver or bronze, the perfect little gift to remember Paris from where they actually come.

Just to let you know that Cuculapraline-Frenchic is a little metamorphosing these days, we are also becoming an Arts & Crafts studio, so a lot of handmade stuff will come very soon.

Our hours are: Tuesday to Saturday from 2:00pm to 6:00pm, sometimes we are a little later still there. But also sometimes, a commissioned work forces us to work at the back or to deliver a client. 

So please, if you come from far and want to be sure to find us, don't hesitate to call us at (323) 202-0672 to make an appointment, if necessary.

Hope to see you soon, guys, there,

Take care, and don't forget to enjoy your life! :-)

Yael

The News at Cuculapraline-Frenchic' s, 

Valentine Day is coming 

and we have for sure a passion about the making :

another kind of Love.

We have spent a lot of time repairing and restoring old chairs that we have pulled out of our warehouse, we thought it was time for them to live their life and see the sky and the sun, even if the weather was not top-notch all the time...

Nothing can be done without some elbow grease, and they are far from being finished, you will follow the different steps soon. 

Other chairs, very different ones, are on their way for a new life too.

We also have been in the process to rewire French Lamps in the American mode, that is not our usual job, but we are learning fast! :-)

However, it happened that we found ourselves with quirky results like this one : not a French one, it is Japanese, but impossible to find the right bulb for this unbelievable lampshade!

Our Marie-Antoinettes had a lot of success on the notebooks especially, so if you are interested, come fast because we have only 4 remaining. There are still our tiny collages on canvas like this one. Can you believe how beautiful this young lady could be ?

In the vintage field, we are a little less "Porcelain Cups and Saucers", almost all gone, and more "wrought iron and primitive items in wood 

like these ones :

Love doesn't start in a wrought iron cage for sure, but it can end up with a baby who loves wooden primitive rocking horses!

And at Cuculapraline-Frenchic's there is always a space for soft and fabric items :

 Why Be Normal ? That was for Cuculapraline-Frenchic for sure, I'm less convinced by the Diva thing, but my customers will love that since Hollywood is not far!

Always a space for an exotic Shawl 

and some ribbon embroideries...

And just to let you know, all these tassels below are gone, but we just received a whole bunch of new ones, even more beautiful, with a wider range of sizes and colors.

Our Arts and Crafts Workshops are around the corner, I know we've been talking about them since a while, but we are closer and closer to start them. So if you want to learn all kinds of paintings, collaging, paper mache-ing and mosaic-ing, contact us or come by to talk about it. Your inputs are of course welcome.

 Wondering how we do that ? 

This will be taught in our workshops. This is decoupages on cardboard, but there is a little secret here...

 Start collecting all kinds of paper, personally, I am addicted to all the brown papers, they are so versatile, rich, amazing! 

Be prepared to transform your home in a junk of papers! That is the full Art life!

 This is the traditional painting on wood, 

a work in progress.

 Painting on Glass is so fun! Interested ? We do teach that too.

The paint stays on the glass even once washed, it lasts forever and ever. 

You can make some decoupage on glass too, I will show you this as well.

Don't forget,

we are at 4704 Eagle Rock Boulevard

in Los Angeles, CA 90041 USA

On next Saturday, February 11th, 2012 

from 7 to 10 pm

Our favorite DJ Ron Kane also named :

"Doma Beer Market"

will amuse us with the dealer's choice of Music, what means that he is the one who chooses the Music.

You can be sure to be at the right place, if you see our Bohemian fabric from far :

After all, my ancestors came from Bohemia!

So Romantic too...

Let's hope we'll have a warm weather...

The "MARIE-ANTOINETTE-MANIA"...

Christmas is enchanting and always gives me new ideas. The rather cool weather completely changes the perception of things, as the taste in matter of colors. We think more of old velvet, rich fabrics, warm colors to keep us warm, and fuzzy things.

I come from a country where most people don't show much interest in Marie-Antoinette (our ex-Queen). But since I've been in Los Angeles, I only heard about her, and I like it, because I must admit I always had kind of a curiosity towards this person. She was exceptionally beautiful, it is the least we can say, and every portrait I see of her is more amazingly made than the other, revealing each time more and more beauty. She was a mother too and in spite of her frivolity, a really true mother. She had a very interesting personality.

You will find her on my new Notebooks, I called this work with my Queen "The Marie-Antoinette-Mania"

 While I was in my "Marie Antoinette" crisis, I continued my collage work on small canvas. Isn't it a wonderful gift to offer for Christmas ? A unique collage, a one-of-a-kind, handmade, inspired, to hang on a wall and on the top of it, for a very affordable price ? Art must be reachable to anybody and for anybody.

Here are a few of them,

But we must not forget CHRISTMAS and its traditional decor. While I love the vintage ornaments, the kitsch ones make me smile every time. It is not forbidden to use a mix of them...

These stars don't look vintage, but they are, and they come from France

 Above, I love the faded red bells

Below, we always need more ribbons for Christmas presents

It also is not forbidden to add stuff from other designers in the mix

Other sorts of vintage French ornaments below, the white balls look like coconuts candies

  

These Christmas balls, above and below are more vintage and from the US, probably from the 50's

  

I always loved the embroideries made with ribbons, these are little Christmas cushions that you can hang on your tree or use for your sewing pins.

 At Cuculapraline-Frenchic's there always is a small space for the Kitsch stuff, how not to fall in love with these reindeers felted coasters? So cute!

  

And here are below my little Santas and Trees to attach everywhere, on clothes, on a present, on a bag, on a hat, on a card. A tiny thing to remember a wonderful moment,

Cuculapraline is mostly about Home decor and goodies, like our French large dish clothes below already washed to be softer,

 I painted a bunch of glasses, perfume sprays, vases and more, they are each one-of-a-kind,

 The shells, always, I make them every time I can, they may contain anything you want,

  

The tassels to hang anywhere, a nice and also very affordable gift,

 Here are a few old oil paintings on silk, not mine, from the 90's from France, you can also see my one-of-a-kind bookmarks,

And to finish, my bits and bobs - women accessories, 

like these tiny boxes to contain a small jewel, the packaging is as important as the object inside

 Louise Marler's goodies above, perfect presents for Christmas, some of them are already in their box, and below the vintage brooches, French, English, American, wherever I am, I always search for the beautiful but affordable ones, most of them are from the 50's,

I hope to see you soon in my store, please feel free to contact me for the hours, my schedule was kind of upside-down lately, and in winter time, the hours are a little changed. 

I also need to find some space and time in my days to make new creations and eccentricities for you!

And for those who are interested in Arts and Crafts workshops, please call me at (323) 202-0672