L i fest yle i n a C l ass of it s O w n
magazine
It’s
12th Issue 2014 US $13.95 €9,95
Christmas
• Find lots of inspiration and ideas on how to decorate your home with alder cones, walnuts, glitter flowers and old doilies.
Victorian Christmas and Christmas with old postcards.
• Create the most beautiful Christmas trees and make your home Christmassy with hyacinths and holly. • Cook some delicious coconut and walnut dishes.
WE HAVE VISITED THE MOST BEAUTIFUL
Christmas homes
RETAILERS with a large selection of JDL products USA
AustrAli Austr liA A
The Vintage Room 13084 LaFayette The Beautiful Life 33565 Plant City www.thebeautifullife.com Ruffles n Raspberries 34748 Leesburg The Parisian Flea Market 60515 Downers Grove www.theparisianfleamarket.com A Feathered Nest 70433 Covington Sugar Moon Antiques 76457 Hico www.flaxgirl.com Coming Home 80015 Aurora Vintage French Style 85260 Scottsdale Reminiscent of Days Gone By, Yet with a Timeless Quality, Art, Antiques & The Poetry in Motion of Jeanne d'Arc Living Clothing & Products. www.vintagefrenchstyle.com A Gilded Life 90015 Los Angeles Turnstyle Vogue 97489 Walterville www.turnstylevogue.com Little Cottage Shoppe 98604 Battle Ground www.littlecottageshoppe.com Camas Antiques 98607 Camas French Charmed 99346 Plymouth Your European Lifestyle Boutique! Featuring French Inspired Goods, Gifts and Décor. A Proud USA Dealer Of Jeanne d'Arc Living Products! www.frenchcharmed.com
Shabby Sheilas www.shabbysheilas.com Blake & Taylor www.blakeandtaylor.com.au Scotland Yard Nursery My French Laundry www.myfrenchlaundry.com Jamari Designs Pty. Ltd. www.jeannedmoore.com.au
2303 Hamilton 4064 Paddington 4352 Cabarlah 6010 Perth 6510 Moora
New zeAlAN ze ANd d Cosi Fan Tutte www.cosifantutte.co.nz Cosi Fan Tutte www.cosifantutte.co.nz Madame Treacle Cosi Fan Tutte www.cosifantutte.co.nz
0624 devonport evonport 0626 Auckland 5032 Paraparaumu 8023 Christchurch
iCel iC elAN ANd d Spennandi ehf www.spennandi.com Sirka www.sirka.is
104 reykjavik eykjavik 600 Akureyri
CANADA SAjO Weathered Home www.sajoweatheredhome.com The Vintagebelle www.thevintagebelle.com The Bowerbird Stop French Vanilla Home and Garden www.frenchvanillahome.com Patina Home
T3H5J9 Calgary T4L1X9 Lacombe V3S4C5 Surrey V8R1C5 Victoria
PolAN Pol ANd d Bellissime-dodatki do wnetrz www.bellissime.pl
76024 swieszyno wieszyno
sout outH Kore KoreA A Blue Sketch
413-812 Gyeonggi-do
V9R5G3 Nanaimo
UNITED k kINGDOM INGDOM West Barn Country Interiors NN73HH Northampton www.westbarncountryinteriors.co.uk Betty & Violet RG208RB Newbury Online boutique inspired by a love of handmade, antique and vintage goods. Established stockist of Jeanne d'Arc Living magazine, books & products. www.bettyandviolet.com
dedicated retailers with a wide selection of our collection. retailers carrying a medium-sized selection of our collection. retailers r etailers carrying a small selection of our complete collection Find other retailers of our products, magazines and books at www.jeannedarcliving.dk or contact us at +45 36 93 20 10.
Dear Reader
It truly warms our inveterate country style hearts that
Obviously, we do have plans for improvements and
everybody is talking about how this particular style is
changes within our concept, and you will fi nd out more
becoming trendy again. Recycling and flea market fi nds
about this in the year to come. We’ll tell you all about
are as popular as ever and so are the good, old kitchen
it in the up-coming issues. Right now we want to focus
utensils; simple food made from scratch with natural,
on Christmas – a time of traditional style that doesn’t
good-quality ingredients; bouquets of roadside flowers
change much at least in our part of the world. Most of
and other natural materials, and all kinds of ”do-it-
us stick to our favorite, personal traditions, and luckily
yourself” projects. This is exactly what this magazine
for us they are often nostalgic and romantic in line with
is full of and what brightens up our everyday life. We’ve
the country style. Through this Christmas issue we
been running our small company with the French-
hope to be able to inspire you again this year with lots
Nordic style as the main theme for 10 years now, and
of Christmas ideas, and in this, the last issue in 2014,
apart from our loyal fans, the interest shown in this
we want to thank you for having been a loyal supporter
style has always been fluctuating. However, we’ve never
in the past year. See you in 2015!
given up...for the simple reason that we’re in love with this style and don’t know how to do anything else. Or at least we don’t want to. Throughout the years, many of our customers and readers have told us that they always know where they stand with us and what to expect both in terms of products and the magazine. This makes us very proud! We promise you that we’ll never switch to a different style – no matter the current trend. This is also how we plan to proceed in 2015.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Lonnie &Vivian
Who are we, and why the name Jeanne d’Arc Living? The French heroine Jeanne d’Arc was an amazing woman with an unusually strong will and sense of purpose. She didn’t ascribe to the common opinions of her time of what one should or should not do. Instead she went her own way and fought till the very end for her beliefs. In using her name in connection with our company, we do so with the utmost respect for this remarkable woman. We also feel that there’s a lesson to be learned from her – even now, 600 years later. We should all have the courage to go our own ways and dare to stand out from the crowd. From the very beginning these have been some of our main goals for the company. We continuously aim to think outside the box and stand up for what we believe. Today part of the company is a publishing business that publishes our own magazines and books. The common thread in everything we do is the French-Nordic country style. We publish a magazine that keeps to the style, avoiding distracting advertisements within the magazine. This is, of course, a challenge. It requires a substantial amount of editorial material and that we do most of it ourselves in order to make ends meet. The magazine is published in eight languages and sold in many parts of the world. We also run a wholesale business with our own designs produced both here in Denmark and abroad. The company has been around for almost ten years and is jointly owned by Lonnie Würtz Jensen and Vivian Christensen. If you’d like to learn more about us and the company, you can follow our everyday life on our blog. All the best,
Lonnie & Vivian Chief Editors: Vivian Christensen · Email: vivian@jeannedarcliving.dk Lonnie Würtz Jensen · Email: jeannedarc@jeannedarcliving.dk
magazine No. 12 · 2014 Published by Jeanne d’Arc Living
Cover photo: Anneke Gambon
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Editorial Office: Jeanne d’Arc Living ApS Houmarksvej 92, Kondrup · 8920 Randers NV · Denmark · Tel: +45 36932010 Email: jeannedarc@jeannedarcliving.dk · www.jeannedarcliving.dk · www.jdlblog.dk Graphics & Layout: Flower Arrangers: Photos & Styling: Food, Text & Styling: Proofreading: Handyman: Advertising Director:
Lonnie Würtz Jensen & Helle Routhe Lonnie Würtz Jensen & Dorthe Hviid Lonnie Würtz Jensen & Dorte Palsgaard Vivian Christensen, Rikke Vinter, Dorthe Hviid, Rikke Daugaard Thiel Vera Jensen Ole Sørensen Email: annonce@jeannedarcliving.dk
CONTENTS Page
4. Swedish Christmas
Page 12. Nice rye bread Ornaments Page 15. Old doilies at Christmas Page 22. Coconut Page 28. Vintage Christmas Page 42. Create the Style Page 44. Glitter Flowers Page 51. Food with Walnuts Page 57. Walnut Decorations Page 63. The Column Page 64. Beautiful Christmas Hyacinths Page 70. Postcard Page 73. Alternative Christmas Trees Page 78. Christmas at Jeanette’s Page 97. Amazing Alder Cones Page 104. Dried Dates Page 110. Holly Page 118. Chocolate Molds Page 124. Victorian Christmas Page 130. Old Ribbons Page 135. Create the Style
Translation into Swedish, English, Dutch, German, Finnish & French: www.wordtoword.dk Translation into Norwegian: Linda Rønsholm.
The editorial office disclaims all liability for possible errors. Likewise, the company is not liable for errors in recipes, instructions, etc. Since the magazine is sold in many countries throughout the world, the editorial office accepts no responsibility for the applicable laws and regulations of said countries. The reader is solely responsible for consulting with local authorities. Articles and pictures in the Jeanne d’Arc Living Magazine may not be used in sales activities without prior permission. Lending and renting of the magazine for profit is prohibited. The editorial office accepts no responsibility for content, articles and other materials which are submitted without invitation.
Distribution: The magazine is sold through arts and crafts, flower and lifestyle shops. A list of our retailers can be found on our website www.jeannedarcliving.dk under the ”magazine” tab. If you wish to sell the magazine in your shop, please contact jeannedarc@jeannedarcliving.dk.
If you have questions, comments or ideas, please write to our editorial staff or find us on our blog www.jdlblog.com - or on facebook: www.facebook. com/jeannedarcliving - Here you can get an idea of life behind the scenes at Jeanne d’Arc Living.
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Photos, styling & text: Camilla Ny. Edited by: Rikke DT.
Swedish Christmas - a special atmosphere
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At the end of a winding gravel road on the Swedish west coast is the whi te wooden house that belongs to Jeanet te and Per-Erik. Here the couple has created a home in true Nordic country style. The house is surrounded by a big, hilly garden as well as forest, hills and beautiful, Swedish nature as the only neighbors. On the day of our visit, the scene was particularly nice with newly fallen snow covering the landscape like a beautiful winter dress. Christmas guests are greeted by numerous evocative arrangements on the terraces and by the main entrance. Old sewing machine tables are ideal for outdoor use because the frames are made of cast iron and the table tops are usually made of marble – materials that can easily cope with harsh weather conditions for several years. The lanterns, spruce twigs, evergreen plants and cones create a wonderful Christmas spirit.
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Interior design and antiques are some of Jeanet te’s biggest passions in life, and that’s why she has a storage room which is always crammed full of extra decoration i tems and furni ture. Jeanette changes the decorations each season, giving the home a new look four times a year, and she has just finished decorating the house for Christmas. Jeanette starts planning this year’s Christmas decorations as early as in October. She is not much into the color red, and Santa’s elves are not welcome. This year, however, she has added just a hint of red: textile hearts on the Christmas tree, a couple of shappy flea market finds and lots of red Christmas apples. Apart from that she mainly uses fir twigs, various small trees in pots as well as old, patinated iron and zinc for her arrangements throughout the house.
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The entire interior of the house is kept in shades of whi te wi th a few neutral colors to break all the whi te. All walls are whi te apart from the wall in the hallway which is gray. A recurring color in this home, black creates drama both indoors and outdoors. It adds character to the white interiors and provides a good sense of depth in the room. All the pieces of furniture are either family heirlooms or flea market finds that have been repaired and painted. The beautiful, set cast iron stove is the main pride of the country style kitchen, and in the winter Jeanette fires up the stove every morning. The kitchen also contains an old-fashioned pantry – partly just for the sake of having it but also for storage reasons. The charming pantry is full of juices, jams, fruit and much more, ready for the Christmas dinners that the couple enjoys hosting for family and friends.
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Photos & styling: Lonnie. Text: Rikke V.
Nice rye bread ornaments
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This year, it seems that we’re all much busier than ever leading up to Christmas. That’s why many of this year’s ornaments are very easy to make. We all want a beautiful Christmas home but this is not always combinable with work, family and all the Christmas activities that we want to engage in. You can make these nice rye bread ornaments in an afternoon – and the kids can join in.
Buy a rye bread mix and prepare the dough in accordance with the instructions. The dough is very pasty so add some extra flour. You need to be able to roll out your dough with a rolling pin. Create a nice, rustic look by sprinkling some flour onto the table when you roll out the dough and also at the end. You decide on the thickness. If you are very clever with your hands, you can cut out the dough in whatever shape you like. Otherwise you can use some cake cutters. The pretzel-shaped cake cutter can be quite difficult to fi nd but search the kitchen equipment pages on the internet to fi nd one.
It’s very important that your rye bread ornaments are baked properly: 3-4 hours in a pre-heated oven at 200 °F (100 °C). The dough has to be cooked through completely and be dry in order to avoid mould on your ornaments. Use these nice rye bread ornaments in arrangements throughout your home. Make a hole in some of them and put them up using pieces of nice, old lace. Now you’re at it, make plenty – they make up great hostess gifts too. 15
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Photos: Dorte. Styling: Vivian. Text: Rikke V.
Old doilies at Christmas
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Old doilies
Crochet, lace or orkis doilies – they are all beautiful and we use lots of them in our interior design projects. You can usually fi nd cheap doilies at a flea market. If you consider how much work and how complicated this type of handcraft is, the price for a doily is actually too low. On the next pages you will fi nd some ideas on how to use the doilies for Christmas.
For the tealight candle hol der This tealight candle holder has been re-designed with an old doily that has been dipped in starch. Mix 3 level tablespoons of potato starch with ¾ C of cold water. Stir in ¾ C of boiling water. The starch has to be transparent. Dip your doily into the starch and wring it well. Shape it as you wish and allow it to dry.
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This doily was placed on top of the tealight candle holder which was then turned upside down. The corners were nicely spread out onto the table in order to obtain this nice shape.
In a posh centerpiece
The white porcelain centerpiece is also in grand company with a couple of old doilies. One of them reaches over the edge of the centerpiece, and another one is wrapped around a bunch of candles held together by a piece of coarse string. It’s the simplicity of this arrangement that creates the wonderful Christmas feel. Some fi r twigs, a few Christmas ornaments, the nice old doilies...that’s all it takes.
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Yet another tealight candle hol der
This candle holder was made in the same way as the other tealight candle holder but for this one you'll want to fi nd a doily that fits the size of the candle holder perfectly. This white porcelain cup provides a very cozy light.
Wreath
The dried wreath made of gypsophila needed revamping. We tied two doilies around the wreath and secured them with thread. As the doilies were a bit too white for the wreath, we dipped them in coffee and allowed them to dry before attaching them. Coffee dyeing is always a good tip – not only do you get a beautiful color, your ornaments also look nice and patinated because the coffee does not dye evenly.
For candy
This small candy dish is made of a square doily dipped in starch and shaped by using a square box. You can also use a book or other things to create the shape you want. Cover the item with plastic or plastic wrap before you place the wet doily on it.
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Glass decoration
The doilies also look great as glass ornaments. Glue them onto the glass with a glue stick or use double adhesive tape.
For lids
Attach a doily to a boring-looking lid and add some coarse string and a small green twig. Fill the jar with small tapers and use it as a nice hostess gift.
For the candle hol der
You can revamp a doll candle holder with a nice doily. This one has been wrapped around the candlestick. Secure it with a piece of sting or some glue.
For decoration
Dip the most beautiful doilies in starch, wring them well, straighten them and use a couple of pins to keep the shape if needed. Allow the doilies to dry completely. Add some nice, old laces and hang them on a branch or use them to deck your Christmas tree. You can also make pretty, little candy cones out of them and place the cones somewhere with some green twigs, as shown here on the scales, or add a handle and hang them on the Christmas tree. 23
Coconut is not the healthiest thing in the world because it contains lots of the fats that we shouldn’t eat too much off....but oh, does it taste marvelous! Enjoy it moderately but fully. At Christmas time, we use coconut in confections and cakes but it also tastes great in hot dishes or with your Sunday breakfast. The actual coconuts are nice decoration items but for cooking we prefer dried or shredded coconut. Here you can ďŹ nd some of our absolute favorite coconut recipes.
Enjoy!
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Photos & styling: Dorte. Text & recipes: Vivian.
Coconut