French Brocante Guessing Game

French Brocante

 

The French brocante was at its best yesterday. I like to think it was that way just for me since I hadn't been chining (Chineur is a French word that means: Someone who goes antiquing. It is also a verb (Chiner) which describes the act of hunting for antiques. I Franglais the word (Chiner) by saying: Chining. It is a bad Corey thing to mix up words on purpose and moreso because I mispronounce words.

Anyway, I like to think yesterday's French Brocante was extra good just for me since I hadn't been chining since I smashed my wrist.

 

 

silverware found at the brocante

 

 

French Husband drove since I could not… and my Belle Mere (Mother in Law) came too since she has is helping us out.

We spent five hours at the brocante. French Husband and my Belle Mere must really love me to walk around watching me touch bits of lace, look at books just for their covers, drool over tarnished silverware, and negotiate with the dealers only to have the dealers ask them, "Where are you from I hear an accent?"

 

 

 

Old French style

 

 

My Belle Mere amazes me. At 82 her skin is younger looking than mine when I was ten. She wore a stylish dress and high heels to the brocante! And never sat down, and carried most my bags, and her lipstick never faded.

I don't know her secret. But if I found it I am going to be one rich son of a gun.

Of course the dealers thought we were sisters and that French Husband was one of our sons… I won't tell you how shocked their faces were when I would set them straight. I am getting use to it…. I reply to the shocked faces by saying, "Yeah I was an American Princess until he kissed me and turned me into a frog."

 

 

French antique linens

 

 

After chining with the car stuffed more than a Christmas tofu turkey we drove to our favorite bakery and bought a quiche, then drove to the local Mc Donald's to use the bathroom, buy some drinks, use their napkins and squat their tables.

 

While we ate our quiche at McDonald's my Belle Mere said, "I know of fast food places like McDonald's and Quick Burger, but I don't know this place, "Ronald's" it is very nice here, better than the other ones."

French Husband and I nearly choked with laughter on our McDo Perrier (The French call McDonald's McDo which is pronouced as: 'MacDough'). French Husband said, "Ronald's? This is McDonald's not Ronald's."

When he said that I realized that my-much-younger-looking-than-me-husband did not know that Ronald was McDonald's first name. I truly laughed out loud.

My American culture offers the French Ronald McDonald's, and in payback I get the world of brocante, centuries old stories and French linen to boot. Yeah Ronald!

 

 

 

IMG_1959

 

While I add many of the brocante things I found on my French brocante online shop, I thought I would leave you with a Guessing Game.

What are these wallpaper beads used for?

The first person to answer correctly will win a few, and the one with the most original response will win some too.

Leave your answers and ideas in the comment section.

Tomorrow I will pick a winner for candelbra mishap and winners for this guessing game too.

 



Comments

51 responses to “French Brocante Guessing Game”

  1. Wallpaper beads for making room divider curtains? What a lovely day it must have been for you! Your m-I-l sounds like such a delightful person…how fun!
    Jan

  2. What a beautiful sight piled in a basket next to the fireplace to be used as fire starters.
    Shop on!

  3. Vicki Bonne Amie

    Not sure what they are really for but I certainly would roll beautiful antique lace on them for display in my shop!!!

  4. jewelry? I’ve seen similar ones used in necklaces and bracelets. How about a pic of belle mere? Dying to meet her!

  5. RebeccaNYC

    I agree with Jan. I have seen wallpaper beads made into jewelry, and I can’t really tell what size these are, but I think these might be made into curtains to hang in doorways to keep out flies. (a strange to me custom that never really works. I prefer a good old fashioned screened door!)

  6. C, gee I love your posts, love your humor. You have distracted me and made my day so much better. thanks!

  7. For smuggling Cuban cigars to the USA 🙂

  8. I think they are used to make beaded fringe.

  9. “…and turned me into a frog.”
    SPLOOT, all over the computer keyboard at that double entendre!

  10. Ed in Willows

    Ok….I’m a little confused. The item at the top has beads and the picture at the bottom looks like wallpaper so I’ll guess on both. I believe the beaded item is an antique coin purse. The paper rolls are tapered pieces of wallpaper. Since the walls in French homes have a lot of curved areas, these pieces are used to fill in by the curves when papering a wall.

  11. YOU are a GIFT!I love the fact YOU set them straight on who you are.NOw please snap a photo of the GRAND DAME MOTHER-IN-LAW so we can see her too!HIgh heels to the brocante…………wow I gave those up years ago.I will use the word chining from now on!Just got back from Sothern California doing just that!
    xxxx

  12. Looks like a kite flying high ceremony to me! i can just see Sacha and all his friends parading, letting the wall paper rolls roll free and fly,high over their heads. Coloring the streets, giving all onlookers a thrill of pride to see so many colors representing their country, a new year, or some great holiday! Maybe they would even save some, filling a few with fireworks for Bastille Day!
    Your post of new finds have been tempting…waiting for one particular item to show up in your personal brocante. Blessings, so glad you are having fun! and that Belle Mere, as a fair freckled blond living in florida i needed her secret long ago. xoxo jody

  13. to use like bobbins for tatting lace?

  14. For snorting attic dust.

  15. Ha, I have no idea but came in to read others ideas and to tell you the kiss/frog comment cracked me up!!

  16. Oh, your old friends were just waaiiiiting for you!
    I think those rolled up thingeys are what happened to vintage wallpaper when it heard you broke your wrist while wallpapering. It just curled all up, saying: “Not me, lady. You won’t stand on a ladder with me and risk breaking something else. No way. No how. Non, non, NON!”

  17. Gosh, I was going to say the same as Jan, who was the first to reply. I think they’re strung together and hung in a doorway.

  18. I think they’re used as Christmas trees garlands and ornaments!

  19. Weaverbec

    I agree with Jan and Rebecca, I think they are strung together and used a curtains or hung in a doorway.
    Glad to hear you enjoyed your Sunday.

  20. Franca Bollo

    My guess is they’re suppositories for the creatively retentive.

  21. They are haircurlers. Being a hairstylist for 25 years I have only seen them made out of newspapers, Katharine Hepburn used them all the time on movie sets to curl her hair. The paper absords the water and your hair dries faster. Figures the French would make them out of beautiful wallpaper instead.

  22. I have no idea what those are for! But thank you so much for the delicious brocante eye candy today!!!!

  23. i think that they would be lovely strung to make a curtain for a doorway. whether that is the paln for them, i do not know. and i think just pretty in a clear glass oval dish. that’s what i am going with. as a child, i had such an imagination,but now…………Bestest,Denise

  24. That was a beauty, which, of course, hopped right by ol’ Franca. Thanks for pointing it out.

  25. LOL!

  26. Jewelry making….my kids and I rolled them out of gift wrap but I love the wallpaper idea. Can’t tell their size from the photo though.

  27. LOL!!! Thanks for the giggle!

  28. Who can top the creative guesses already? Not Moi!!! Whatever they are, they would be fun strung and hung in a door, or on a Christmas tree. Perhaps they were strung and hung in a window to keep stinky cats out? The brocante would have forced me to buy a ship to bring it all home. I love vintage textiles. Hope your paw is healing.

  29. Are they for trimming on lampshades?

  30. HAHAHA – Now that’s an original idea! Thanks for the laugh.

  31. Hang them in the doorway to keep the mozzies out!! And boy do I need some of those!

  32. Obviously it’s the only size Barbie can carry!

  33. I have seen these on a stick (although, these don’t appear to be) and you toss them out, like a streamer. I think the ones I saw were Japanese or Chinese. ? You would use them to celebrate!
    We have to see your beautiful mother-in-law!

  34. Samples to give?
    No idea but I want them!
    HA ha.

  35. cotton candy holders

  36. Used for hanging on a Christmas tree. A garland of sorts…
    Mahala

  37. Make beaded curtains…room dividers, um you know, like “HippieBeads” :o)

  38. Salut15@aol.com

    These were the world’s first tampons!

  39. Uhmmmm….maybe they are salesmen samples for the
    wallpaper company ??
    Your mother in law sounds wonderful….have we seen
    a picture or two of her? That would be nice.
    Greetings from central California…xo

  40. rubber band gift wrap (lame-o! sorry). actually there is a child’s machine that you can use to roll up discarded paper to make paper “beads” that look like these, only smaller.

  41. They are underground newspapers disguised as ‘french confetti’ during Nazi occupied France. Inside held a wealth of information on first hand intelligence information and escape networks from the French Resistance.

  42. They are used to teach macrame and when you are totally frustrated you can use them to make beaded necklaces with pretty crystal beads added between. I would use them with beads to make holiday garland.

  43. Marie-Noëlle

    Always so interesting to see your game object and to read all the answers.
    No clue at all, either as a correct or original answer!
    But I will come back to be told, of course !!!

  44. Lovely, evocative pics as always.
    I have no idea what those things are but I can think of a certain Fr company I would like to stick it to…ahem
    At least Belle-Mere isn’t up on MacDonalds.
    One must be grateful for small mercies.
    Cheers cg

  45. I think they are used to make baskets or jewelry. Sounds like a fun day at the brocante – more exciting than my Sunday spent paying bills and doing laundry.

  46. I guess they were used in embroidery…

  47. I think they are for poking those who presume you are your husband’s mother in the eye….ever so gently of course.Serious nerve. You are far from a frog, my dear.

  48. streamers…for celebrations…

  49. This guess is a long shot and a waste of something pretty. In early American times newspapers would be rolled and used as firestarters.
    Thanks to your MIL for keeping up the chic French image.

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