The Gardens of Versailles

Bonjour, mes amis! Are you getting ready for the cozy days of autumn? Our weather is turning chillier here in northern California, with leaves fading golden and days a bit shorter. Before we dip too far into the holiday season, I wanted to share with you some of my photos from the Versailles jardins that I took when I was recently in Paris. (Please see my post of October 3 for photos of the interior of this incredible palace.)


A maze of lush grass and flowers, topiaries, pools spouting water, and 18th century statuary was dizzying in the afternoon sun.







Imagine waking up to these views from your bedroom balcony, as Marie Antoinette must have done!







Inspired by images of this garden and others I visited in Paris, I've incorporated flowers and their colours in the jewelry designs I created this week.

This first piece, entitled 'mathilda', reminds me a young French girl romping about the streets of her beautiful city. I'll let you all in on a little secret: yesterday my family went with my sister for an ultrasound and we learned that her baby is going to be a girl! She and her hubby have chosen the name Mathilda, so I wanted to pay tribute to her with this bracelet.




I have recently become addicted to mother of pearl rosaries and simply cannot get enough! The crosses on these earrings come from two such rosaries and I think they look good enough to eat. I juxtaposed their brilliance with grungy old medals and brass crosses, then added more sparkle with vintage rhinestones, aquamarines and faceted ruby briolettes.




Finally, my 'sweet maria' necklace features a large vintage plate of pastel-coloured rhinestones, a sterling silver Virgin Mary medal which I found at an antiques brocante during my Paris trip, blue enamel flower findings, rhinestone floral links, pearls, and gemstones.






These pieces will be available in my Etsy shoppe later today. Thank you for stopping by. Have a beautiful week! :)