Garden Party

They say February is a good time for gardners to start pouring through seed catalogues and dreaming up the flowers that will bloom in spring and summer. Though I don't have much of a green thumb, as a jewelry designer, it never seems too early to play with romantic floral themes...


And since I haven't posted any photos from last year's trip to Paris in a while, I thought this would be a perfect time to show you one of my very favourite gardens, Jardins Luxembourg.


The vast park-like setting features a 'pond' in its centre with statuary, topiaries, and places to sit encircling it.






This is me and my brother-in-law Ed squinting in the bright September sun.


And, of course, the well-manicured grounds were lush with colourful flowers.







And now for a little something from my imagination, I created these garden-inspired necklaces, each featuring some kind of floral element, from a petit point-covered coin purse to a flower basket, and a sterling silver rose pin to an enamel guilloche locket.






Thank you for stopping by, and please stay tuned for my Prayer Card collection, coming soon to The French Circus! Have a beautiful week, mes amis! :)

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! :)

A Stroll on Santana Row

Last week my parents and I spent the day together, taking a stroll along San Jose's Santana Row. This upscale shopping street is alive with boutiques, restaurants and courtyard gardens.




Some children were playing this giant chess game when we walked by! (The younger sister was winning!)


The folks and I had a delicious al fresco lunch at this cafe - in perfect 80 degree weather!


And no trip to Santana Row would be complete without a stop in Anthropologie! They always have the most gorgeous displays!



In keeping with the beachy theme I'm so loving right now, I wanted to give you a sneak peek at two new necklaces I'll be listing in my Etsy shoppe this evening. The first is a double-wrap featuring an ammonite, shells, pearls, and other gemstones, entitled 'standing on a beach'.




The second necklace is a tribute to French heroine Joan of Arc. I used sterling silver and vintage medals and a very old relic to hopefully do her justice.




I hope you enjoyed this little tour with me. Thank you for stopping by! :)