Holiday Chic

 

When my good friend Sharon recently sent me a gift certificate to Barnes and Noble, I ran right out and got the new Rachel Ashwell book, 'Couture Prairie and Flea Market Treasures'.  A long time fan of the queen of Shabby Chic, I never miss one of her books and this volume does not disappoint!  My heart nearly skipped a beat as I turned each glorious page!

 

Filled with her usual vintage romantic prettiness, soft pastels and chippy furniture, but this time mixed with a nod to the Texas cowboy culture including rough barn wood and antlers on the walls, it was just the inspiration I needed to dream up some new holiday chic designs!

 

I took a cue from Rachel while at a local gem show last weekend, and stocked up on a winter palette of stones in lavenders, blues, silvers and a hint of red.

 

 

Rachel reminded me to always juxtapose a little sparkle against more somber elements,

 

 

that the classics never go out of style,

 

 

and that I still swoon over dainty florals.

 

 

Thank you for stopping by, and a special thanks to Rachel Ashwell for providing me decades of design fantasies.  x o

 

A Christmas Carol

My family and I decided to start a new tradition by attending our first annual Great Dickens Christmas Fair this past weekend, and what a spectacular event it is! It was a little dark inside, so my photos didn't turn out too well, but just imagine an old warehouse converted into the streets of Victorian London.

Everywhere elaborate store fronts promised period clothing, antique books, holiday gifts, meat pies, fish and chips, and of course ale and absinthe. All the vendors and most attendees were dressed in costume, with stages set for musical performances, as well as characters walking about such as this violin-playing Christmas tree and Abe Lincoln! (I assume he was on vacation in London from the White House.)

I loved this little kitchen vignette where a woman was baking a pie! (She walked away before I could snap her photo, but doesn't that bread pudding look yummy?)

And look who came to dinner in a scene perfect enough for 'Downton Abbey'!

None other than Charles Dickens himself, entertaining the folk with a dramatic reading of 'A Christmas Carol'!

This is me leaning over to get into the picture with my little niece Tilly. Sorry it's so dark, but I thought it was so cute the way she is trying to wave to the camera. ;)

And now for a little jewelry show-and-tell! I've been really busy this week making some new pieces for my wholesale rep, as well as to list on Etsy.

If you see anything you like, please let me know and I can ship it out right away! There's still a bit of time for a Christmas delivery!

And if you're in the San Francisco bay area and are interested in attending the Dickens Fair, it's still running this weekend! Until next time, mes amis, I'd like to wish all of you and your loved ones a heartfelt very Merry Christmas! <3 Robyn

Peace on Earth

I hope everyone's December is off to a peaceful start. This time of year can get so frenetic with gift shopping, parties, decorating, cards to be mailed, cookies to bake, and even travel plans to be arranged. I'm wishing everyone a little time out among the flurry to have a cup of hot chocolate and remember what the holidays are really all about...

JEWELRY!!! (Just kidding.)

I'm trying to keep my days full of quiet charm, but I had my own little drama a couple of days ago when I dropped and broke my camera!

Thanks to good ol' dad, he researched a new and even better model for me and I was back in business in no time.

So what do you think? Notice a little improved photo quality?

My cable TV has also been on the blink all week, so I've been listening to lots of holiday music on the radio instead.

Nothing like a little Dean Martin singing 'Marshmallow World' to get me in the mood for Trader Joe's peppermint bark!

Then the peppermint bark gets me thinking about candy colours,

which leads me to using lots of pastel gems in my work.

These soft colours, juxtaposed with tarnished metals and rhinestones are so authentic to me, and make me feel... well, peaceful.

So, maybe there has been a silver lining to all my technical difficulties after all.

I call this necklace with a rhinestone bird perched on vintage velvet 'peace on earth', and this is truly my wish. She, along with all the other jewelry here, is now available at The French Circus.

And for those of you who wish to make your own holiday jewelry, please visit The Paris Carousel, where I have lots of vintage goodies to play with.

What brings peace to your world?