Holiday Ornament Winners!

A big THANK YOU to everyone who came by to visit with me for my trunk show!

Your kind words and all the orders I received were very much appreciated. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. And now… drum roll please…… here are the 3 names the fancy-dancy Random Number Generator selected for the winners of my holiday ornaments.


#1 - Sheila, of Mustard Seeds blog

#2 - Marie Antionette, of Dolls by Marie Antionette Blog

#3 - Gayla, of Oatmeal and Whimsy Blog


Thank you ladies for participating in my giveaway! Please email me your mailing address and your ornament preference.

And everyone, please stay tuned…there are still more jewels to come and I’ll be announcing their availability right here on my blog.

Merci and congratulations to the winners!

Holiday 2009 Collection

Welcome to my Holiday Trunk Show! Today I am sharing with you many of my newest designs for Christmas 2009.

I hope you’ll enjoy the beautiful French Christmas music I’ve added, so if you have speakers, turn up the volume and lets get into the holiday spirit together!

Although I think Madonna jewelry is lovely and can be worn all year long, I think it is really beautiful to wear during the Christmas season. I just love the beauty of vintage religious images and found several that I wanted to incorporate into my holiday collection this year.

The classic French Sacre Coeur (sacred heart) is my personal favorite and I found a beautiful one that also has tiny cherubs floating over her halo…. how charming is that? To make these Madonna jewelry pieces extra special, I’ve used lovely ornate Sterling Silver Bails and I also raided my precious stash of crystal beads taken from vintage French Rosaries.

I hope you’ll like these pieces as much as I do!

Every Christmas collection needs Santa’s! And this year I went whimsical by adding fun Skinny Stick Santa’s! You’ll find classic images of Santa Claus, Shabby Pink images of Santa and a few Old World style Santa’s.

All my Santa pieces this year include a special surprise on the back! While vacationing in Colorado a couple of years ago, I came across an old, worn, ledger book from an old coal delivery business with all the entries dating back to 1917. Each hand written receipt included the date and the amount of coal delivered. I used actual snippets of these coal delivery receipts on the back of all the Santa charms! We all know that when you’re extra naughty, Santa brings you coal! I think this is really fun and unique jewelry!

I also love the sweet images of children from vintage postcards and photos. This year I added several to my collection and each one has a sweet soft and shabby style.

Two of the designs are perfect to wear all winter long and are not just for Christmas. And one of the images has beautiful script writing in French…. Joyeux Noel. Each necklace really has the feel of a Christmas holiday, although they are not a traditional holiday style. I am sure you will love these little sweeties!



Angels at Christmas are another personal favorite. My Christmas tree and home are filled with angels that are hard to put away at the end of the holiday. I kept that in mind when selecting images for these jewelry pieces. Each one is perfect to wear for Christmas, but you can also wear this jewelry all year long.

I think these make perfect stocking stuffers or gifts for co-workers, teachers or friends. Just the right size, sparkle and budget friendly price to get one for everyone on your list! All my jewelry is shipped to you (FREE!) and comes to you beautifully packaged in a gift box. All you need to do is add a tag and you’re good to go! Easy peasy stress free shopping!





While I was soldering away in the studio this week, I create several special holiday ornaments. Each one features a word that I think best describes this special season… Love, Peace and Joy.

I designed each one with vintage French writing for the background and an image from a vintage postcard collaged over the pretty script. Each ornament has vintage sparkling chandelier crystals attached to the bottom.

I am sure you will like them and I’d like to offer everyone a chance to win one!!! I’ll be giving away 3 - just a little giveaway and early holiday gift to celebrate all the friendships I have enjoyed here on my blog this year. I cherish your visits and comments from the bottom of my heart.

I’ll be leaving this post up for one week, so if you’d like to be entered in the drawing for one the ornaments, please leave a comment on this post. I’ll select 3 winners, using the random number thing-a-mah-jig, on Sunday, November 1 by high noon EST.

Merci and may this year be your most beautiful holiday yet! ~ xo Joy

Friday Flowers For You!

Happy Friday! I picked these flowers just for you from our garden! One benefit of living in Florida is that we can pretty much garden all year round. There’s always something in bloom and I love to bring little snippets inside and make small arrangements. Fresh flowers just seem to brighten the day and are one of those small touches that turn a house into a home.

Today’s post is a quick one. I’ve got a busy day in the studio with orders and also preparing for my Holiday Trunk Show, right here on my blog tomorrow morning! I hope you’ll come back to see my newest jewels created for the fast approaching holiday season and I’ll be having a few giveaways too!

Wherever you happen to be, I hope your weekend is filled with beauty and fun. ~ xo Joy

New! French Market Soldered Charms!

I just added a number of jewels to my *new* French Market Collection of soldered charm jewelry!

As often as I dream of going to Paris one day, I thought I should put those dreams and desires into a few pieces of fun jewelry to celebrate my love for all things French.

I’ll have more designs coming soon because I have about a bazillion ideas twirling around in my head these days….

But for now, there are fun Eiffel Tower charms and several other designs with a French flavor….


…and when I think of Paris, I can’t help but think of Marie Antoinette. So I added a few new pieces of Marie jewelry to my collection – fun Stix necklaces, which look great on a long chain with other charms layered into the mix. Ooh La La!

If you also dream of going to Paris, please click HERE and come dream with me. Merci ~ xoxo Joy

~ p.s. ~ FREE chains and FREE shipping are still available!!

Parlor Games

I escaped from the studio for a few hours yesterday to visit one of my favorite antique shops located in Tarpon Springs. I am always on the hunt for old broken china, vintage lace, anything Marie Antoinette, creamware, old silver… well, the list really goes on and on. But yesterday, it seemed like the only items popping up in front of my eyes were wonderful old books.

Old books are a happy find for me and the more weathered, the better. I love old books that are well-worn with dog-eared pages, spines hanging on for dear life and especially books that have names, dates or words written on the inside pages.

I found this charming book for just a few dollars (and it was on sale for 25% off that!). The sweet cherubs on the cover caught my attention first but the subject of the book was equally as enchanting.

This book was published in 1864, which means it was around when Abraham Lincoln was in the White House!

This book was written as a handbook to keep in your parlor for ideas on how to entertain family and friends. Without today’s distractions of TV, radios, cars, cell phones and computers, folks used to gather in the parlor and amuse themselves with games and conversation. This little handbook contains instructions for dramatic charades, pantomimes, parlor games, card and board games, parlor magic tricks, puzzles and games of wit. Some of the games are underlined and marked in a way that it is easy to tell which ones were the family favorites.

I can just imagine the family gathered in their parlor after dinner, wearing their mid-1800’s dress, spending quality time together and amusing & entertaining each other as the day came to a close. In today’s world, it’s hard for a family to even sit down and enjoy a meal together much less spend hours entertaining each other at night.

1001 Home Amusements is a totally charming book and a fun look back at the way things used to be. I am going to have to think of something extra special to do with this book. Perhaps as I read through it, I’ll share some of the games with you here on my blog. ~ xo Joy

Playing With Pumpkins

Outside, our Florida temperatures are still hovering in the 90s…. hot, muggy and steamy… not a note of fall in sight. No cool crispness in the air, no leaves in the trees turning those beautiful autumn hues and no indication whatsoever that a change of season has taken place.

Except at the grocery store! When you live in Florida, this is how you know the seasons have changed – by the store displays. We are now shopping amid piles of pumpkins that have suddenly appeared. And this year, I can’t resist the cute baby pumpkins, especially the little white ones.

I put this sweet little one under glass. Anything under a glass dome seems to become a little more special… a little more important. Almost like a jewel from Mother Nature that needs to be displayed and admired.

I filled a crystal dish in the center of our dining room table with several small baby pumpkins and mixed in some ivy vines. I love looking at the pumpkins tucked in the greenery when I pass by.

But I’ve run out of display ideas. How do you decorate with pumpkins, especially the small ones? I would love to hear how you decorate for fall so please leave a comment below if you have any advice or ideas to share…….. xoxo ~ Joy

Antique Bridal Lace Jewelry

I just finished working in the studio today on a number of antique bridal lace jewelry pieces. I put the finishing touches on a couple of custom orders for a special wedding anniversary celebration and also some pieces for an upcoming Winter wedding.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the romantic beauty of lace!!! In our home, lace panels hang in almost every window. I love how the windows look with the sunlight coming in from behind the pretty fabric. Offering privacy, but still allowing the beauty of nature to be seen through the windows.

On an antique shopping spree a couple of years ago, I came across a number of antique bridal hankies owned by a collector. The hankies were in awful shape, especially in the center, but the outside edges were still so beautiful. Unable to frame or display the hankies, I decided to use this precious stash to create jewelry. And now these pieces will be going to brides (and non-brides too!) to carry on their romantic journey.

While creating these custom pieces, I made several extra’s for my website and just added them to my shop. If you love lace too, click HERE to come visit. Hope YOUR weekend is filled with romance and beauty too! ~ xo Joy

New Charms! French Flower Ladies…

I am really busy in the studio right now, but I wanted to take a moment to share with you a new line I just created for my website: Birth Month Flower Charms!

hese charming fantasy pendants feature beautiful botanical images, circa mid-1800’s, by a famed French artist & illustrator who turned single flowers into the guise of women.

Can you see how each lady is really a beautiful flower? Leaves become dresses, blooms become hats and petals become ruffles and trim.

I hand cut these tiny images and collaged them over a late 1800’s French book receipt with pretty script writing. I also selected the traditional flowers for each birth month and the charms also include Swarovski Birth Month Crystals.

And then for a little fun and whimsy, the back of each charm features a collage of the positive personality traits of those born under that months birth sign!

The large charms are just $25 and include a FREE 30" chain too. These are really fun to wear and look great on a chain with other collected charms and whatnot’s that express your one-of-a-kind personality! If you’d like to come see the charm for your birth month, please click HERE.

Playing With Glitter…

I love creating with glitter! What is it about things that sparkle and shine that attracts our attention? I am working on my holiday designs right now and the glitter is flying all over the studio!

Typically, I don’t use a lot of glitter in my creations, but I do use touches of glitter for a little sparkle, here and there. Believe me, as much as I love things that sparkle, it’s a real task to restrain myself from glittering everything in sight!

I like to store my glitter in pretty containers, which I keep on display in my studio. The picture above is one of my favorite containers. Nothing fancy, just an old vintage body cream jar. I loved the pink top and the Chantilly scent by Houbigant. As I shake glitter over my work, I do it over this jar and then shake all the excess glitter into this container. It’s become a jar filled with a rainbow of different colors and I often use this ever-changing hue of glitter in my work. And see the sweet little spoon? That’s another favorite find… it’s a very old silver baby spoon and I use this to sprinkle loose glitter over my projects.

I am always looking for old jars, salt & pepper shakers and other small containers when shopping flea markets or antique stores.

This is another favorite – this old canister jar with the painted and rusted lid. I keep my best German glass glitter in this special jar. I just love the contrast of the rusted metal and the worn paint on the lid.

These are a few of my old salt & pepper shakers that have been recycled into glitter shakers. This is a fun way to store small amounts of glitter.

And for those very small vials of glitter, I like to group them together in favorite teacup.

Having all these pretty things out where I can see them often inspires me to stop and create something. And as I work through my day, just seeing simple things like these glitter containers can put a smile on my face and add a small touch of sparkle to my day.

I hope your day is filled with things that sparkle and make you smile too! ~ xo Joy