Around the House: Holiday Sparkle

Hi friends! How are you? It’s been quite some time since I’ve had the opportunity to share something with you! As usual, life’s been crazy but I’m happy to report that we are all getting a little more sleep (most nights) and it has greatly improved the general mood in the Newport house. Plus, it’s hard to be grumpy with all the Christmas decorations up. I do love this time of year! So let me take you on a tour of our house…who doesn’t love some holiday sparkle?

First off…welcome to our living room where we place our prized, live, Grand Fir Christmas tree. Isn’t she a beauty? I usually do this tree in soft gold, silver and touch of light blue. I crown her with sparkling branches in stead of the traditional star.

I love using my vintage items in my decorating so this antique, turquoise seltzer bottle takes center stage on the coffee table.

A frost covered forest was my inspiration for the greenery…

This beautiful, old clock dates back to the 1890′s and was found on one of my many treasure hunting trips.

Strung from the mantel with a piece of twine, hangs vintage postcards featuring birds and antique European letters.

Come through to the dining room where the winter forest theme continues…

 

A vintage printers tray is displayed on one wall filled with glimmering bits and pieces and antique French postcards…

On the kitchen table, I have featured a vintage silver bowl filled with budding paper-whites. I have always wanted to do these! Can’t wait to see them in full bloom!

A lovely, antique confiture jar from Paris holds miniature white roses. This gorgeous, rare jar is currently listed in my Etsy shop.

I may have overdone the roses…but in my opinion, you can’t have enough and they pair so well with the tarnished silver, don’t you think?

Look who couldn’t resist jumping up on the table to get into my shot – none other, than my ever curious cat – Toby…

Thanks for coming along and checking out my holiday decor. I had a blast putting everything up (with the help of the hubby)! My family gets here this week, so I may not be posting much until after Christmas. I wish you all the very best for the holidays! Thank you for all your wonderful comments and loving support! I will see you in the New Year!

xo,

Winter Magic

Hi everyone! How was your Thanksgiving? Hope it was lovely. Our was wonderful and relaxing…a day of cooking, watching football and sipping wine. Such fun! Tomorrow our Christmas lights go up and I’m so excited. There is something so enchanting about all those twinkling lights! I do love this time of year! So when I got the chance to steal Grace away from the crowd for a little photo shoot, I couldn’t resist adding some Winter magic to each shot…

Now, let’s hope we get a little snow this winter, just enough to make everything pretty for a few days.

Do you have snow in your area right now?

Have a lovely weekend!

xo,

Claire bear is 4 months old…

Hello. Today, Clarie and I spent some time taking pictures. She is 4 1/2 months old and I’m attempting to do a portrait of her each month.  This one comes in a tad late but I still wanted to share it with you all. She’s been sitting up more and even trying to hold her own bottle. Her expressions are priceless and that little baby giggle gets me every time!

Have a lovely rest of the week!

xo,

 

Remembering Rouen

Hello there. Hope all is well with you. It’s been a long while since I got the chance to sit down and go over my pics from Paris but when my parents were here I got to do just that! Accompanied by a large mug of tea and my kitty cat on my lap, I perused the hundreds of shots from my adventure in France. Oh, Paris…there is such a sweet spot in my heart for you. Reliving those amazing days made me feel so grateful for the experience.

I wanted to share with you some of the images I captured while in the medieval city of Rouen. We caught the train from Paris in the wee hours of the morning and arrived in Rouen at 8 am to shop a flea market on the outskirts of town. After unearthing some fabulously priced French treasures, we wandered back into the city center. To our immense delight, it was absolutely beautiful and charming! A time-warp to another century with stunning architecture and wonderful boutiques and cafes.

This is the majestic Cathedral Notre-Dame, which was under restoration when we were there…such amazing Gothic architecture!

It doesn’t get much more French than this lovely bakery…

As we strolled through the main square, accordion music filled the air…thanks to this lovely lady.  We stopped a moment to listen to her robust voice and added to the euros in her hat.

Rouen is famous for it’s hand painted Faience ceramic ware that dates back to the 1600′s. This is a tradition that is still seen today…can you see the artist in the background painting away?

Here is a shot of the Gros Horlage, an astronomical clock that dates back to the 16th century.

As you can see, Rouen was a magical experience. So different to Paris, with its own history and character!

Okay, so here’s something I love…serendipity! Let me explain – a couple of months ago, I happened by a garage sale in my neighborhood. Nothing looked that interesting but then a small framed print caught my eye…it looked so familiar to me. I bought it for $2.00 and put it fondly on my desk.

I was so drawn to it, obviously it looked French but there was something else. I decided to do a little research and discovered this is in fact an etching from Rouen, depicting one of the very streets I walked down and the Church of St. Ouen in the background! It was like I was meant to have this little piece of art. Now it hangs in our entryway, so I see it everyday and remember Rouen.

Have a beautiful weekend!

xo,

My latest digital illustration…

Hi all! How are you? I’ve been a bit of a slacker lately and my poor blog got pushed aside while I enjoyed a visit from my family, learned some new Photoshop tricks and loved on my baby girl. The rain has come in full force to beautiful Portland so days hunkered down in my studio with Claire in my arms, has become the norm. Rain always makes me want to sip tea and get creative so that’s what I did. Here is my latest digital illustration…you can also find it in my Society6 shop.

I really enjoyed using a chalk like brush and hand coloring the elements in this design. The power of Photoshop never ceases to amaze me.

For some really fun Photoshop tutorials check out this site…

Hope you are having a creative Fall! Have a fabulous Halloween tomorrow!

xo,

My Society6 Shop is now Open!

Hello friends,

How have your Fall been so far? Portland has been delivering absolutely gorgeous, sun filled, Autumn days – but I know the rain is coming soon. We have been trying to make the most of this lovely weather by taking long walks, visiting with neighbors and of course, I’ve been sneaking in a few photo shoots. Fall has brought forth a surge of creativity in me and I finally decided to open up a Society6 shop, where I can sell my digital art and photography. Here are a few of my latest pieces…

Guess I have been inspired by roses lately!

I invite you to come visit the shop and hope you enjoy my work. Thank you for all your love, support and encouragement. You all inspire me to keep creating!

xo,