'Tis New Year's Eve.
The end of an eventful year.
xoxo
« November 2013 | Main | January 2014 »
December 2013
12/31/2013
12/30/2013
New Jumpers
To Ferdinand and Augustus, the holiday meant just one thing: new jumpers from Aunt Mildred!
xoxo
12/29/2013
Brocante Bijoux {les petits frères}
A journey of love and remembrance.
Sterling chain.
Faceted opal and quartz.
Vintage Czech paste.
An antique silver French monogram.
An antique French mourning pendant, the finest I've ever come across.
Les petits frères.
A five-leaf clover.
A vintage paste clasp.
Sterling hoops to match.
Opal.
Sparkle.
Love.
xoxo
p.s. Both pieces listed for sale on Etsy.
12/28/2013
Le Petit Prince
Clever Friend was here last night.
She brought a beautiful print of a little marcassin and then proceeded to make him a lovely crown and a collection of delicious mushrooms.
She's very inspiring my clever friend.
xoxo
12/27/2013
Patina
Sometimes there's no replacement for real, decades-deep patina.
It's Friday.
Bon week-end!
xoxo
12/24/2013
Noël
Warmest Wishes to you!
xoxo
12/23/2013
12/22/2013
Antique Playing Cards
The subtle yet infinite variety of antique playing cards.
The royals are flashy and get noticed every time, but the pips on these British beauties are pretty lovely too.
xoxo
12/21/2013
Snip Snip {a cut and paste tutorial}
Many emails to the Brocante start out, How do you ...
I hope this post will answer a few of your questions. If you need more information, please ask.
I own the original elements of every composition I post. Books, documents, photos, engravings, tickets, labels, and other paper ephemera are stacked and stored in my studio.
A collage usually begins with a scan, such as the one above: a hand coloured engraving from an 1830s natural history text.
I do a rough cut of the image in a graphics program such as Photoshop or Photoshop Elements.
And then begin trimming the image carefully . I am currently using a Wacom tablet and pen, but used to do this with a mouse.
Once I have isolated the image I am using ...
... and added nice little shadows ...
... I insert the background colour of the blog in behind the image (using layers) so it no longer appears in a box.
I repeat this procedure for each element of a composition ...
... which is one of the reasons that blog posts can be few and far between.
I hope you've found this helpful - Please let me know if you have more questions.
xoxo
12/19/2013
Aquamarine {and seafoam}
Milky aquamarine from India.
Seafoam lampwork glass.
Faceted brown spinel.
Cherished vintage paste.
Special orders and gifts galore.
Those opals are still waiting.
Slowly taking shape in the spare moments between more pressing tasks.
Soon ...
xoxo
.
Belle Brocante by Email