Friday, June 29, 2012

Pretty, pretty, pretty

New additions to my ArtFire and Etsy shops. I love them all! I have a love of jewelry; all types of jewelry. These earrings and necklaces typify the beauty of simplicity. The shimmering gold, light glinting off the crystals, a gentle swing of a crystal... they all exemplify beauty. I know, I like to make complicated, full statement pieces too. But lately I've been feeling like less is more. That will change because I'm working on my Rio inspired necklace. Until then, however, I will share with you the beauty of simple. The chic and sophistication of singularity.
Chocolate Crystal and Vermeil Gold Wrapped Necklace http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/frenchrobindesigns
Pink Quartz and Vermeil Gold Necklace http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/frenchrobindesigns
Silver Swirl and Blue Earrings http://www.etsy.com/shop/FrenchRobinDesigns?ref=si_shop
Gold Filigree and Pink Bead Earrings http://www.etsy.com/shop/FrenchRobinDesigns?ref=si_shop

Monday, June 25, 2012

Busy Busy Bee

http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/product_view/frenchrobindesigns/4811729/White_Stone_and_Gold_Necklace/Jewelry/Necklaces

And yet another addition to my ArtFire shop.  I have so many other things to put up!  But... all good things come to those who wait. 

I think I'll add an item a day for the next week.  Then it will be back to creating more beautiful jewelry.  I have something absolutely fabulous in the works.  I can't wait to share it with everyone.

Till then...  cheers!

http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/frenchrobindesigns

New Addition


A beautiful, glowing, amber-color stone wrapped in gold wire and hung from a delicaate gold chain.  I love this piece so much.  It is fabulous, beautiful, stunning.


Sunday, June 24, 2012

New collection on ArtFire. "America the Beautiful"

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Officially a Dance Mom

Totally off the jewelry, art, creativity path but I must share the latest triumph for my kids.  We made it through ballet recital season!  Whoot!! 

This year marks the third ballet recital / production my youngest has done.  Always a lot of work, always stressful for mom and kid, always worth it.  This year I decided to do more than prepare my child and sit in the audience to watch.  I decided this was the year to volunteer back stage. 

Now, I don't have the courage or coordination to volunteer to be an extra dancer.  There is no way I can do what my daughter or all of the little 4 year olds do.  But I can chaperone, supervise, and order kids around. 

So, I was assigned the room with the most kids.... 40!  Ages 4 to 11.  Oh, wow.  I brought crayons, coloring pages, activity sheets, stickers.  I even made "My Ballet Books" for the girls to do.  It lasted for about an hour.  Then chaos.  Running, laughing, slidding, falling, crying, pouting. You name it, they did it. 

Fortunately, I had two other moms to help.  We took turns escorting dancers to and from the stage, potty breaks, and calming the crowd.

I have to say, though, it was very exciting to stand off-stage waiting for my group to perform.  I can see why some parents become stage-addicted.  It was exhilirating to participate in some way with the production.

My feet hurt and I was sweaty at the end but I really loved being their for my daughter and participating.  We will do ballet again.  We will be in the production next year.  And I will very likely help out backstage again.

I love the beauty and art of the dancers.  Even if they are 4, dressed like kittens, and purring on stage.  It's too fun to miss out.

I am officially a dance mom.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Firsts are Always the Best!

Is there anything better than waking up to first sales in two of your shops?  If you are me the answer is no, there is nothing better.

Cannot contain the excitement I'm feeling right now.  Sold items in my Etsy and Artfire shops last night. 

Firsts are always the best!  Indeed they are.  Happy Sunday to everyone!

Saturday, June 16, 2012

I'm So Excited!!

My fun, kid-friendly, summer-time activity collection hit the front page on ArtFire.com.  Cannot even say how exciting this is!  I had so much fun gathering kid-fun items created by very talented artists.  Without their creativity the collection would not exist.

Cheers for creation, sharing online finds, and ArtFire.com!

Check it out -- Kids Play by French Robin Designs on ArtFire.com



http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=36248

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

RIO IS CALLING MY NAME

This story begins with me wanting a new summer dress and ends with inspiration for new jewelry pieces.  I wanted something pretty, cool, and chic.  I wanted to feel like a woman.  Not just a mom wearing tan bermuda shorts all summer.  I wanted to feel pretty.  So, off I went to my local department store in search of the perfect maxi dress.  Yes, I wanted to be trendy too.  I was unprepared for how many maxi dresses were out there!  Every color, pattern, shape, adornment thought off was constructed into a maxi dress for my shopping delight.

Fast forward (I'm confident you don't want to hear about the dressing room mishaps) I found a dress that called to me.  It spoke, yelled, even demanded I purchase it.  And it was inexpensive.  Of course, I made it mine.

Now, how does this dress lead to new jewelry to make.  I'll tell you.  All I could think of when I looked at and wore the dress was Rio, Brazil.  I thought of Carnival, music, joy, and life.

Do you see it?  Do you see Rio?  I did.  I was so excited.  Ideas started bursting in my brain.  I thought about color combinations, beads, crystals, feathers, and patterns.  I haven't stop thinking about how to create a piece that expresses the excitement and exuberance of Rio. 

It came to me in a moment of driving (yes, I was paying attention to the road).  Next thing I know I'm at the bead store buying the most beautiful glass beads and stones.  My excitement poured out of me like an electric current.

Now, I need to get to work on this fabulous piece.  It is going to be a statement necklace.  Are you curious, excited, intrigued?  Good.  So am I!

Saturday, June 9, 2012

My Adventures with the Light Box

My wonderful colleagues have given good, honest feedback about my shop photos.  Honestly, I already knew they needed improvement.  Try as I might I could not get the lighting, editing, color, tint, or anything other than focus right.  So incredibly frustrating to have one photo turn out great and the next blue or hazy.

The advice I received was very helpful.  I thought to myself, "These shop owners have experience and know what they are talking about.  I'll give their advice a try."  Many suggested using a more professional photo editing program.  Others suggested different camera settings.  The final group suggested a light box for better lighting. 

I began to play with editing the photos.  I watched tutorials on Youtube and fiddled around with the existing blue-gray photos I had.  There was some success but I think the starting photo was too off to save.  I moved on to the light box.  I quickly discovered they can be quite expensive!  The more inexpensive versions did not rate well so I quickly disqualified them.  That lead me to wonder if I could make a light box.  Searching the internet I found that I can (of course!). 

I printed the instructions for the most promising light box, went to the supply store, and gathered what I needed.  After a couple of hours (feeding the family inbetween) I had a homemade light box. 

Of course, excitment took over.  I chose one of the worst photos, a picture of a lovely boho charm bracelet (found at http://www.etsy.com/shop/frenchrobindesigns.com and http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/frenchrobindesigns), and proceeded to set up the camera stand, light box, and lamp.  Unfortunately, I didn't check my camera battery life before starting.  The camera was dead.  Really??? 

After charging the battery a bit I finally took some test photos of the bracelet.  Here they are for your comparison.  The first is the original photo with no lightbox.  The second is the light box with Lightroom editing, and the third is using the light box with Picmonkey photo editing. 


Clearly I need to play with the set up more.  However, the new photos are a HUGE improvement over the first one.

I'll have to keep you posted on how my photography skills improve -- hopefully!

Cheers!!