Merry Christmas Eve

i hope you all have a great holiday surrounded by those you love!  thank you to everyone who visited the shop & helped make JDV Jewelry's first Holiday season a great one... i really appreciate everyone who took the time to support what i do - it'll help me keep on doing what i love - designing jewelry and many other creative things!

i'll leave you with what would've been our christmas card this year ** had we had our act together enough to get them sent out** - it's of the hubs and i on our honeymoon in bora bora

  

{shop update} petite eternite necklaces

hi everyone - 

sorry for the slow response to your inquiries in my etsy shop the past few days... my family and i had to fly back east due to a family member passing away, so needless to say it's been a whirlwind past few days!

but, the good news is, i spoke to my supplier and we're on track to get the component in on thursday 12/18 for the much in demand eternite necklaces - so i can begin filling all of my orders for the petite eternite necklace - and those of you who have been holding off waiting to see if i'd have them for Christmas, feel free to purchase it - you'll be safe and can get these in time for holiday gifts!

{real weddings} update

it's official - i'm so excited and so flattered that i will have the honor to work with two of my gal pals on their wedding invitations and with some of their wedding day design!

it's quite exciting since they will both be having very different yet very personalized weddings.. one is a close college friend who will be getting married in Santa Barbara and will have an elegant winery styled wedding. the other is a long time friend will be married here in Orange County is planning an Old Hollywood/Art Deco Fete!

we're in the planning stages right now for both gals invite suites and i can't wait to see how they turn out, but suites will be lovingly gocco'd by moi!

i'll be sure to update once i have a little more info to show you....

{shop update}: new notecards

just a quick post before i head off to bed:

les enfants notecards - now in my etsy shop

you can buy them in rose pink or denim blue - these make great thank you notes for the new mommy - could also customize them or even turn these into birth announcements for some proud new parents.... hope you like them!

g'night all

all you need is love... do do do do do

just in time for the holidays i've listed my 

l-o-v-e necklace 

it can be ordered in gold fill or sterling silver 

(which the listing hasn't made its way into my shop yet! but you can message me about it) 

it's been an extremely popular item at my recent holiday boutiques - would make a great stocking stuffer or gift to those who might just need a little love! 

some boutiques sell very similar necklaces for over $100!!! mine are $30, 

how's that for a holiday bargain... =)

and here are some more items that you will find in my shop now or very soon...

*holiday stationery*

snowflake notecards

joyeux noel notecards

belle fleur notecards

soleil necklaces - in sterling silver or gold fill (pictured above)

finally... i have the Grand Eternite necklace

 in sterling silver!

sand dollar necklace 

can be ordered in either 16, 18, or 32" long - you choice, it looks great any way you wear it!

bon bon necklaces

not only does this come in ametyst, you can get it with an aquamarine drop, 

bronze coin pearl, canary yellow quarts, the sky's the limit with this style!

this next one's an update to my standard eternite necklaces

braided eternite necklace 

(shown in gold - can be sterling silver too)

still petite, catches the light just right, 

and it's a nice holiday variation to my most popular shop item!

the antoinette necklace in gold fill

Just in time for the Holidays...

it's time for new necklaces!... i have had these designs for some time now, but wanted to let those of you who have been stopping by my shop waiting for updates - they're finally here and can be found in my etsy shop for your holiday shopping convenience!

happy shopping!

blair

{Shop Update}: the Belle Earring Collection

i'd like to introduce you to my current favorite earring... 

Belle

 this collection is very feminine, dainty, and just the perfect addition to any outfit or even to your bridal attire!

i'm very partial to this collection since i designed the style pictured below

 for my recent wedding

... belle with white coin pearls ...

shown here with Twigs & Honey orchid hair adornments

 as i was getting ready for my wedding day!

photo courtesy of Memories by Michael

this next style was a close runner up as my wedding day earrings

... belle with hand-wired aquamarine teardrops ...

next up: paired with my new favorite color pearl 

which i discovered on our honeymoon to the islands of tahiti

... belle with peacock black coin pearls ...

... belle with traditional ivory freshwater pearls ...

... belle with faceted amethyst stones ...

and last but not least

... belle with bronze coin pearls ...

whether your a bride-to-be or need to do a little christmas shopping

you can find these gems in my shop

happy shopping!

Holiday Boutique - this Saturday the 22nd

hi everyone,

sorry i've been so non-existent folks i've been preping for a holiday boutique i'm apart of this weekend in the LA area.  If anyone is interested in visiting there will be about 6 other vendors selling a variety of goodies, and it'll be a great way to get some early Christmas shopping done!

if you're interested in stopping by please email me at JDVJewelry(at)gmail dot com. it'll be a great way to see all the designs i haven't had the opportunity to post on here or in my etsy shop.

pretty things: holly stalder

while killing time online a few weeks ago,

i stumbled upon a fabulous, fellow esty shop owner:

Holly Stalder - she's an independent designer here on the West Coast and she makes such pretty things, here are some of my favorites.

hopefully, soon this will be mine....

vintage-y black tank

wouldn't this make a great holiday dress?

gold tunic dress

and i'm a huge fan of anything eyelet...

 look at this cute shrug i found at her website 

hollystalder.com

oh and this... antique lace shrug

it's all so feminine and beautiful, i wish i could go on a shopping spree,

 but for now, i'll start with the tank and work up from there! =)

Thank you!

i just wanted to take a second to shout out to all of you new clients - y'all know who you are =)

i've had many orders in the JDV etsy shop this past week for my petite eternite necklace, no doubt i owe the thanks to Myra Callan for the publicity... but i wanted to welcome all you new readers who have stopped by to take a look at what Joie de Vie is all about... thanks for the interest, and i hope to have the opportunity to work with you sometime soon!

Blair

oh how brilliant...

i found this while sitting waiting during my jury duty day....

and this is when i start thinking, man i WISH i thought of this! i showed it to the hubs tonight and he took a confused look at what i was flashing in front of his face... then he lit up ...

(well maybe that was the computer screen)

and he said "i need one of these for you, where do i sign you up"

enough said

check it out: the little pink card

ps. but you better believe that i'll be making one for the hubs since i'm such a DIYer =)

my civic duty

well... more like county than anything... dear readers, i write to you from a bench on the 11th floor of the Orange County Central Courthouse where i'm sitting and playing the waiting game for jury duty.

i guess this day can kinda be counted as a blessing in disguise, the gov't has made serving a little more friendly and productive by allowing us to use complimentary WiFi while we wait... this way we can be amused, happier, and perhaps even get work done!

so i just thought i'd write this post to let you know that you can expect to see more frequent posts from me - since i'll try to use this day to get caught up on blog posts.

-Blair

Dear Myra :

what can i say other than, you and your Twigs & Honey are just too sweet! i've been meaning to post this since you featured JDV Accessories on your blog... what can i say other than thank you!

and the only way i could think to thank you is to showcase your talent, and how it helped personalize my recent wedding. so, the story goes something like this....

a few months back i stumbled upon Twigs & Honey just as many others did... via Weddingbee, Brooklyn Bride PI & P2, and then Style Me Pretty too...

each time i bumped into Myra's wedding/work online, i became more and more inspired not only in planning my wedding, but finding something to call my very own from all of her many wonderful designs. well... one night i happened to be stalking her blog (as i usually did in the wee hours of the night, like an insomniac bride-to-be) and there they were... these perfectly elegant handmade phalaenopsis orchids (pictured below). it was downhill from there, i had planned on wearing real orchids in my hair in honor of my mom's bridal bouquet flowers, but was afraid they wouldn't make it through a Southern California, August wedding.  so Myra's were an even better option since i'd be able to wear them again and again after the wedding! once we got the order placed and wedding time approached, this pretty little shipment arrived on my door step and finally i had some Twigs & Honey orchids to call my own!

Myra definitely puts a lot of care and thought into her work and even into the packaging, it came wrapped real cute and complete with a "how to" note for my new orchids! everything she does has an obvious personal touch to it.

at fist sight - the orchids in my hair matched my hubby's boutonniere (looking back now, i wish i would've had Myra make that too because it broke before we even made it to the ceremony)

the above two photos were shot by family & a bridesmaid at our wedding, i would show you our pro pics, but we don't have them back yet... so in the mean-time you can see how the orchids added to the whole ensemble - matching his bout, the scattered orchids in my bouquet, and paid homage to my mom's wedding bouquet.

now i'll leave you with a unique and super cute piece Myra's made recently and seen showing off the JDV Jewelry Petite Eternite Necklace (which can be found in my etsy shop)... sorry for the shameless plug!

Pretty Bridal Floral Broach with Sash

thanks again Myra and keep doing what you do best!

{shop update}: Sand dollar earrings

these are another go-to item for me

you can usually find me wearing these earrings or the madame earrings ever day.

this style has been around a few months now, just with all the craziness of the wedding & readjusting to not having a wedding to consume my time - it's taken awhile.

the sand dollars are made of gold overlay and have the imprint of the shell's design on them.

these earrings really are perfect to wear casually or for a dressier affair!

also, keep a look out for the sister necklace making it's way into my shop soon...

EAD Library Link Love

just wanted to thank that gals over at 

Elizabeth Anne Designs for listing Joie de Vie Jewelry & Accessories

in their new Vendor Library.

if you visit the above link to EAD and view the "shops" you will find a link to JDV!

you can also use their library to search for wedding vendors which are all accessible online.

readers have the option to leave feedback/comments about their experiences with these vendors to help future brides' research.

thanks for the exposure EAD!

Real Wedding: Sarah & Jim's gocco'd napkins

as soon as sarah contacted me and sent me her the inspiration board on etsy(pictured below), i fell completely in love with the style wedding she was planning.

she said her main colors are

coral, gold, and mocha with touches of chocolate and robbin's egg blue.

after running through a few different design ideas Sarah created herself, here's the proof we went with.

sorry for the large gap here

and here's the outcome of her wedding napkins - funny thing, i work on top of a sheet to protect my workspace, i usually don't photograph my work on this type of background... but in this case i did since one of Sarah's accents is robbin's egg blue, which really makes these napkins pop.

here's an up close view of the colors used:

these are ivory napkins with custom mixed coral & metallic gold gocco ink.

i really wish i had a better camera that could capture the shine

that the gold ink puts off in the light!

just a glimpse of the workspace as i gocco'd... i just about squealed when i first opened the lid of my gocco to see how these looked... i just love them! it's always an exciting experience to see the outcome of the design process, especially when the final product turns out like this!

and another view =)

these turned out so different from my own wedding napkins, and i loved how beautiful they are and really can't wait to start working on my upcoming orders.

i love helping brides personalize their weddings, so if you are interested in custom designed paper goods please convo me via my etsy shop.

past time blogs - total randomness

thanks to my brother and sister in law for the intro to 

FailBlog

my family and i were back east visiting family and they told my husband and i about this blog, and i kid you not, my husband spent 2 hours laughing at every other post and video clip on this site...

here's a sample of the humor

Real Wedding: Lindsay & Rob

Lindsay was married back in June at the beautiful Rancho Las Lomas in Southern California. 

her main colors were fushia and lime green, with many other accents mixed in too.

here's a photo all the bridesmaids during the ceremony and Lindsay's amazing dress and veil! 

since Lindsay is a good friend from college, i was fortunate enough to be there to be paparazzi!

here's anoter shot of all the girls toghther

i designed jardin bon bon earrings with a yellow quartz teardrop, 

bon chance bracelets with the same stone, and she picked out the grand eternite necklace 

which looked great with the BMs' necklines.  

below is a montage of professional photos of the BMs' goodies courtesy of 

Barnet Photography

if you are interested in giving you special gals the special gift of jewelry they can wear on your wedding day and for many years to come... please convo me via my etsy shop!

I'm back

... and back as a MRS! i can't wait to get caught up on all the blogging i fell behind on while i was in the midst of planning & finalizing our wedding... i will say this though, i have a whole new perspective on weddings and all the details that surround the big day, and i believe my own wedding expereince will only help to enhance my creative process and my perspective with all of the brides i work with!

get ready for some new and fun things i have in store for everyone! in the last month of wedding planning many new creations came about and i can't wait to show all the new products that i've added to the Joie de Vie repertoire!

- the new Mrs. Britt!

{shop update}: new napkins

Bicyclette Napkins

these custom cocktail napkins are a great personal touch for any social event, holiday, or wedding.  the bike icon is just the basic idea, you could customize with the date of the event, or the host's names, or any other variety of personal details.  these red ones pictured above are awesome, unfortunately the photo i took is not so awesome... you can't tell but the shine that the metallic gold ink gives is really beautiful!

these can be ordered in any custom color napkin or ink if you have 

a specific color scheme you'd like these to tie in with.

 (please private message me if you'd like to customized them in any way)

keep in mind too that these can be used to tie a whole wedding/ event suit together - i can use an image for invitations, thank you notes, napkins, place cards, table numbers/names... you name it!

just to give you an idea of the napkin making process... it takes up lots of space =)

below are the ivory napkins with the gold bikes, these would look great with a gold, champagne, and bronze color scheme i think !

Joie de Vie is becoming more and more diverse in the products available to offer our clients!