Magical Traditions

I know I have been a bit scarce here the past month. The holidays have been a busy time. I recently finished up my first little gypsy doll for a dear friend. Now that it has been wrapped and given, I look forward to sharing some pictures later this week!

My family has always been very big on tradition. Sometimes I like to tease that, “If we did it once: it’s a tradition!” My Mom always made Christmas very special for us as children (and still does!). One of our little traditions was a tree of our very own for our bedrooms. Me, my sister, and my two brothers always set up a little tree with our own particular theme. Mine was all angel ornaments. Some are very old and I look forward to unwrapping and hanging them every year. This is the first year in a very long time that I have had a real tree for my apartment and here are a few of my favorite decorations for it’s fragrant branches…

What are some of your favorite holiday traditions?

Inspiration

I’ve been very busy indeed the past week or so, but I happily managed to get this little tree for our apartment. It smells so lovely and there is such magic in the soft glow of Christmas lights in the evening. I love this time of year and try not to think too much about how fast it seems to be flying by.

So many blogs have been posting wonderful wish lists and gift guides this season. I’ve been thinking about doing one myself. Naturally it will probably be very Etsy-themed. (Sometimes I think I will need to start another blog and call it “My love affair with Etsy”…)

A few weeks ago I received a very sweet email from Sarah who had discovered Gypsea Tree and gave me an enormous compliment when she told me that she found inspiration here. When you visit her lovely little shop Crooked Thorne Jewelry you will see why I felt so honored. Her work is certainly inspiring to me as well! Below are a few of my favorites.

Part of the description of these bangles are as follows…

“These beautiful bangles have been handmade and aged to look like they just slipped off a Gypsy’s wrist!”

Oh how I love them!

This one is also positively bewitching.

I also love this stunning swan necklace.

Crooked Thorne also has a tempting give away of free gypsy jewels! You must visit!

Thank you for the inspiration Sarah!

{all jewelry photos via Crooked Thorne}