Building Tinsel Town: How a Christmas Village Helped Me Step into My Style
There’s something magical about creating a world from scratch.
This December, I joined the #TinselTown2025 challenge on Instagram, hosted by a wonderful group of illustrators (listed below), and something clicked. I love drawing and painting brownstones, so the idea of building my own illustrated Christmas village? It was an instant yes.
“Gumdrop Village” by Therese Tucker for the #tinseltown2025 art challenge.
There’s something magical about creating a world from scratch.
This December, I joined the #TinselTown2025 challenge on Instagram, hosted by a wonderful group of illustrators (listed below), and something clicked. I love drawing and painting brownstones, so the idea of building my own illustrated Christmas village? It was an instant yes.
At the start, my only real plan was to fill my village with beautiful brownstones. That was it. No master strategy. Just a desire to follow my joy.
🎨 Inspired by Brooklyn (and a Little Wes Anderson Magic)
My time living near Park Slope in Brooklyn gave me all the nostalgic material I needed: snowy walks with my husband, beautifully lit windows, wreaths on front doors, and the hum of cozy cafes tucked between brownstones. I also pulled color inspiration from The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson's genius never fails me). I chose a palette that felt slightly vintage, slightly sweet, and full of charm and I stuck to it all the way through.
Each piece was drawn digitally in Procreate using gouache, ink, and pencil brushes. I gave every building its own personality and a canine companion because every great town deserves dogs. 🐾
📚 My Favorite Building? The Bookstore.
While I loved every part of this piece, the bookstore became my favorite. It was inspired by a real memory — visiting the Barnes & Noble in Union Square ( though this version is purely imagined.) There’s something about the elegant arches, the stone columns, and the woman standing outside holding her packages that feels like me. She’s done shopping... but she’s still looking for the perfect book.
It was hard to choose a favorite…
In the end, the bookstore won my heart from the star ornaments, to the little details of books, pots of ink and presents.
It was little vignettes like that one that ended up surprising me most.
🧠 What I Learned While Building Tinsel Town
I’m better at storytelling than I realized. Creating each building felt like writing a short scene.
My style is getting more cohesive, my linework is more delicate and intentional.
I love working with a limited color palette. It makes decisions easier and results stronger.
I found a workflow that works for me: blocking in shapes before sketching feels natural and satisfying.
I want to start documenting my creative process like a recipe. That’s now on my to-do list.
And even though I didn’t get to paint every building I hoped to (time was tight!), I’m genuinely proud of what came through. Sharing a horizontal panoramic piece on Instagram wasn’t seamless, but the kind response made it all worthwhile.
🧁 What I Hope You Feel When You See Tinsel Town
Whimsical nostalgia. That feeling you get when you watch a Wes Anderson film with everything in its place, gently charming, and a little bit dreamlike.
This village is my love letter to Brooklyn, to winter walks, to festive windows, and to the slow beauty of building something one brick at a time.
🧁 What’s Next + Where to Find More
🎁 Limited Edition Alert!
A print and sticker from my Tinsel Town collection will be available exclusively to my Patreon patrons for December. Join before December 31st and it’s yours too!
🎄 Want to see more of the process?
Follow me on Instagram @starthistle.and.quartz — I shared the buildings in real time over there.
❄️ Special Thanks
A big thank you to the hosts of the #TinselTown2025 challenge for inspiring this magical project:
The Artists Who Shaped My Style
If you look closely at my work, you’ll see a quiet trail leading back to some of the artists who shaped me—both consciously and unconsciously. Their fingerprints are all over my creative instincts, my sense of color, and the way I approach a blank page.
“Frog + Foxglove” by Therese Tucker 2025.
If you look closely at my work, you’ll see a quiet trail leading back to some of the artists who shaped me—both consciously and unconsciously. Their fingerprints are all over my creative instincts, my sense of color, and the way I approach a blank page.
My Early Artistic Influences
Before I ever called myself an artist, I was being shaped by art.
Beatrix Potter was one of my first companions. Her stories and illustrations lived on my porcelain dish set as a child, tucked into bedtime stories, and woven into the fabric of my earliest memories. I engaged with her every single day, and that gentle, English countryside whimsy still lives in my work. I didn’t choose her influence—it chose me.
Then came Mary Blair. As a child, I didn’t know her name, but I knew the way Alice in Wonderland and Cinderellamade me feel. Later, I discovered that Mary was the visionary behind those concept sketches—the colors, the odd shapes, the bold whimsy—and I felt like I had found the heartbeat of something I had always known.
In my teenage years, I discovered Michael Parkes. I bought a poster of his surreal ballerina painting and hung it above my bed. His dreamlike imagery, celestial themes, and graceful women deeply influenced the way I imagined characters and movement. For years, he was the artist I aspired to emulate.
How Their Influence Shows Up in My Work
Today, you might not see them directly in my art—but I do.
From Beatrix, I inherited my love of animals, the woodland world, and a soft touch in my linework. From Mary, the ability to lean into odd color pairings, slightly skewed perspective, and playful storytelling. From Michael, the sense of elegance, flow, and emotion through figure and atmosphere.
Even when I can't see their presence clearly, other people do—especially recently as I’ve been creating work for the #botanicalsandbeasties2025 challenge. Multiple people have noted a vintage Disney quality in my illustrations. That’s Mary, peeking through. And when I’m leaning into tenderness, subtle colors, and soft character design? That’s Beatrix.
Letting Go to Make Space for My Own Voice
As I’ve grown, I’ve also started to notice which influences I’ve let go of. Michael Parkes used to be a main character in my visual world. But over time, I’ve drifted away from surrealism and toward something more grounded, gentle, and romantic. More woodland, less angelic. More storybook, less allegorical.
It’s been important for me to allow my influences to evolve with me. I no longer feel the need to imitate—now, I’m integrating.
What I Hope People Feel in My Work
I don’t necessarily want you to say, “Ah! Mary Blair!” or “This reminds me of Beatrix Potter!” What I hope you feel is a sense of comfort, serenity, and that there’s space for you in my work. I want my art to feel safe and tender—a kind of soft place to land.
I imagine it in children’s rooms, in quiet corners of the home, or gifted to someone who needs something gentle. I hope it inspires without overwhelming.
Want to See My Visual Inspirations?
If you’re curious about what lights me up creatively, you can explore my Mary Blair–inspired Pinterest board here and peek into the worlds that shape my imagination.
And if you want to start a creative practice of your own, check out my Art & Soul Journal, a year-long guide filled with 365 creative prompts to spark your imagination. It’s my gift to you.
➡️ Get the Art & Soul Journal here
🧁 What’s Next?
If this post resonates with you, I’d love for you to:
September 2025 Patreon Reward
Leave a comment and tell me who shaped your creative path.
Join me on Patreon to see which of my illustrations become postcards, stickers, and behind-the-scenes goodies.
Follow along on Instagram @starthistle.and.quartz to see the art as it’s created in real time.