{charmed earth}

The Lifestyle blog of Katie Storms.: something simple, something sweet, something styled.

31 January 2010

Something Old


Sorry I've been gone for days! We were out of touch with my husband's family, especially his Granny. She made it to 89, and I wanted to dedicate this post to her because I think she would be a fan of the challenge. Granny was such a kind, simple, and positive woman. We miss her, but I think she's happy looking down on us.

A few weeks ago I went rummaging through my old jewelry stashes in search of old brooches. I had caught myself searching Etsy and Anthropologie only to find a new trend: brooch necklaces. I hear JCrew has them, too. On Etsy, they are truly one of kind--sold from $100-$200+, and at Anthropologie they start at around $60. I considered going over to Anthropologie to look at the beautiful necklaces, but the temptation seemed too much to handle: I couldn't keep my Christmas Anthropologie gift cards at bay. And I'm saving those for when the temptation gets tough or if, for whatever reason, I actually need something. So I was left with some online pictures and my own jewelry.

My first find was the ruby red jeweled butterfly I inherited from my Great-Grandmother on my mother's side. We shared the same birthday, so I have a lot of her old "costume jewelry." And then I came across a jeweled cat my friend Sheri gave to me one year for my birthday. And with my searching, I found other gold brooches and pins with hints of red and turquoise, including an old star I believe belonged to a great-aunt or other great-grandmother. And in the top of my jewelry box, I even spied the gold cat with red eyes and a pearl by its tail: That one was from Granny's jewelry box. My husband's family said I could have it.

But my finds--six in all--weren't enough to complete the necklace. But a quick (well, as quick as browsing can be) look though my favorite antique mall just minutes from my house, I found exactly what I needed: A large gold flower with a pearl middle and a jeweled frog. Both were old, used, and $3 each. I finished the necklace off with an old strand of pearls. Total cost: $6 (sure beats upwards of $200!) To create the final piece, I simply pinned the brooches to a curved cut of stiff felt I had leftover from Christmas ornament making. Then I hooked the necklace to each side. It was far simpler than methods that suggested cutting off the pin backs and filing them down. Plus, I didn't want to destroy the brooches. This way, I can still wear them as individual pins.

The compliments at work the next day were ubiquitous, and the surprise that I created the necklace made it even more exciting to wear:) I'm told I could sell it--or make more and sell them--but there is no way I would sell this piece, no way I would give away the jewels of my family grandmothers, no way any price could replace the joy I get out of identifying where each piece came from.

1 comment:

  1. You were right...that turned out great!

    Mary

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