A Goodbye Gift

It's hard to let Sarah go back to school. Having a nanny was a short-lived luxury. (She bought me presents just because-better than a husband!) It's probably good that we're putting Eleanor in daycare prior to any possibly shy-around-strangers stage as it will make the transition easier on her and definitely easier on me, but it doesn't make me any less sad to say goodbye to Sarah. As a thank you/we love you gift, I made Sarah a locket with Eleanor's picture.

I've had these lockets in my stash but have always been stumped about how to make them feel less unfinished. I'm not sure what they were manufactured to have in those ovals, but a jewel or fitted insert would be hard to track down in the right size if I even wanted to go that route.
However, the other day I was struck by the thought of faux enameling it with a bit of nail polish. A couple of drops and a careful spread to make sure it reaches all the sides and then all I had to do was wait until it dried thoroughly. The best part is that it's pretty easy to wipe it down and start over if I make a mistake. I love how it turned out!

Don't Worry, I Washed Them

When I get new clothing, just like when I was little, I tend to wear it pretty often. I just realized today that I've worn the new pair of pants I have on today 4 times in the last 8 days! To think I wasn't sure if I would keep them because they're a lot more fitted than I normally wear.

Tippi Sweater in Linen, Deep Cinnamon, J.Crew
Waverly Chino, Midnight, J.Crew
Limousine Flat, Dark Pewter, American Eagle
Kinsey Necklace, HannaKinsey, Etsy
Earrings, Target, 5 years ago

Almost to Etsy

I've made a few fun pieces of jewelry in the past few months with the plan to finally get something new up on Etsy. Happily though, before I could, I sold them!

I wanted to share them somewhere since I went to all the work to take pictures of them...

How I used the cool vintage metal pressings from Paris I found:

Laure Necklace

Frances Necklace

Now I'm working on some pieces with small colored vintage glass domes:

Stanton Earrings in Emerald

Coming soon to my Etsy Store....

My latest project:

Inspired by the latest navy/sailor style trends...

Something Old, Something New

I have been mulling this necklace over in my head for months now. I've had the buttons from my grandmother's button tin for years, just waiting for some special way to use them. This necklace inspired me to start making jewelry last year mostly because I hadn't seen anyone making anything like I was picturing. If you can't find it, make it yourself. I had the basic idea of what I wanted: a pearl necklace connected to the vintage buttons in their respective settings, but it just wasn't quite right.

I sat down yesterday determined to figure out the puzzle. I think I initially stayed away from adding more of the intricately detailed buttons because I thought it would be too much, but it turns out that it's exactly what the necklace needed to become truly special.

It's funny, this is how all my favorites come about, I mull and I dwell and then all of a sudden I come up with the exact right thing and I put it all together in one sitting. It's just exactly what it was meant to be.

One thing I particularly like about this is that, except for three of the buttons, all of the buttons could actually be taken out of the necklace sometime in the future and used as buttons again.  I feel like that's the ultimate in the reuse, recycle, reinvent philosophy.