Little Boxes

I have a small obsession with handmade jewelry, specifically the kind you can purchase on Etsy.  In fact, I have been forced into starting a collection of little boxes from all the unique packaging my jewels come shipped in.  It’s so easy to get carried away with the need to buy more earring and necklaces, as I feel tricked into thinking they’re all just little gifts, perfectly boxed up for me.

Crazy Pipe Cleaner Lady

And no, I’m not talking about myself…

Yesterday, my friend posted a link on Facebook to a pipe cleaner flower ring on Martha Stewart’s website.  Well, since it’s MS, I had to click!

Best decision I made all day!

This crazy Pipe Cleaner Lady, Wendy Baner, makes everything out of pipe cleaners.  I think she even throws pipe cleaner parties!  Well, on the Martha Stewart Show, she shows Martha how to make rose pipe cleaner rings.  Since there wasn’t any good pictures of them, and I had pipe cleaners laying around, I made one!  It was super, super easy, took me about three minutes and comes out beautifully!  Don’t think, just follow the links and make one for yourself!

Dabbling in Handmade Jewelry

Last weekend, I went to a black tie wedding. Who has money for black tie weddings in this economy, right? I found a super deal on a gown at a great second hand store in Skippack, PA called Second Seitz. Then I borrowed some shoes from a friend and a mink stole from my mother-in-law.

Looking for some not too expensive costume jewelry proved a little more difficult. I searched through Etsy multiple times to see if I could find the perfect purpley-pink necklace to go with my amethyst colored dress. I bought a cute necklace with a pink rose, but when I tried it on with the dress, it wasn't dressy enough. (It looks great with jeans and a simple top, though!)

One evening, while walking through Michael's with my husband (past the jewelry aisle), he told me that I should try to make my own jewelry for the wedding. Just the invitation I needed! That night, I purchased some pink and purple glass beads and small pink pearls. While in college, I made some football inspired bracelets, so I found my old jewelry making supplies and went to work!

Well, making this necklace turned out to be a lot harder than I thought! The first necklace I made was mostly glass beads, and my husband said it looked like something made of plastic a child would wear. Yikes! I made several more trips to Michael's to get the right balance of glass beads to pearls, which I didn't accomplish until I went back again for more supplies to add another strand of beads. After stringing and restringing and restringing, here's what I finally came up with:



Admittedly, I was a little disappointed that I didn't get any compliments on my necklace that evening...and after all those trips to Michael's, I don't think it turned out to be the bargain necklace I hoped for. However, making a necklace filled up that part of my heart that loves to be crafty, so it was worth it in my book!

Finally, a picture of me all dolled-up with my handmade necklace!