Valentine Collection

You might remember last December I blogged about my Christmas jewelry.  Here is my Valentine’s Day gear!  Seriously, I don’t wear all these things, but I keep them around for sentimental reasons.  Every piece has a story.

The felt heart above was made by and given to me by my grandmother.  She tatted the flowers and lace, and sewed a little pocket where I could hide a penny in the back.  It attaches with a safely pin.  I love its attention to detail and sweetness.  The little plastic heart next to it has been in my jewelry box since I was at least 6 years old.  I don’t know where it came from!

I made this little heart pin a few years go.  The dough is made from Wonder Bread; a mixture of Wonder Bread and white glue.  It’s still strong to this day!

I bought these porcelain hearts in Mendocino a few years go.  I love the swirly bits of gold and how smooth and light they are.

Lastly, I have some junky jewelry.  The big heart blinks when you push on it.  They are just plain fun to wear, especially when I teach.

What do you have?  Share some photos with me!

Christmas Jewelry

I’ve been wearing a variety of Christmas jewelry since I was a kid.  And since I don’t throw anything away, I enjoy those pieces year after year. 

The present above is a pin.  I remember begging my mom to buy it for me at the 5 and Dime.  As a 6 year old, a sparkly gold present was the perfect symbol of Christmas.   The funny thing is that I still love this pin and wear it every year.  It still holds an exotic allure for me, and it is made out of plastic!

My 3rd grade room mother gave this Santa pin to me!  Every student in class got one.  I think this was the same year we also received crocheted ghosts and pumpkins.  So cute!  I love explaining where it came from.  I don’t remember who made it, and wish I could thank them for all these years of enjoyment.  

The item above came from Cost Plus over 30 years go.  It’s a pretty cute little item.  It is a Christmas tree box; the lid is a pin, inside is a tree necklace and there are two earrings attached to the pin/lid.  I don’t wear it so much but love the novelty.  How come I don’t see these everywhere?

I make these snowman and snowflake pins.  When I was a classroom teacher I’d have the kids make an ornament out of Wonder Bread dough every year (Wonder Bread mixed with Elmer’s Glue).  One year I had a lot of leftover white dough, so I got crafty and made these pieces.  On occasion I wear them, but I don’t’ like being poked by those stick arms!

I made the snowmen and tree earrings about 12 years ago when I just started to get into making jewelry.  The snowmen are lamp worked glass, and the trees are made from Swarovwski crystal beads.  I love the trees, small, light, playful and sparkly.

This is the rest of my holiday stuff; a necklace of tree lights that glow with the help of a battery, other non-glowing tree lights, and more.  Wearing these makes me feel like a kid again.  What I love most about Christmas is the lights, and feeling connected to family through following old traditions.