Friday, November 19, 2010

DIY Heirloom Necklace


Happy Friday Sweet Hearts... TGIF, right!
This week has flown by with Thanksgiving preparations & a birthday party to throw! {yes, that would be my own, lol} The pine needles have been racked, Christmas lights have been strung, wreaths deck the hall, a Honey Baked Ham has been ordered & the countdown has begun. My holiday goal for this year is to simply relax & 'Go With the Flow'. The words "Get away from the bird!", now live on in infamy.


With Christmas right around the corner, I wanted to share with you my very favoritest necklace that I have ever made...my 'Heirloom Necklace'. By now, most of you know me to be completely sentimental & overly nostalgic. I wanted to create a piece of jewelry that could be worn close to my heart & could hold some of my most precious mementos, my very own heirlooms.


I started with a handful of memories.
From left, my Mother's 18th birthday, 10k pearl & ruby ring
a sterling silver art nouveau girl my Father bought me when I lived in Utah back when I was 20
a locket with my Wedding picture in it, along with a picture of Courtney & I in Florence, Italy
a metal my Father won in 1953 for the 440 yd dash
a Liberty dime pendent that Robert bought me when we were at Mount Rushmore
a copper football from the 50's, my Dad was Captain of the football team
another track metal my Father won in 1952 for the 440 yard run
a 50's baseball mitt charm for Robert's baseball team he played on when we 1st met
a Saint Frances religious metal
Courtney's Brownie pin
the '74 charm from the tassel on my graduation cap
a mounted Indian Head penny given to me by Robert's parents
a locket with pictures of Kai & Courtney in it
& a tiny chain with my Mother's initials JB on it,
pieces of my heart!


I used 2 different kinds of chain. A heavy antiqued silver chain to attach the charms to & a smaller brass chain on either side of that, to get the desired length I wanted. The charms were all attached with simple jump rings & a brass clasp was added to one end. {my necklace is 18" long, not including the brass clasp} 


When I was at the show in Texas, I got so many wonderful compliments on this necklace, everybody LOVED it...but most importantly, I LOVE it! Everything on this necklace means something special to me.


What an amazing gift this could be for someone you love or even for yourself! The biggest challenge is gathering the 'handful of memories' & even those can be found in some of the most unlikely places.


I am joining Debra of Common Ground for her Vintage Inspiration Friday post. There are many lovely links to visit and I hope you will enjoy them as well.
Have a Fabulous Weekend Friends!

XOXO
vintagesusie

35 comments:

" SHABBY JUNK" said...

That's the best necklace ever!

Mammabellarte Rita Reade said...

So many special charms. Wishing you a Buon Compleanno and Happy Thanksgiving. Ciao Rita mammabellarte

OmaLindasOldeBaggsandStuftShirts said...

I love the necklace, was an absolute treasure. Happy Birthday again, and have a blessed Turkey Day. The Olde Bagg, Linda

Diane said...

What a beautiful memento to wear each & every day....remembering those you love so very much =)) I too love it my friend!!

Amanda Lee said...

This is absolutely fabulous! I love the mix! You are quite the artist! Thanks for visiting my blog, I'm glad you enjoyed it :)

nacherluver said...

What a lovely idea!

trash talk said...

I love this. Send me your address...I think I need to add to it for your birthday.
Debbie
P.S. I'm almost family...sister by another mister and all!

Pretty Things said...

What a truly meaningful piece of jewelry!

petals and vintage said...

Yep! Such a beautiful treasure and very inspiring.

Pam x

Charlene said...

Great necklace ms Suzie Pearl

Sandy said...

Gorgeous design! Have a great weekend!

Anonymous said...

Happy, happy Birthday!

Lynn Stevens said...

Priceless memories!!! Love it!

Sue said...

So beautiful and inspiring. I luuuv it! Happy belated Birthday and a joyful Thankgiving. Our has been last month, so I'm getting ready for the Christmas Season. Almost Advent and no cookies made yet (shame on me;o))

Alice said...

What a beautiful 'handfull of memories'! I love that each tiny dangle holds a lifetime of memories.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving Holiday!

Suz said...

Suzie,
That is just a fab-u-lous necklace. I love it! I also love the Mount Rushmore trinket, since I am a South Dakota girl, so you can send me that any time ;-) Seriously, you did a great job. Wear it with pleasure. I love sentimental jewelry!
Hugs,
Suz

Andrea said...

I love this necklace!!

MJ Ornaments said...

Gorgeous necklace!

Burlap Luxe said...

Flea Market Chic-ness!
Love the charms.
Thank you for including yourself in on the GiveAway!!
See you soon girl!

Oak Hills Ca.
"Hesperia"
xx
Dore'

Kit said...

What a wonderful art piece. So clever to use all those items that mean so much. May I borrow your idea and make one for myself? :) Kit

Olive said...

This is what many commercial jewelry brands try to do but YOU did it best. YOU captured your heartfelt memories. Welldone. Visiting from common Ground.

Pam Kessler said...

What a fantastic necklace. I love that all the pieces are so special to YOU. Gorgeous.

Beca said...

Susie I love your heirloom necklace. I love things that have extra meaning and sentiment. I love your blog as well. Thanks for following my blog and now I am following your blog too. I'll be back soon.

FairfieldHouse said...

Susie,

You have created a true heirloom that each generation can add a piece to. Treasured trinkets of many lives and hearts. I am keeping this in my inspiration file. Thank you for sharing it. Consider me your newest reader!

Deborah

Blessed Serendipity said...

What a wonderful and sentimental necklace. I love things like that. Every time you wear it those memories will only be that much closer to your heart.

-Danielle

Barbara Jean said...

wonderful ring and treasure.

Thanks for coming by my place.

blessings

barbara jean

Betsy@My Salvaged Treasures said...

Wow, what a gorgeous necklace. I can sure appreciate all the love and thought that went into making it. Thanks for sharing the stories behind all these treasures.
Thanks for visiting with me and I will also be back to see what you're creating.

Itchin' Stitchin' said...

Wow - this necklace is beautiful! It holds so many memories that are close your heart :)

Sweet Magnolias Farm said...

Hi Susie ...Oh My gosh your necklace is positively fabulous !!! I think it's so cool you have all those wonderful pieces of the past to create such a beautiful sentimental piece of art.

Love your blog and your digital design work ..you really have a gift for the digital design ..your work is stunning !!!

I'm a Texas girl at heart too ..I love Amarillo ..I know strange but I love the open wide spaces and that prairie wind ! I visited Dallas all the way to Austin last year and loved it. I've always been a cowgirl ...grew up with horses ...and only hope we get back to having some land and animals again ..real soon.

So nice to meet you here in blogland ..

Blessings ..Sara

Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces said...

This is exactly the type of necklace I most like, Susie! It has special meaning and looks wonderful, too! I've been saving special pieces to make a piece like this, too! Thanks for stopping by my blog and for your sweet comments!

sharon said...

Absolutely gorgeous! And so meaningful, nothing could be better!

amy~ the gypsy chick said...

how beautiful susie! i just love that each little peice holds a special memory that you can keep close to your heart. i just love pieces of jewelry like that! ;)

xoxox
amy

Bohemian said...

Love the idea of the Heirloom Necklace. Thanks for your sweet comments on my Blog and I've taken your advice and repositioned the Friends closer to the top. I'm new at this Blogdom experience... my 9 year old Grandson helped me set it up... kids find Technology so effortless and fun that they are amazing at doing this stuff... I LOVED how it turned out and was so proud of him mentoring me and advising me! Guess you CAN teach an old dog new tricks! *wink*

Dawn... The Bohemian

Jill Marcott-McCall ~Feathers & Flight~ said...

Good Morning Suzie!
Your Necklace is so Beautiful! And Even More so because of its Personal Meaning! What a Treasure!
Thank you for stopping by for a Visit and you Sweet Comments!
I will Be Back to Visit again Soon!
Happy Monday!
Hugs
Jill
PS I grabbed your Button!

Simple Home said...

This is such a wonderful idea!! I want to do this. I'll have to search for some chains, but I think I could find enough trinkets :-)
Blessings,
Marcia