Charmed Bracelets

A Gift for a New Baby

I put this post at the top in honor of my friend Ute's new granddaughter, Greta. I'll be making Greta a bracelet like this as soon as I get home from London. 

 I am old enough (55) that when I was born the hospital gave me a baby bracelet of pink beads with ABC beads spelling out my name. 

My mother kept that bracelet, as I'm sure most mothers did. It was a cherished keepsake. 

Well, these days babies get plastic wrist bands, and it's just not the same. 

I met a young couple recently who have a new baby, a sweet little girl only five weeks old, and I wanted to give them a gift for the baby, so I made a baby bracelet. 

It turned out well, I think, and they seemed pleased when I gave it to them today, along with a baby hat that I had knitted. 

It's just pale pink seed beads with the letters of the baby's name, and a heart-shaped sterling silver clasp. I had to guess at her wrist size--I kept holding up my thumb for comparison--but I think I got it pretty close. The construction is very sturdy and shouldn't break easily, but if you do put jewelry on a baby only do so during times you are with the baby. I wouldn't put a baby down to sleep with jewelry on, for example, just in case. 

If you'd like a baby bracelet for a new baby, or for the baby's mom, e-mail me and let me know if you want pink or blue and give me the baby's name: jeanne.sather@gmail.com

Price: $35, which includes taxes, postage, and insurance to U.S. destinations. 

@ Jeanne Sather 2010. 

The Lady With the Cane

 Let me say, first of all, that I just don't see myself as The Lady With the Cane. 

Not my self-image. 

However, I have been using a cane for a couple of weeks now, because of the pain in my left hip. I need the cane to get out of bed in the morning, and for the first little while after I'm up because I can't put all my weight on that leg. And I need it each and every time I get up from a chair or the couch. 

This situation seems likely to continue. 

(Don't know what I'm talking about? See my cancer blog: The Assertive Cancer Patient) 

Given this situation, I may have to bow--not gracefully, but with my own sense of Assertive Cancer Patient style--and accept a cane. But not just any cane.

I want to be The Lady With the Totally Cool Cane. And I've found the cane, online, of course. To top it off, this cane has a bakelite handle. Those of you who know my jewelry will know that I am fascinated with bakelite right now and making a lot of pieces with vintage bakelite buttons. (See: Charmed Bracelets: Bakelite) 

The cane--vintage, of course--is topped by a bakelite parrot. How cool is that? 

I snatched the photo above off the seller's Web site. Since I'm buying it, I figure he won't mind.

Can I afford this cane? Of course not. It costs $650, including the shipping. But I'm hoping that my friends and readers will chip in and help buy the Assertive Cancer Patient her signature cane. 

By my math, if thirty-two and a half friends and readers send me $20 each, that will cover it. If you make a donation through PayPal, please add a note that it is for the cane. 

Thanks, everyone. 

A footnote: Parrots were a popular subject for bakelite carvers in the 1930s. Here's a parrot pin for sale from California Girls, a dealer who sells me sterling charms and bakelite: 

Bakelite Parrot Brooch

@ Jeanne Sather 2010. 

Black Onyx Choker: SOLD

 I've been noticing how many women wear two or three or more necklaces at a time, and that gave me the idea for my double-strand necklaces. 

See:

Happy Bakelite Necklace

Playful Kitten With Rose Quartz

I also starting making necklaces that can be layered. 

See: 

Layered Necklaces, Take 2

This black onyx choker is one of that series. It is bold enough to wear alone, but would also look great with one of these:

Red Button Necklace

Yellow Button Necklace

The necklace is made with one of my favorite beads: glossy black-onyx squares. The square beads are just under a half inch in size, and I connected them with round sterling silver jump rings and a length of sterling chain. 

The necklace closes with a little sterling hook and an onyx rondelle weights the end of the extender chain. Length: adjustable from about 15 to 18 inches. 

Price: $60. The price includes taxes, postage, and insurance to U.S. mailing addresses. 

Want earrings to go with? 

See: 

Chained Black Onyx

Onyx Triplets

A New Classic in Black Onyx

Photo: Monica Strasen. 

@ Jeanne Sather 2010. 

Chained Glass 3: SOLD

 This is the third pair in my "chained" series of earrings made with glass beads.  

The design is quite simple, just four dramatic glass beads dangling from sterling silver chain, two on each earring. The four handmade beads are all different, but they have a kind of balance. Each earring has two amber rondelles as well. 

The earring on the left has a chunky square glass bead with an amber rondelle on either side of it and a round flat bead like a doughnut. The other earring has a chunky round bead with amber rondelles top and bottom and then a flat square bead. 

The earrings are about two and a half inches in length. The ear wires and chain are sterling silver. 

Price: $25. The price includes taxes, postage, and insurance to U.S. addresses. SOLD 

See more: Glass

Photo: Monica Strasen. 

@ Jeanne Sather 2010. 

The Yellow Button Necklace

 Here's one more necklace designed to show off a beautiful, vintage bakelite button. 

This button, which was made in the 1930s-1940s, is hand-carved. The color is known to collectors as creamed corn, and it is as yummy a shade of yellow as you will find anywhere. 

I paired the button with two strands of small black-onyx beads, which are pulled into flower-shaped cones of Thai silver and then attached to several inches of sterling silver chain. 

The one-of-a-kind necklace is finished with a handmade sterling silver hook and a Thai silver leaf and large rectangular bead of black onyx.

The length is about 20 inches, plus a two-inch extender chain. 

Price: $80. The price includes all taxes, postage, and insurance to U.S. destinations.

If you are outside the United States, please e-mail me to discuss your shipping options: jeanne.sather@gmail.com 

See also: Red Button Necklace

Photo: Monica Strasen. 

@ Jeanne Sather 2010. 

Some Special Vintage Charms

 The charms shown in the photo at right are the only ones left from a large lot of charms I bought last August. 

Well, the five in the photo plus one more "mechanical" charm, a sterling silver heart that opens to show an embracing couple. THIS HEART IS SOLD. 

I had never bought this large a lot of charms before--there were 12 in all--partly because that's a lot of money to pay out at one time, and partly because I was afraid I would never use all of them. But this group has worked out well, because they were such special charms to begin with. 

Go to this link for descriptions of individual charms: What's New

Contact me if you'd like me to make you a necklace or bracelet with one of these charms: jeanne.sather@gmail.com

Here's the embracing couple. I made a multi-strand carnelian bracelet with this charm. It's similar to this one: Vintage Vacuum Cleaner Charm Bracelet. 

I love this bracelet design, and would be happy to make you a similar one with the charm of your choice. See: Charms 

 

 

 

Photos: @ Monica Strasen 2010. 

@ Jeanne Sather 2010. 

Red Button Necklace

 Vintage bakelite buttons, like the one I used to make this necklace, were hand-carved. It amazes me that craftsmen put as much effort into carving a button as they did a bangle bracelet, a pair of earrings, or a brooch. 

I can't begin to fathom the economics of that--what did a single button cost in 1930?

Economics aside, though, the buttons deserve our attention for their beauty.  

This rich red button has an Asian feel, and I paired it with black onyx beads for even more drama. The one-of-a-kind necklace is finished with sterling silver chain and a large onyx bead to weight the extender chain. 

Price: $80. The price includes taxes, postage, and insurance to U.S. destinations. 

Photo: Monica Strasen. 

@ Jeanne Sather 2010. 

Valentine Earrings: Chained Hearts

 Here's the sixth and final pair of glass Valentine's Day earrings that I have for sale. 

These are a variation on a design that I've been using recently--a short length of sterling silver chain holds a flat silver heart (it is silver, the red in the photo is reflection) and either a red glass bead or a red glass heart. 

These are $25, and I only have one pair for sale. The price includes all taxes, postage, and insurance to U.S. destinations. 

See more earrings in this design: 

Chained Black Onyx

Chained Rose Quartz

See also:

Valentine's Day

Photo: Monica Strasen. 

@ Jeanne Sather 2010. 

Valentine Earrings

 I spent an afternoon recently playing around with glass beads and sterling wire, and by the end of the day I had made a half dozen pairs of Valentine's Day earrings. 

Maybe it's because of my mood when I was working, but the best adjective to describe this group of earrings is playful. Wear them in a spirit of fun, to show that you don't take yourself too seriously. 

I made only one pair in each design, and I don't have any more of these glass beads, so when they are gone they are gone. (Just a warning.)

With the exception of one pair that is $25, all of these are $20 a pair, which includes taxes, postage, and insurance to U.S. destinations. When you order, please tell me which pair you would like. 

At top: One-inch sterling hoops with one red bead and one glass heart. 

Middle left: Small hoops with glass hearts on rings. 

Middle right: Small hoops with one glass heart and one red bead. 

Lower left: Small hoops with two glass hearts. THIS PAIR IS GONE, SORRY. 

Lower right: Small hoops with glass circles. One of these circles is red, the other pink. 

Here's the other pair: Chained Hearts

See also: Valentine's Day

Photo: Monica Strasen. 

@ Jeanne Sather 2010. 

My New Postcards

 The new postcards for my jewelry business landed on the front porch the other day, and I'm thrilled with how well they look. 

Monica, one of my closest friends, shot the photo. She shoots most of the photos for this blog and has  a wonderful talent for making my pieces look good. That's important when most of my customers don't get to handle or try on my jewelry before buying it.

  Laurie, another close friend, took the image and put the postcards together in Photoshop and ordered them from the printer. 

That's a task I could do, but it would stress my abilities a bit (I'd have to learn something new, which is hard sometimes when you don't have a lot of bandwidth), and it is so nice to have a competent friend take over the job. 

Now I have postcards to promote my jewelry in a low-key sort of way, which is all I'm comfortable with. I always include a few postcards when I mail a jewelry purchase. I leave them around town at restaurants and coffee places where I hang out. My friends have stacks of them as well. 

The previous batch of postcards featured a photo of a turquoise bracelet with a vintage sterling charm. It was a great image, but after that bracelet sold I wanted to use something else. (This is the older postcard: Sterling and Turquoise Bracelet . I still have a few and am happy to send you some with your order. Just ask.)

I am determined to start a new fashion with my jewelry made with vintage bakelite buttons. Each piece is unique, each piece has the charm of an object that has been used and lived with for decades--what the Japanese call wabi sabi--and there is a quirkiness about taking such a mundane, everyday object, a button, and making jewelry with it. Or so I think. 

See: 

Bakelite

Vintage Jewelry: My Collection

Photo: Monica Strasen. 

@ Jeanne Sather 2010.