Charmed Bracelets

Newborn on a Doctor's Scale

 This is the most unusual charm in my entire "Love & Marriage (& Baby Carriage)" collection--It's a sterling silver "mechanical" charm of a newborn baby on an old-fashioned doctor's scale. 

"Mechanical" means that the charm has moving parts, and this scale tips back and forth between the weight of the baby on one side and the weights on the other. 

 The charm is sterling silver and was made in England in the 1960s. It would be the perfect gift for a new mother, or for a pediatrician, or--even better--a new mother who happens to be a pediatrician. 

The bracelet has two strands: a string of rose quartz beads and a sterling silver chain with heart-shaped links. It closes with an adjustable toggle clasp and should fit most wrists. 

It is one of a kind. 

Price: $140. The price includes taxes, postage, and insurance to U.S. destinations. 

Questions: E-mail me: jeanne.sather@gmail.com

Photos: @ Monica Strasen 2010. 

Design and text: @ Jeanne Sather 2010. 

Baby Shoe Bracelet

 This one-of-a-kind bracelet with its delightful sterling baby shoe is the perfect gift for a new mother. 

I've always loved baby shoes. There is something so tender and appealing about their chubby shape and small size, and this little shoe is very well made, right down to the laces! 

The baby shoe is a vintage charm that dates to the 1940s or '50s, when such charms were very popular. 

The bracelet has two strands, one is a length of sterling silver chain, the other is a chain that I made with peach moonstones, jump rings, and sterling silver wire. 

It closes with a toggle clasp, and has a peach crystal for a little extra sparkle. 

The bracelet is a standard 7 1/2 inches long, but let me know if you need it either longer or shorter as I can adjust it for you. 

Price: $130. The price includes taxes, postage, and insurance to U.S. mailing addresses. 

Questions? E-mail me: jeanne.sather@gmail.com

Photos: @ Monica Strasen 2010. 

Design and text: @ Jeanne Sather 2010. 

SPECIAL SALE: SOLD OUT

Wow! This was a great sale, thanks, everyone. 

All the pieces sold, and the amber necklace sold twice over. I was able to do that since I have another strand of these beads so I can make a second one. 

The steer sold, but not on the necklace. The friend who bought him has another idea for a necklace using that steer. 

I don't mind, of course, I just love that charm and want him to go to someone who will appreciate him. 

Again, thanks to all of you. I sold several pairs of earrings this week too, so I have no $$-worries for the Hawaii trip. 

 Let's be honest and call this sale the "I need to pay for a rental car in Honolulu" sale. 

I'm going to Hawaii next week, as part of my recovery from a round of cyberknife treatments followed by three weeks of radiation therapy, and I realized that my cash flow is a bit tight just when I need to pay for a rental car. Oops!

Thus, the special sale. 

I've e-mailed the women, and a few men, who have bought jewelry from me in the past to let them know about the sale first. Maybe there's a piece of jewelry on my Web site that you've had your eye on. If so, check the list below and see if it's on sale. 

Turquoise

A Steer With Personality SOLD

Carnelian

Wear Your Heart on Your Wrist SOLD. 

Jade

Quack! The Necklace THIS ONE IS SOLD, SORRY. 

Amber

Beautiful Amber THE AMBER NECKLACE IS SOLD. 

If there's a piece on my site that you've had your eye on that isn't included in this sale, feel free to make me an offer: jeanne.sather@gmail.com

Photo: @ Monica Strasen 2010. 

@ Jeanne Sather 2010. 

SPECIAL SALE: Saturdays in the Park: SOLD OUT

 These are the perfect Saturday earrings--cute, but not too cute--and in colors that go perfectly with blue jeans. 

I made three pairs of these, with glass beads of slightly different shades of blue: bright blue, lavender blue, and teal--be sure to specify which color you want when you order. 

The glass beads are decorated with cheerful white daisies, and I paired the beads with small four-petaled flowers of sterling silver and hung them from sterling ear wires. 

Very simple. Very pretty. And just right for a day in the park, regardless of the season.  

Sale Price: $20. The price includes taxes, postage, and insurance. 

 

 Photo: @ Monica Strasen 2010. 

Design and text: @ Jeanne Sather 2010. 

More Ladybugs for Little Girls

 I love making jewelry for little girls, and I picked up a half dozen of these ladybug beads at a bead and gem show about a year ago with no idea what I would do with them. 

I had even forgotten that I had them, to be honest, until I started making the other ladybug designs that I have on my site. Then I pulled them out and made two simple necklaces and a bracelet. 

The beads are about the size of a marble, and they are ceramic with lampwork glass ladybugs and leaves added to each bead. 

 I made the necklaces by making a setting for the bead with sterling silver wire and a couple of small sterling beads and then I hung them on red cotton cord. 

The bracelet has a strand of coral beads--round and tube-shaped--and a sterling silver clasp. I added a red glass ladybug to the extender chain--just to make your favorite little girl smile. 

The necklaces are $25 each, and I HAVE ONE OF THESE LEFT. 

The bracelet is $30, and THE BRACELET IS SOLD, SORRY. 

See more: Ladybugs

Photos: @ Monica Strasen 2010. 

Design and text: @ Jeanne Sather 2010. 

 

 

A New Skill: Restringing Pearls

A couple of months ago, a reader asked if I could restring some pearls for her.

She had three strands that I believe belonged to her mother-in-law, and she wanted a necklace made using all three strands. 

Now, I've never restrung pearls before--but when did that ever stop me? 

It did, however, take me an embarrassingly long time to actually GET to the project, because it was something new, and I had to have the right kind of energy to tackle it. And I did my research, both online and at two different bead stores, to find out the best techniques and tools for restringing these beautiful pearls.

But now that I am in the middle of this project, I am really enjoying it. It's one of those things that you can't rush, just slow and steady and pay attention to where everything is--coordination is key, in other words. It's a kind of meditation. 

As I work, I'm remembering reading about a woman in one of Colette's short stories--in Paris, of course--who made her living restringing pearls. I'm thinking I could never do this fast enough to make a living at it. 

One other interesting bit of information I found online: If you have real pearls and you wear them regularly, you are "supposed to" have them restrung every three months or so!  

The Basic Technique

There are a number of ways to string pearls, but the main point is to have a knot--a nice, neat knot--between the pearls so that they don't rub on each other. You use silk thread, and the thinnest possible needle. The one I have is made of twisted wire and came attached to the thread, which makes life much easier, because there is no stopping in the middle of the strand--the whole strand has to be strung with one length of silk thread. 

So, I clipped the existing knots on one strand of the pearls, and then strung them all on one length of the new silk thread. Then, you go back through each pearl with the needle, and tie a knot after each pearl as you backtrack. I'm about halfway through the first of three strands, and so far so good. My knots are nice and neat and the pearls are evenly spaced. 

I feel like a Colette heroine, in my attic, stringing pearls!

@ Jeanne Sather 2010.

And Here's the Baby Carriage

 This tiny charm is a handmade sterling silver baby carriage, the latest addition to the jewelry that I'm calling the "Love & Marriage (& Baby Carriage)" line. 

Each piece is one-of-a-kind, and the charms--all vintage and all sterling silver--include baby shoes, a heart with an embracing couple inside, a baby cup, a mailbox meant for love letters only, and more. 

The baby carriage was handmade in the 1940s, and it has moving parts. Both the cover on the carriage and the tiny wheels move.

If you'd like me to make you a special necklace or bracelet with this sweet charm, just e-mail me: jeanne.sather@gmail.com

See more: Love & Marriage (& Baby Carriage)

Photo: @ Monica Strasen 2010. 

Text: @ Jeanne Sather 2010. 

 

Buy a Raffle Ticket?

 This was one of those friend-of-a-friend things ... I find I meet a lot of interesting people that way. 

So, I met Collin when she popped up on my cancer blog shortly before her double mastectomy. She told me about her family, which includes three darling children from three different countries. Her youngest child is a little girl born in China. 

Then Collin introduced me to Jen, who has two daughters from China and who is trying to raise money to pay off some of the adoption expenses for the younger girl. I had already made a ladybug bracelet for Collin's 4-year-old, because I like ladybugs and I use them fairly often in jewelry for little girls. 

 What I didn't know, until Collin told me, is that ladybugs are considered lucky in China, and many of the parents who adopt there have taken on the ladybug as a symbol of good luck in their adoptions. 

Following so far? Collin thought that I might make something for Jen to sell through a raffle, and I agreed. I made a pair of mother-daughter ladybug bracelets, and the raffle is up and running.

Go to this link if you'd like to buy a raffle ticket--the information is in the right column, and tickets are $10:

Mother-Daughter Ladybug Bracelets Drawing

See also:

Mother-Daughter Ladybug Bracelets 3

Mother-Daughter Ladybug Bracelets: The Details

@ Jeanne Sather 2010. 

Mother-Daughter Ladybug Bracelets: The Details

 I got lucky the other day when I found these ladybugs of Thai silver. 

Thai silver is purer than sterling, which means it is slow to tarnish, and the pieces are handmade in hill tribe areas of Northern Thailand.

These Thai silver ladybugs have a whimsical charm that is perfect for a mother-daughter set. Not too grown up for a little girl, not too childish for mom.

The mother's bracelet has a Thai silver ladybug that is actually a bell. Shake it and it has a lovely jingle. 

I used five strands of rainbow-colored glass seed beads for this bracelet. 

The bracelet closes with a heart-shaped clasp and has an extender chain so that it adjusts to fit most women's wrists, wrists that measure about 6 to 7 inches.  

The little girl's bracelet is a scaled-down version of mom's. It has three strands of rainbow seed beads instead of five, a small claw clasp for security, and a smaller ladybug. It is adjustable to fit wrists from about 5 to 6 inches.  Both bracelets have red glass ladybugs on the ends of the extender chains. 

These bracelets are not for sale. I have donated them to an online raffle to help a Florida family raise money to pay some of the expenses involved in adopting their second child from China. 

Once I have the link to the online raffle, I'll post it here. In the meantime, e-mail me if you have any questions: jeanne.sather@gmail.com

See also: Mother-Daughter Ladybug Bracelet 3

Photo: @ Monica Strasen 2010. 

Design and text: @ Jeanne Sather 2010. 

Mother-Daughter Ladybug Bracelets 3

Ladybugs are a symbol of good luck to Americans who are adopting little girls from China. 

 I made this third pair of mother-daughter ladybug bracelets to donate to a raffle to help a woman who adopted a special needs child from China. 

Her name is Jen, and I met her through my new friend Collin, who also has a Chinese daughter. 

Jen has a Web site and two blogs, and she's on Facebook, raising money to pay her family's adoption expenses. 

 She says an earlier drawing went toward the $5,000 orphanage fees they had to take with them to China, and any funds raised now will go to pay the $10,000 that the trip to China cost. 

Apparently, Jen put all of this on her credit card, and now is fundraising to pay it off. 

You know, I'm a bit shocked by that "orphanage fee." When my ex-husband and I adopted Older Son in Japan, it was expected that we give a cash gift to the orphanage, and--this being Japan--someone told us how much was expected, but I think it was more like $500 or $1,000. Now, granted, that was 25 years ago, but $5,000 sounds outrageous to me. 

In any case, back to Jen's story. She and her husband have two biological children, ages 17 and 20, and two adopted daughters, both from China. 

Back in 2005, when Jen was waiting to adopt her first Chinese daughter, Olivia, she started a sewing business to raise money to pay the adoption expenses. She made little dresses in ladybug-print fabric, and created 250 dresses that first year. 

See: Fly Away Home Clothing

She also has a family blog: Storming the Castle

And a Web site about the journey to China to bring home Natalie: Natalie's Web site

I'll be mailing the bracelets to Jen tomorrow, and then I need to ask her to give me the link to the online raffle so that I can post it here. In the meantime, if you have any questions, e-mail me and I will forward your message to Jen. 

Photos: @ Monica Strasen 2010. 

Design and text: @ Jeanne Sather 2010.