Catching the Last Train Out of Reality

 

I don't know about any of you, but to me, time is whipping past like it has a hot date somewhere. It's already the 10th of January. I'm still back in the summer, where the days were warm and we were able to do things without fear of slipping in the mud in our alley. Now, I have to dodge the puddles and the mud around them. It's like a game of hopscotch, but without the scotch. 

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This last week has been fun. Togo is up to his usual antics, our cats are driving us nuts while we make a feeble attempt to watch something on TV, and the chihuahua is getting older as I write this. At 16 years of age, I would have to say he's handling age like a boss. He could be 17 at this point, but hell, who is counting when you get this old?

And speaking of old, Mallory brought a paper bag of fun stuff from her grandmother. She handed it to me and my eyes lit up once again. It's like Christmas one more time. Her grandmother has some items from the '30s, '40s, '50s, and '60s that are either broken or she doesn't wear them any more due to reasons beyond my control. 😉😏So, she sends them to me, knowing that I will tear them apart and find a use for them. 

The necklace above turns out to be garnet, one of my favorite stones. Yes, I will make something out of this, and out of all the other vintage stuff she has found. 

I love the Victorian look to pieces, and that's what this says to me. So, off it went to the surgical table where it is torn apart, prepping it for the new look. 

I believe I will keep the same color combination in it, as the white howlite beads make the ceramic rose beads stand out, plus the color combo also gives off the Victorian appearance to me. 

More millefiori beads meaning "A thousand flowers" in Italian. 

A large hand-painted purple and gold bead. 

Gold calla lily necklace with rhinestones from the '30s to the '50s. It is missing some rhinestones and I have set the calla lilies down on the necklace due to most of them being off of their holder. These can be fixed by putting them on other jewelry pieces and creating an entirely new piece or pieces. 

This is a Judy Lee molded glass oak leaf and rhinestone bracelet crafted in the '80s through the '90s. Judy Lee produced pieces with a nature inspired aesthetic and the line became quite popular. 

This set of earrings and bracelet are the same pieces I have, which sell for $125 on eBay right now. Both earrings and bracelet are in much better condition than the one I was gifted, which is why I'm going to use the original pieces and make new jewelry. I thought the craftsmanship and the materials used were beautiful in making this type of jewelry. 

There are four of these intricately designed copper buttons in the mix too. Researching the buttons gave me a clue as to how old they are. The buttons hail from 1880 to 1920 and could have been handmade or in the first manufactured groups to be done by machine. 

I am stoked to see buttons in the jewelry too, giving me an idea of how buttons looked way back in our history. In the meantime, I am fixated on what I can create with my "new" vintage jewels and the old vintage jewels Mallory's grandmother gave me right before Christmas. I have so many ideas ... God help everyone when I begin to think. Do you see the smoke coming out of my ears? That's overheating of the brain. Been a while since I put my mind to work. 

I do think that refurbishing jewelry from the antique and vintage pieces into modern necklaces and other jewelry is my thing. Truly loving this idea, so we will see what I can come up with. 

Before I close out the section in this post on jewelry, I would love to share one special thing with all of our dear readers. At least it meant a lot to me. 

A woman wanted to order my "Key to My Blue Heart" necklace I made a while back. This is one of my personal favorite necklaces, so I was glad it was going to someone who will give it a forever home. She ordered and paid, I shipped it out and I thought the deal was done. 

During the week, the same woman sent me a message, informing me that she was going to be getting married and she wanted that special necklace for the blue aspect of the old verbiage of something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. Tears welled in my eyes, just knowing that she would use this necklace in her special day ceremony! I was so happy and filled with joy for her, and so proud that she wanted one of my handmade pieces to be worn with her dress on her special day.

 I bless each piece of jewelry that I make, since I am a spiritual person. I have smudged all the pieces while putting my intention for the jewelry into the universe. My favorite part of crafting any jewelry is the idea that the set or piece may find its way into the hearts of those who purchase them, and that the jewelry makes them find joy and happiness from those crafted items. So, with love and light, I send the blue heart necklace out into the universe, to make her special day perfect, with many years of happiness to come. 

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We take our trip to Eugene tomorrow for Zyrah's fourth birthday party with the family. Can't wait to see everyone!

With special wishes to all of you to have a happy and healthy week, filled with love and joy, we close this post out to begin our next one for the weekend. Since we are heading to a birthday party with the family, the pictures will be filling the following post, so this one needs to close here. 

Take care of yourselves and each other. Love a lot this week, laugh even more, and be sure to pass out hugs like candy on Halloween. 

With love,

Terry & Vicki Macrae

Two old people trying to live life