Time for Holiday Bracelets as Gifts

I gathered some of my past and present bracelet creations for inspiration as I start to make new ones to sell and to give as gifts. And what would be better than a yummy, full charm bracelet? A yummy, full charm bracelet with a full, yummy bottle of wine!
The top three bracelets are my own. The first one is my Blythe Bracelet. This one has been through a few iterations. It first started as the result of a charm swap a few years ago in the Arte-du-Blythe group, hosted by Miss Vicky of Cut-It-Up fame. Then I added a few kitschy things to it. But in preparation for Blythecon 2012 in Dallas I sent it to Natascha of Insanely Sweet Jewelry on Etsy to bling-it-up another notch.
Next is my All Pink bracelet with a favorite handmade ceramic goth girl charm by Melanie of Earthenwood Studio. I love to look at it but often forget to wear it! Plus, as much as I do love pink, I hardly ever wear the color with the exception of fuschia now and then.
All of these bracelets contain many elements by the talented Amy Labbe of Art-i-Cake. I especially love the playful bracelet I flung on a wine bottle to photograph, and then realized what a great gift idea. This bracelet has a lot of my favorite things: Mini Lalaloopsy, a tuxedo cat, a Blythe maryjane shoe, vintage enamel flowers, soldered charms, pearls, rhinestones, multiple chains and BLING!.
Time to get busy and make jewelry to sell in my little display at Feja's Salon and Day Spa.

The finished product

I realized I never posted a picture of the finished charm bracelet I made for Bryanna of The Canary's Cupcake. This was one of the things I sent her. I "warned" her it was going to be a kitchsy/crackerjack/childhood/colorful charm bracelet. I especially liked the tree, from Hi-Ho Cherry-O (I think), the Monopoly hotel, the glass-blown rubber duck, the dancer from a little girl's jewelry box (I had one), the panic button and the Sally Jean soldered house charm. I hope Bryanna did, too. Check out the gorgeous Mermaid totes she's been making, on her blog!

Cock-a-Doodle-Do and a swap, too

I would never have known this 5" wooden rooster that my mother got in the early 1960s was anything particular if I hadn't asked a friend to explain one of her on-line names. Turns out wooden animals, especially horses, painted in this style are well-known and loved in Sweden and are called Dalahäst or Dala for short. So, I have a 50-year-old Dala rooster. The American term for these is 'Dalecarlian,' and they are said to have been, among other things, carved as toys in the Dalarna region of Sweden.

My mother kept all sorts of trinkets on display, especially blue ones, in our lake cottage, and now that I think more about it, Swedish items and the familiar blue and white Delft tins, patterns, windmills, and even a ceramic wall clock informed a lot of her decorating.

Meanwhile, here are a couple of sneak peeks of a charm bracelet I made for a swap with the fun and lovely Bryanna of The Canary's Cupcake. She's received everything now, so hopefully she will post some pictures next week, since I didn't get too many good ones taken. I think we had a great swap! In fact, she even made something exquisite for my Blythe dolls as mentioned below, and I will post a pic over at my Blythe blog, Blythe-O-Mania Untamed.

Wanted: Shiny Happy Plastic People

This elusive redhead in the green dress stands between me and a complete collection of the eight Avon Small World bottles from the 1970s. However, I just discovered by researching photos of the originals that some of mine had wrong heads on wrong bodies. And, it seems I am also in need of 1) a cowgirl head with hat, 2) the senorita's pink flower for her hair, 3) the island girl's lei, 4) boxes for everyone except the French girl. But I could live without the boxes. Otherwise, I haven't done too bad in recapturing some pre-teen kitsch.