Carole's Family Jewels - A Very Special Commission!

Y'all just won't understand how exciting this sort of project is for me, so I'm going to yammer on a while in an effort to explain it to you.

Carole found me at a 4th of July show in 2008 and bought a jewelry mosaic mirror. I recently sent out out a pitiful "HELP! I need money!!" email to all past clients and Carole responded, asking for an 8x10 mirror for herself, using her mother's jewelry.

When I got the UPS shipment, she'd also enclosed an order for an additional piece - a 5x7 frame for the amazing black and white photo of her mother on her wedding day. Mom, Janet, is surrounded by Carole's maternal grandmother, Frances, and paternal grandmother, Frances, and her best friend.

As is my custom, I asked Carole for some anecdotes and background history on the women in her family for inspiration, and she provided such helpful details. This helps me know what sorts of special jewelry pieces from my own stash I can use to bring forth certain themes.

No way on earth was I expecting to receive so much amazing material, in both quality and quantity!

As I kept unwrapping all the different pouches, I just kept gasping. I don't even wear jewelry much at all, but something about playing with all of this colorful, shiny, sparkly, pearly, gold, silver stuff brings out a very whimsical and feminine part of me.

One of the sweetest things in the collection was a small envelope with "Bill's Wedding Ring" written in blue ink on the front. It was stapled shut. Bill is Carole's 84-year-old dad, who lives with her now. What an honor to be trusted with things that are so personally meaningful and to be given full artistic license to use them as I feel led.



I've completed the 5x7 frame for the wedding day photo and I love it. Carole decided that her mirror would not be complete without some palm tree charms, so I eagerly await their arrival so that I can go to town on the 8x10 mirror.