Personal Adornment

Jewelry has been worn throughout the ages by people of all cultures...as ornaments, as displays of social rank, and as emblems of religious beliefs.  Most of our present knowledge of the history of jewelry comes from the study of preserved personal objects from tombs around the world.  From those cultures who did not bury valuables, we can learn about personal adornment from surviving paintings and sculptures.

The the widest sense of the word, jewelry would be ornamental objects made from many kinds of both organic and inorganic materials, such as hair, feathers, scales, bones, shells, wood, leather, metals, or minerals.  Today we think of jewelry primarily as precious or semi-precious gemstones mounted in valuable or attractive metals like gold, silver, platinum, or copper and brass.  Most recently, alternative metals such as steel or titanium are gaining favor. 

My philosophy about jewelry has always been if you like it, buy it and wear it.  It doesn't matter if it's a17-carat diamond or a pair of bright orange plastic dangle earrings.  Jewelry IS personal adornment.  It's all about YOU!  So let Contemporary Concepts adorn you!
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My Favorite Book

The next item on that 30-Day Blog Challenge I've been going through is "my favorite book".  This, like the favorite song and the favorite movie, cannot be whittled down to just one.  I have been a voracious reader since I was a kid, so many, many books have entertained me over the years.  Maybe not so many since I had my own kid, but I still manage to squeeze one in now and then.

I've read a lot of science fiction/fantasy over the years.  That's my favorite genre.  Some of my favorite writers are Jennifer Roberson, Piers Anthony, Orson Scott Card, Stephen R. Donaldson, and Roger Zelazny.  The first time I picked up a book by Orson Scott Card, I didn't put it down until I was finished.  Literally.  Didn't put it down.  I think it was about 3:00 in the morning when I finished--it was great!  I just love it when a book pulls you in like that!

But Roger Zelazny was my favorite.  His series about a magical royal family in the realm called Amber was masterful.  Twists and surprises and wry humor.  I read it in college and TOTALLY fell in love with the main character, a prince named Corwin.  There were 5 books in the first series, then several years later came a second series focusing on the offspring of the original characters.  A total of 10 books.  You can now get them all in a single volume at amazon.com... The Great Book of Amber: The Complete Amber Chronicles, 1-10.   Treat yourself--you won't be sorry!

I once wrote Roger Zelazny a fan letter, praising the Amber books and asking if they might possibly be made into a movie.  This was in about 1979.  He sent me a postcard reply, thanking me and saying there was interest in making a movie.  I'm still waiting.  It would be SO awesome.  Especially if Peter Jackson were to direct it....

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My 11:11 11-11-11 Moment

At 11:11 a.m. on 11/11/11, I got to kiss my son on his beautiful cheek.  If that isn't a great way to mark a special "moment", I don't know what is!  (He's in middle school now, but his cheeks are still just as kissable as when he was a baby in the bathtub!)

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Beautiful Jewelry from Scrap Materials, Part 3

These gorgeous rainbow beads are 4mm Swarovski crystal cubes.  I inherited them in a batch of stuff I acquired about 4 years ago.  Periodically I would take the little baggie out and note how pretty all the colors are together, but then put them away again because there aren't more than 7 or 8 of each color and I wasn't sure what to make with those few beads that would do them justice!  For some reason when I ran across them again about two weeks ago, the "rainbow" idea struck me.  I decided on silver wire partly because a lot of people are going for silver these days, and partly because I liked the way the colors really stood out against the metal.  Gold wire would have "warmed" the colors, which is fine, but silver really makes them "pop", don't you think?

This was heading for a listing in my Etsy shop.  I had taken pictures of it a week or so ago, and just finished editing the pictures on Monday.  And guess what...it sold in my store!  I have some more beads, but not enough in the true "rainbow" colors to make another bracelet just like this.  I think what I'll do is just a "multi-color" bracelet in a similar style.  Don't want those beautiful cube crystals to be homeless any longer!

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Beautiful Jewelry From Scrap Materials, Part 2

First I need to remind you that scrap materials means not only little leftover bits and pieces, but also things I've had lying around for so long that they probably gave up hope of every adorning someone's body!  This one is a 5mm (millimeter) heart-shaped iolite that I got in a batch of other sizes and shapes of iolites about 12 years ago.  Hearts are hard to set, because they're fat and round at one end and skinny and pointy at the other.  They will often want to pop out the fat end, or shift sideways so the heart seems to be lying partway on its side.  A 5mm stone is a bit of an odd size, too.  It's very small to be set in wire without being in a pre-made pop-in setting first, with a wire design around it.  I didn't have any heart-shaped settings, so I modified a round setting.  Then I just added a small bit of leftover scrap sterling silver wire to secure the setting and make a bail.  Now it's a cute, dainty little pendant, perfect for a young girl or a woman who likes her jewelry understated!  I'll be listing it on Etsy soon!

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Relaxation Spots

I would REALLY love to be here:  (Hamilton Island near the Great Barrier Reef)

Or here: (sunset at Lizard Island near the Great Barrier Reef)

Both photos are courtesy of Islands magazine.  You should really subscribe.  It's an inexpensive way to see phenomenal relaxation spots of the world!

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What's In My Purse

This is the next item in the 30-Day Blog Challenge list I've been referring to periodically (when I don't have any new jewelry to show you!)  What's In My Purse... (The picture is not my purse, just a representative.)

• My cell phone
• My son's wallet
• 3 pens
• Some personal pictures
• Some personal notes
• Aspirin/ibuprofen
• My little Flip video camera (one of these days I'm going to figure out how to get the videos OFF it!)
• Mirror
• Reading glasses
• 2 nail files
• Lip balm
• Eye drops
• Comb
• 2 checkbooks
• Sunglasses
• My MP3 player
• My keys
• A couple of old bank receipts
• An envelope with a check for my husband (must remember to give that to him!)
• My wallet (the contents of THAT will make a whole other blog post!)

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Relationships

I remember when I first met my husband and we were talking, getting to know each other, and one of the subjects was old boyfriends/girlfriends. I commented then that all the people we had known in the past had made us the people we became so that we would end up together, appreciating each other.  I have always believed that philosophy.  I still do.

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