My Traditional Vintage Charm Bracelet

I've officially run out of space on my charm bracelet. Mostly. Here it is in all it's glory. Last time I counted, I had 50 something charms up there...that was about a year ago.

I've been adding to it for about 15 years (half of my life) and it has all of my memories from jungles in India, tea in Athens to my graduation from grad school. I've decided to start another one when I get married.

You'll see a mixture of new and vintage charms. When I go some where for the first time, I usually get the first charm I can find, then take a more leisurely pace to find vintage ones of the location. I devote an entire day of vacation to scouring antique and vintage stores in every country...every city I go to. Once I get home, I review them all and find the one that will represent my trip/event best and put it on my bracelet.  The others I display in a clear jewelry box or put up for sale in my shop, Vintage Charms and Bracelets.

Most are sterling silver, though I have a few lesser silvers (.800, .900) and a handful of pewter ones.  My favorites are the vintage tea cup charm from the 1940s, the Portugal/Lisbon shield charm, the Swiss chalet (opened in the picture to reveal a 'sleeping' couple), and the fruit cart that represents my time living in the Mediterranean.

Here you can see that I don't solder my charms to have them permanently attached to the bracelet. Rather, I use split rings.  They last forever and ensure that the charms will only come off IF I make them. Jump rings work fine for most folks, but this thing is too big and if I were to lose a charm, I wouldn't know it soon enough to look for it...this I know tragically all too well.

Anyway, If you have questions about any of the charms you see, just ask in the comment section below. If you have pictures of your own charm bracelet, feel free to post the link - I'm ADDICTED to charm bracelets and can look at (drool over) them all day!

Vintage Opera Glasses

At a mega $1 for everything church fundraising sale, I spied these vintage opera glasses (spied...get it...ehh).

Cute, right? This tiny thing fits in the palm of my hand and is so effective that I've just decided to keep it in my purse at all times (I'm not entirely sure how of that is necessity vs show-and-tell). Anyway, to protect this thing, I'm keeping it in an old Sephora cloth case – the kind they send your orders in. Love those things. The come in all sizes and I've used them to protect and house everything from shoes and purses to lipsticks and mechanical pencils.

Oh, speaking of mechanical pencils, I've just found one from the 1950s, that I intend to put on a chatelaine that I'm making. Hope to have it completed soon. I'll post pics as soon as I do.

Happy Sunday!

Antique Hand Warmer

Just in time for summer, right?  Ah well...I can wait. Maybe. On the other hand, I'm probably dorky enough to fire this thing in April.

The way these things work is pretty cool. Basically, you just put some lighter fluid inside, and light it.  Replace the top, put it in a velvet wrapper and hold it in your hands.  Fire hazard? Fo sho,' but it is cool.   This one in particular comes from occupied Japan and dates from the late 1940s-mid 1950s.

OK, fine  I have no real need for this. But I liked it (see post below) and that's enough. Right? I love it...see I can use this as a prop in my classes when discussing Post War Japan. See?  That's called 'shopping for fun and education,' and that is a noble thing.

Vintage Sweater Guard and Auction Houses

Last weeks goodies are things I'm not sure I'll ever wear, but could never give away: a sweater chain and these ginormous earrings.

The gold sweater guard has mother of pearl finishings and is unmarked.  The earrings are unmarked as well.  Ok, now that I look at them on the screeen...really look at them, I think maybe I could rock those earrings with jeans and a t-shirt on one of my "I'm trying, but really trying to pretend not to" days.
Anyway on to the second half of my post.  Recently I've noticed a ton of new folks in the auction houses I hang out. Shows like Auction Kings, Pawn Stars and the like are getting people shopping in new places. AWESOME! Not everyone who shows up is a bidder, but still it's good to see folks getting out there.  On the other hand, some of those who are bidding are placing insane amounts of money on everyday stuff, while the real goodies fly beneath the radar.  Dude!  If it's your fancy, go for it.  I know what it's like to see something you want, even though you know you'll never use it (erm...see the paragraph above), but I can't see dropping $2120 on an old book, just because it is old without having done any prior research.

That particular book sold was not rare, pretty easily found in antique book circles for around $500-$650, but I guess he got wrapped up in the thrill of the chase.  On the other hand, he felt like a king for having won it and I guess that's pretty awesome too.

Vintage Mexican Silver Bracelet

Here is the (handmade?) Mexican bracelet that I can't stop wearing this week:

I ended up having to remove a link so it wouldn't be too lose on my wrist, but it rocks.

 

Rocks hard.

Lady Jane Grey agrees.