Today Kelsey and I went through Nana's jewelry box. Nana was Jimmy's mom. She lost her battle with lung cancer in 2000. It was the same rare type of lung cancer that claimed Jimmy's dad's life nearly 20 years ago. We have to work at it a little to make sure that our kids connect with their dad's side of the family and one of the ways we do that is by periodically going through the heirlooms.
Nana loved jewelry. Papa Jerry loved boats. We've been blessed to inherit things that stir up memories of the passions they had for their favorite things.
Nana had a ton of jewelry. So much, in fact, that we hadn't even gone through the things in this particular jewelry box. We've sorted through a couple of others, used some things and given some away. But this time we were looking with the thought of repurposing in mind.
Kelsey found some lovely large-bead necklaces that she's putting into her own jewelry rotation. It's funny how styles go around. The things I would never wear because, "My mom wore that!" are the things that Kelsey latches onto as trendy.
As we sifted through the layers and layers of necklaces, bracelets, and earrings, we discovered quite the collection of pins. Oh my! I knew from my mom's jewelry box that there'd been some pin-doings in the '50's and '60's and '70's, but this was a sight to behold.
I snapped some shots of a few of them. Believe me when I tell you that this barely scratches the surface of the collection. These are just a few of the ones that stood out to us in one way or another.
Nana loved jewelry. Papa Jerry loved boats. We've been blessed to inherit things that stir up memories of the passions they had for their favorite things.
Nana had a ton of jewelry. So much, in fact, that we hadn't even gone through the things in this particular jewelry box. We've sorted through a couple of others, used some things and given some away. But this time we were looking with the thought of repurposing in mind.
Kelsey found some lovely large-bead necklaces that she's putting into her own jewelry rotation. It's funny how styles go around. The things I would never wear because, "My mom wore that!" are the things that Kelsey latches onto as trendy.
As we sifted through the layers and layers of necklaces, bracelets, and earrings, we discovered quite the collection of pins. Oh my! I knew from my mom's jewelry box that there'd been some pin-doings in the '50's and '60's and '70's, but this was a sight to behold.
I snapped some shots of a few of them. Believe me when I tell you that this barely scratches the surface of the collection. These are just a few of the ones that stood out to us in one way or another.
The daisy and the butterfly pin.
My mom has one similar to this too, if it hasn't been decluttered yet.
Must have been quite stylish in the 1970's.
My mom has one similar to this too, if it hasn't been decluttered yet.
Must have been quite stylish in the 1970's.
The silver artsy flower pin.
I think this one is gorgeous, but it does disturb me
a bit in that it looks a little like something Jadis might be sporting.
The delicate flower cluster.
I just like this one. I don't really know why.
The elliptical (or is it more parabolic?) beaded flower pin.
I love to bead myself, so I stand in awe of whoever
worked all those tiny seed beads into this pin.
The craftmanship is amazing.
The other beaded flower pin.
With this pin, the beads are actually sewn onto the backing.
Maybe someone gave it to Nana as a handmade gift.
I don't know.
Nana didn't label a whole lot of her stuff.
Labeling would be helpful.
(Hint, hint...Gramma!)
The pin Zack has claimed for his wife.
It's not the style pin that I would pick myself, but... I'm hoping she'll like it!
Zack was curious about the treasures and I explained
that they belong to Kelsey and his and Zane's future wives.
Zack decided his future wife will like this one best.
So now it waits for her!
The repurposed pin.
It's the reason we started looking through Nana's jewelry box in the first place.
We realized that we could take these pins, put a dab of hot glue on the back,
and glue them to a regular push pin or thumb tack.
Now we can enjoy them everyday.
This bee pin is especially precious because Papa Jerry was a entomologist.
What a sweet family treasure!
4 comments:
What a neat post! I love the pictures...and what an awesome idea to reuse the pins..you are really on a roll, aren't you?
I love the pins and the repurposing! I also love how you're grooming your sweet boys to be husbands by taking about their future wives. I feel like the future spouse talks tend to come up with girls, but don't always happen with boys ... love it!
Cool beans! I have a HUGE box of my grandmother's costume jewelry (and we won't even discuss my mother's collection...sigh).
I'm seeing visions of projeks dancing in my head...
I loved looking at your treasures. It brought me back to looking through my grandma's jewelry bags and boxes. And my eyes got big when I saw the first pin because my grandma had a flower pin like that one. Hers was yellow and had a stem on it but same type and design. And I actually wore it when I was realy little I liked it so much. Thanks for sharing!
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