Jewelry/Jewellery

Just some of the lovely items you can find at EricaWeiner.com.  Does anyone need gift ideas?  (And can I add that I love just about everything she sells?)

Make a Ring out of a Quarter

via Lucy's Tales from Home

How cool is this? Lucy's husband made it out of a 1962 quarter for her while they were still dating. He would sit outside his parent's house in his truck each night, hitting the edge with a spoon until it made the perfect shape. Afterwards he drilled a hole in the middle, polished it a bit, and voila! You can still read the writing inside. Another post by a different blogger tells of how their grandfather had made a quarter ring during WWII for his wife back home. He has since passed away, and that's the only ring her grandmother now wears.

How romantic!!!

Dear future husband, not that I'll imagine you'll read this, but if you do, I.Really.Want.One. (Here's another hint: pick a symbolic year. My dad was born in 1949 and my mom in 1952).

And fellas, at a loss to figure out what to give your sweetie for a present? If she's anything like me, she'll love this. Believe me. It's awesome!

How do you do it? The most important thing is you'll need a silver quarter to make one woman's ring. That means it needs to be made before 1964. They're not that hard to find-- you might just happen to have one in your pocket or change jar, or if you can't find one, try ebay. It doesn't need to be in good condition as you'll be hammering it anyway, so pay $1-2 and you'll have what you need.

I've found detailed instructions with pictures here. Have fun!


XOXO,


Edit: My friend, Matt, told me that you can get silver coins for current years as well, which is what he did when he wanted to make a necklace for his wife for their wedding anniversary. He procured a silver Ohio quarter (where they're both from) with the date of the year they married, and turned it into a necklace. For silver quarters in recent years, search online, on eBay, or talk to a coin dealer. I think they should run you about $20.00


Edit: My friend, Danny, ended up making a ring inspired by this post.  You can view it (and learn about his process) here: http://td2243.blogspot.com/2009/08/ring-2-part-2-ring-3-part-1.html

1920s Fashion

Stills from the BBC series, The House of Eliott

I mentioned in a prior post that I've really enjoyed watching the BBC series, The House of Eliott, on Netflix. It is set in the 1920s, and is about two sisters, Evangeline and Beatrice Eliott, who start a fashion house in London. The series ran from 1991-1993 and is a real treat to watch.

One of my favorite things about the show is the fashion it features. The two sisters are a stylish pair, and that's not even mentioning the styles that they create as fashion designers. I love the drop waist dresses, strings of pearls, cloche hats, and dangling earrings.

I've started collecting jewelry and other clothing items that I think look 1920s. Marcasite is a popular mineral used in the production of vintage looking pieces. It is actually a form of Pyrite, or Fool's Gold, and was popular during the Victorian period, but regaining popularity again in the 1920s. They also wore a fair amount of pearls, and the earrings dangled a bit. This fit in perfectly with the bobbed hair styles of the day, and the snug-fitting cloche hats.

My collection of 1920s style earrings and watch

A picture of me sporting a recent purchase-- a red headband that I think resembles a cloche hat.

It's Blogger Time

It seems that no matter how hard I try to be a consistent poster, I lose track of the days, and before you know a week, or even a month has passed before I've written anything.  My hat certainly goes off to those bloggers who post every day or every other day.  Oh well.  I mean well (much like everything I do in life), but I somehow find myself easily sidetracked.

I just picked up the current issue of Elle with a surprisingly attractive Mariah Carey on the cover.  I'm stealing a bit of their thunder, but I've been perusing the issue for less than five minutes and I've already stumbled across these items I want:

• Visionaire Magazine's "Wearable Publication."  Click here to watch a video of model Coco Rocha wearing the Lacoste shirts with beautiful photographs splayed upon them.  It's a cool pieced-together "video" of Coco's photoshoot with Matthu Placek, with Coco dancing her little heart out in a black latex body suit.
  

Of course, it only costs $1475 + shipping for all twelve designs in addition to a subscription to seven issues.  Yeah, once my next paycheck rolls in I will be signing up for that.  Hmmm.

• Edward Steichen: In High Fashion: The Conde Nast Years, 1923-1937.  

     Wow, this book is quite a beauty, filled with fashion photographs.  You can buy it here at Amazon.com, but I'm hoping my local library will carry it.

• Imperishable Beauty at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts.  The exhibit showcases art nouveau jewelry from the late 1800s to early 1900s.

Art Nouveau?  Jewelry?  Enough said.  I.Wanna.Be.There.