Does Jewelry Grow on Trees?

A year or two ago my mom started going through her jewelry. She organized everything and then invited her kids, grandkids and great grandkids to take whatever they wanted. Once everyone had their turn we talked about making something with the leftovers. Some of you may remember the jewelry wreath I made in 2013, after inheriting some of my mother-in-law’s jewelry. I added more from my side of the family, and it was a fun project ~ and a lovely addition to our home (click here for that post).

I agreed with mom that we should do something ~ and then got busy with other things. After returning from teaching in Florida in January I realized that jewelry playtime had come. Mom was pleased. She wanted to make something for each of her grandchildren, and one for my brother and his wife too (I didn’t need one since I have the wreath 😁). That makes seven projects. Should we make wreathes? I did a bit of web surfing and was reminded of the jewelry tree my friend Julie made.

I posted about it last June, at the end of the story about my “paper quilt”. Click here to read all about it. Mom loved the idea of the trees. So, how would we make our own version?

Frames were collected from local thrift shops and it was time to begin. I told mom I’d quilt some solid color background pieces and, while looking for just the right fabrics, I found my collection of old family hankies. Would they work instead?

Once again ~ Mom loved the idea (she’s easy to please 😁). I cut foam core to fit each frame and took everything over to her home. We started laying things out. Background fabric and hankies were fused onto the foam core. Necklaces and bracelets were used to frame the trees.

The next time we got together we used hot glue to secure the tree outlines. We tried other glues, but the hot glue seemed to work the best. It did take a while for me to get over the “hot glue learning curve”, but then the fun really began. We worked together to place pieces, cut off earring backs, share opinions, and then secure it all. Here is one tree done ~ and two others well on the way!

After just one more afternoon of tree making ~ they were all complete!

Next I asked Mom to make a list of who’s jewelry was in each tree. I printed that list along with a photo of the tree and the makers (plus their encourager), to be attached to the back of the frames.

I’m wondering if any local quilters would be interested in a class on making jewelry trees or wreathes. It might be fun to make memory trees together. Let me know!

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And to leave you with a smile… my friend Eileen sent me this joke and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did:

“Two Sewing Machines walked into a Karaoke bar. The 1st Sewing Machine said to the 2nd Sewing Machine, “Are you a Singer?”. The 2nd Sewing Machine replied, “Don’t Janome?”. The Bartender replied, “Oh, Brother!”.” 🤣

Thanks Eileen!