Natalie Clayton

 
Jewelry Tree 05/18/2010
 
Is May too early for a Christmas craft? I think not!
Over 40 years ago my mom got together with her mom and some other women and they each made a jewelry tree out of broken glass, marbles, buttons, beads, and jewelry. At Christmas-time my sister and I would study that lit up tree and even now I look at it and pick out pieces that were my "favorites."
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My mom helped me make this tree...dad too.
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I found this frame at a second-hand store.
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...painted it a glossy black.
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I gathered all the jewelry I have been keeping but don't wear anymore...or never did. My mom found a bag of random jewelry at the second-hand store and we ended up with some really great pieces.
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I spent several days thinking about the shape of my tree and what pieces I would include. The background of my mom's tree is burgundy and I like how bright the jewelry looks against the dark. I found black velveteen at Joann's. My mom broke green and clear glass into smaller pieces and found more stones, beads and buttons to fill in the spaces.
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This is where my dad stepped in and drilled holes in the backing for the small Christmas lights.
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I just marked a small circle with pencil where each light should go and he drilled, placed the velveteen on the board and glued the lights in for me...typing it sounds easy but I know he spent some time on it and every detail was done just right.
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The fun part is placing the pieces on the tree. The hard part is getting them to stay.  I used LOTS of white Elmer's glue to glue everything on (it dries clear). My mom helped me glue everything down (which took about 90 minutes...and that is with 2 people working on it).
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One of my favorite pieces is this French Horn pin because that, along with the flute, is the instrument I played in High School.
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Comments

Jean

Wed, 19 May 2010 06:52:42

Wow- That is really special. The fact that you made it with your parents should bring happy memories for years to come!

 

Debbie

Wed, 19 May 2010 20:00:40

I want you to know I file away your blog posts like this that I know I want to do someday... I have a lot of my mom's jewelry - you know, junk jewelry and some not so junk. And I have a bunch of stuff of my own like pins from my youth, similar to your use of the French horn pin. What a great idea Natalie (and parents)!

 

Debbie

Wed, 19 May 2010 20:02:15

And no, May is not too early for Christmas related activities... Apparently not, since I have clients contacting me about holiday sessions already. I am SO not ready to schedule for the holidays!

 

Jennette

Wed, 19 May 2010 20:36:30

You guys (all of you) are amazing! Love it!

 

Katie Hoover

Mon, 24 May 2010 11:14:11

i envy your craft skills...it looks great natalie!!

 

Lisa Funk

Fri, 28 May 2010 17:43:28

Okay, I was JUST going through my Grandma's stuff with my Aunt and found her jewelry tree just like these! I love it! I'm totally trying to snag it before my siblings or cousins do. Very nice. :)

 



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