Treasure Chests...

I have been having so much fun lately making these necklaces with little treasure pouches on them. I love the element of a hidden surprise and I love going that extra mile to fill a locket, empty souvenir book, or an old watch case with an unexpected and sweet little surprise.

The necklace above is one of those sweet treasure chests using an old chased sterling book locket.

I filled it with a beautiful Holy Mary engraving from a vintage prayer card and on the left side I filled the space with the Latin words "Ave Maria, Gratia Plena, Dominus Tecum." In English this means,

 "Hail Mary, Full of Grace, the Lord is with thee." Isn't that the most beautiful phrase?????

 The necklace below was made using the most stunning turn of the century beautifully engraved watch case. I call this piece "Beautiful Heroine" because of the exquisite French antique Jeanne D'Arc brooch that I place inside of the case. I used all Victorian pieces in this necklace including an old engraved cloak clip for the clasp. It is simply stunning with all of it's golden hues and the famous horseback heroine as the centerpiece.

 Judson loved his first necklace that I made for him so much, that he commissioned me to make him another. I gladly obliged with the piece below. I am loving the versatility of the really long pieces and I make sure to always pay special attention to the back so it can be worn doubled, to achieve two seperate looks. The main element of this necklace was the neat little antique souvenir book from Europe. It was already empty when I received it so I filled it with a vintage Paris street and famous monument map. Judson loves the little souvenir books and vintage rhinestones so I knew he would like this.

And who doesn't love anything Parisian?????????