Thank you so much for all the support for my post earlier this week. Anniversaries are always difficult, and it is great to have the encouragement of friends to get me through tough days. Thank you for sharing my burden.
Last week I had the pleasure of having a creative play day with my friend Rochelle and I used our time together to finally make a necklace with one of the treasures I purchased in Italy last summer. Oh, how I love this hand painted pendent. It has a beautiful sterling silver case whose age is told by the broken clasps which keep the glass in place. While you might think that painted brooches or pendents like this are plentiful in Europe, the truth is that I had been hunting in antique stores and markets for four years for a piece like this. I have certainly seen similar ones over the years, but either the price was always much higher than I was willing to pay, or the price was fine, but the focal colors were not ones that I wear very often. There was always something just not right. So, fast forward to my European trip last summer, and I was on the hunt again. To my utter surprise, I found, and bought, not just one, but two pieces at the Milan market - I was SO happy! But, it just goes to show, that sometimes treasures don't come easy.
This is truly an international necklace as most of the bits and pieces were purchased during my travels. The focal point pendent and pearls are from Italy • The moss aqua gemstones and pyrite were from Thailand • I found the smokey quartz, labradorite and amazonite in Istanbul • And the prayer beads, rhinestone disco balls and rondelle spacers are all vintage from the US.
