Charmed Bracelets

Love Those Ladybugs!

 Here's yet another ladybug necklace for your favorite little girl. 

I picked up a half dozen of these great ladybug beads at a bead and gem show about a year ago with no idea what I would do with them. 

I'd even forgotten I had them, until I started making ladybug jewelry for moms and little girls. Then I pulled them out and made a couple of different necklace designs and a bracelet.

The beads are about the size of a marble, and they are ceramic with lampwork glass ladybugs and leaves added to each bead. 

On this necklace the ladybug bead dangles from a strand of black onyx beads which is connected to short lengths of sterling silver chain. The extender chain is made of connecting hearts, and I finished the end with a small red-glass ladybug. It closes with a claw clasp for extra security. 

The necklace is sized to fit a grade-school aged child, but if you aren't sure of the length, e-mail me and we can make sure it will fit your child: jeanne.sather@gmail.com

Price: $40. The price includes taxes, postage, and insurance to U.S. mailing addresses. 

See also:

More Ladybugs for Little Girls

Mother-Daughter Ladybug Bracelets

Photo: @ Monica Strasen 2010. 

Design and text: @ Jeanne Sather 2010. 

 

More Ladybugs for Little Girls

 I love making jewelry for little girls, and I picked up a half dozen of these ladybug beads at a bead and gem show about a year ago with no idea what I would do with them. 

I had even forgotten that I had them, to be honest, until I started making the other ladybug designs that I have on my site. Then I pulled them out and made two simple necklaces and a bracelet. 

The beads are about the size of a marble, and they are ceramic with lampwork glass ladybugs and leaves added to each bead. 

 I made the necklaces by making a setting for the bead with sterling silver wire and a couple of small sterling beads and then I hung them on red cotton cord. 

The bracelet has a strand of coral beads--round and tube-shaped--and a sterling silver clasp. I added a red glass ladybug to the extender chain--just to make your favorite little girl smile. 

The necklaces are $25 each, and I have two of those. I HAVE ONE OF THESE LEFT. 

The bracelet is $30, and I only have one. THE BRACELET IS SOLD, SORRY. 

See more: Ladybugs

Photos: @ Monica Strasen 2010. 

Design and text: @ Jeanne Sather 2010. 

  

 

Buy a Raffle Ticket?

 This was one of those friend-of-a-friend things ... I find I meet a lot of interesting people that way. 

So, I met Collin when she popped up on my cancer blog shortly before her double mastectomy. She told me about her family, which includes three darling children from three different countries. Her youngest child is a little girl born in China. 

Then Collin introduced me to Jen, who has two daughters from China and who is trying to raise money to pay off some of the adoption expenses for the younger girl. I had already made a ladybug bracelet for Collin's 4-year-old, because I like ladybugs and I use them fairly often in jewelry for little girls. 

 What I didn't know, until Collin told me, is that ladybugs are considered lucky in China, and many of the parents who adopt there have taken on the ladybug as a symbol of good luck in their adoptions. 

Following so far? Collin thought that I might make something for Jen to sell through a raffle, and I agreed. I made a pair of mother-daughter ladybug bracelets, and the raffle is up and running.

Go to this link if you'd like to buy a raffle ticket--the information is in the right column, and tickets are $10:

Mother-Daughter Ladybug Bracelets Drawing

See also:

Mother-Daughter Ladybug Bracelets 3

Mother-Daughter Ladybug Bracelets: The Details

@ Jeanne Sather 2010. 

Mother-Daughter Ladybug Bracelets: The Details

 I got lucky the other day when I found these ladybugs of Thai silver. 

Thai silver is purer than sterling, which means it is slow to tarnish, and the pieces are handmade in hill tribe areas of Northern Thailand.

These Thai silver ladybugs have a whimsical charm that is perfect for a mother-daughter set. Not too grown up for a little girl, not too childish for mom.

The mother's bracelet has a Thai silver ladybug that is actually a bell. Shake it and it has a lovely jingle. 

I used five strands of rainbow-colored glass seed beads for this bracelet. 

The bracelet closes with a heart-shaped clasp and has an extender chain so that it adjusts to fit most women's wrists, wrists that measure about 6 to 7 inches.  

The little girl's bracelet is a scaled-down version of mom's. It has three strands of rainbow seed beads instead of five, a small claw clasp for security, and a smaller ladybug. It is adjustable to fit wrists from about 5 to 6 inches.  Both bracelets have red glass ladybugs on the ends of the extender chains. 

These bracelets are not for sale. I have donated them to an online raffle to help a Florida family raise money to pay some of the expenses involved in adopting their second child from China. 

Once I have the link to the online raffle, I'll post it here. In the meantime, e-mail me if you have any questions: jeanne.sather@gmail.com

See also: Mother-Daughter Ladybug Bracelet 3

Photo: @ Monica Strasen 2010. 

Design and text: @ Jeanne Sather 2010. 

Mother-Daughter Ladybug Bracelets 3

Ladybugs are a symbol of good luck to Americans who are adopting little girls from China. 

 I made this third pair of mother-daughter ladybug bracelets to donate to a raffle to help a woman who adopted a special needs child from China. 

Her name is Jen, and I met her through my new friend Collin, who also has a Chinese daughter. 

Jen has a Web site and two blogs, and she's on Facebook, raising money to pay her family's adoption expenses. 

 She says an earlier drawing went toward the $5,000 orphanage fees they had to take with them to China, and any funds raised now will go to pay the $10,000 that the trip to China cost. 

Apparently, Jen put all of this on her credit card, and now is fundraising to pay it off. 

You know, I'm a bit shocked by that "orphanage fee." When my ex-husband and I adopted Older Son in Japan, it was expected that we give a cash gift to the orphanage, and--this being Japan--someone told us how much was expected, but I think it was more like $500 or $1,000. Now, granted, that was 25 years ago, but $5,000 sounds outrageous to me. 

In any case, back to Jen's story. She and her husband have two biological children, ages 17 and 20, and two adopted daughters, both from China. 

Back in 2005, when Jen was waiting to adopt her first Chinese daughter, Olivia, she started a sewing business to raise money to pay the adoption expenses. She made little dresses in ladybug-print fabric, and created 250 dresses that first year. 

See: Fly Away Home Clothing

She also has a family blog: Storming the Castle

And a Web site about the journey to China to bring home Natalie: Natalie's Web site

I'll be mailing the bracelets to Jen tomorrow, and then I need to ask her to give me the link to the online raffle so that I can post it here. In the meantime, if you have any questions, e-mail me and I will forward your message to Jen. 

Photos: @ Monica Strasen 2010. 

Design and text: @ Jeanne Sather 2010. 

Mother-Daughter Ladybug Bracelets 2: SOLD

 I got lucky the other day when I found these ladybugs of Thai silver. 

Thai silver is purer than sterling, which means it is slow to tarnish, and the pieces are handmade in hill tribe areas of Northern Thailand. (I've been to Thailand, and to Changmai in the northern part of the country, but that was more than 25 years ago and the local people were making and selling textiles, not silver beads.)

These Thai silver ladybugs have a whimsical charm that is perfect for a mother-daughter set. Not too grown up for a little girl, not too childish for mom.

The mother's bracelet has a Thai silver ladybug that is actually a bell. Shake it and it has a lovely jingle. 

I used five strands of gemstone beads for this bracelet. They include small tubes of beautiful natural turquoise, Chinese chrysocola in various shapes, and red coral. 

The strands are gathered into flower-shaped cones of hammered Thai silver, and the toggle clasp is adjustable to fit wrists from about 6 to 7 inches.

The little girl's bracelet is a scaled-down version of mom's. It has three strands of turquoise, coral, and chrysocola beads instead of five, a small claw clasp for security, and a smaller ladybug. It is adjustable to fit wrists from about 5 to 6 inches. 

The adult bracelet is $130 and the child's bracelet is $65, and this pair is only available as a set. The price includes taxes, postage, and insurance to U.S. mailing addresses. THIS PAIR IS SOLD, SORRY.  

If you want only one bracelet, or if you need me to adjust the length of either bracelet, please e-mail me: jeanne.sather@gmail.com   

See also:

Ladybugs

Little Girls

Photos: Monica Strasen.

Design and text: @ Jeanne Sather 2010. 

Josie Shows Off Her Ladybug Bracelet

 Here is 4-year-old Josie, showing off the ladybug bracelet I made for her recently. 

There is nothing that makes me happier than making a child happy with something that I've made. 

Josie's bracelet has seven ladybugs in rainbow colors. I used a clasp that won't open easily. and made it adjustable so that she has some grow room. 

The end of the bracelet is finished with a sterling silver heart with a sun face on it--to make her smile. 

Go to this link for close-up photos of Josie's bracelet: Playing on a Rainy Day

@ Jeanne Sather 2010. 

Mother-Daughter Ladybug Bracelets

 I've made several pieces of ladybug jewelry recently, and now when I'm shopping online or at the bead store I find myself searching for ladybugs. 

I got lucky the other day when I found these handmade ladybugs of Thai silver. Thai silver is purer than sterling, which means it is slow to tarnish, and the pieces are handmade in hill tribe areas of Northern Thailand. (I've been to Thailand, and to Changmai in the northern part of the country, so I really love being able to get these handmade silver charms and beads.)

The ladybugs have a whimsical charm that is perfect for a mother-daughter set. Not too grown up for a little girl, not too childish for mom. 

The mother's bracelet has a Thai silver ladybug that is actually a bell. Shake it and it has a lovely jingle. 

I used five strands of gemstone beads for this bracelet: one of beautiful natural turquoise beads in a small tube shape, and four strands of Chinese chrysocola in various shapes: round, square, and small rondelles. The Chinese chrysocola is a mottled blue that goes perfectly with turquoise. The lighter areas of the beads are turquoise in color and the rest are a deeper blue. 

The strands are gathered into cones of hammered sterling silver, and the toggle clasp is adjustable to fit wrists from about 6 to 7 inches.

The little girl's bracelet is a scaled-down version of mom's. It has three strands of beads instead of five, a small claw clasp for security, and a smaller ladybug. It is adjustable to fit wrists from about 5 to 6 inches. 

The adult bracelet is $120 and the child's bracelet is $60, and this pair is only available as a set. The price includes taxes, postage, and insurance to U.S. mailing addresses. 

If you want only one bracelet, please e-mail me: jeanne.sather@gmail.com   

See also:

Ladybugs

Little Girls

Photos: Monica Strasen.

Design and text: @ Jeanne Sather 2010. 

Playing on a Rainy Day

 

 The first thing to say about a rainy January day in Seattle is that it's pretty normal. And we need the rain: the rain forest doesn't get--and stay--green without a lot of water. 

Also, lots of water coming down in the winter and spring means more water for gardening in the summer. I don't have a lawn--I dug that under years ago--but I do need to water my plants plus my little urban plantation of food, including fruits, vegetables, and herbs.

I'm trying to be philosophical about the rain, even though it kept me from going to water aerobics this morning as I had planned. An extra hour under the quilt was more enticing than battling Seattle traffic in the rain to get to the pool.

My highest priority for the day was to make a little ladybug bracelet for my new friend Collin's 4-year-old daughter, Josie, who is having a tough time right now. 

 The idea for the bracelet came to me yesterday, and I e-mailed Collin to check her daughter's wrist measurement and also to find out if she would prefer all red ladybugs or bugs of various colors. I was secretly hoping for the latter, because I had these little glass beads just sitting there waiting for me to make something cute with them. 

 As you can see from the photos, it came out pretty well. I used a clasp that won't open easily, and made it adjustable so that Josie has some grow-room. I'd hate for her to grow out of her bracelet too soon. The end of the bracelet is finished with a sterling silver heart with a sun face on it--to make her smile. 

This bracelet is one of a kind, made just for Josie, but if you'd like something similar for a little girl you know--or a little boy, for that matter--send me an e-mail and we can design something special: jeanne.sather@gmail.com

Here's the link to the other jewelry I've made for little girls: Little Girls

Here's the link to the Valentine's Day jewelry I have so far: Valentine's Day

If you are a first-time visitor to my site, you might want to read: How to Use This Web Site

@ Jeanne Sather 2010. 

Little Girls: Buttons and Ladybugs

The woman who bought my first bracelet made from vintage mother-of-pearl buttons (See: summer bracelet: white on white) wrote and told me how much her little girls loved her bracelet, and we decided to make them button bracelets of their very own. 

I used the smallest buttons from my stash of vintage mother-of-pearl buttons, and teamed them with glass ladybugs.

The bracelet are assembled with active little girls in mind: The ladybugs and buttons are attached with wrapped wire loops, and the bracelets close with lobster-claw clasps. I also left some grow room, because I want them to be able to wear these for years. The loose end of the bracelets is weighted with a sterling silver heart charm and a glass leaf. 

These are a one-of-a-kind custom order, but if you'd like something similar for a girl you know, shoot me an e-mail: jeanne.sather@gmail.com

Photo: Monica Strasen. 

@ Jeanne Sather 2009.