jewelry roundup, 2

Time once again for a look back on some of the jewelry i've been sporting over the past few weeks. I really am having fun trying to wear everything i own. Take for example this chunky, amber AB ring. I was fascinated by it in a thrift store and brought it home for $5, but have only worn it a few times. Yellow is not in the Niki color palette -i'm a berry, in case you didn't know- but the blue flashes from the AB finish on the crystals inspired me to pair it with one of my favorite blue summer shirts.

In a rare example of me wearing my hair down, i did an accent braid and added a clip-on earring to the end that had the same crystals in the middle of a sunflower.

I quite enjoy AB crystals and over time have amassed quite a collection.

One of my favorite, favorite pieces is this necklace of crystals clustered together like grapes. I found it at an antique mall 15 years ago on lunch with my boss at the time (i can't even imagine how i convinced him to go to an antique mall) and paid an extravagant $12 for it. Since then, i have never seen another necklace like it.

I wore AB drop earrings and a matching bracelet, but still felt like my hair needed a tiny glimmer so i nestled a clip earring amongst the masses of pinned twists.

I am sometimes asked if Whimsy Hair always works out that way i plan it. There are two answers to that, 1) trust me, i hardly ever have a plan, and 2) no.

Sometimes in my zeal to wear jewelry in my hair everyday i overstretch an idea.

Here is an example of a loose, twisted, pinned messy bun with a silver and gold heart circle attached in the middle.

        I really wanted to highlight how pretty the jewelry was,

but the overall effect was a disaster. After i took the pictures (which is the only way i actually know how it has turned out) i took the whole mess down and went with a ponytail.

Being so hot this summer, there were a lot of double bun days, which gave me an opportunity to wear these sweater clips for the first time.

Why do i even own a set of fixed sweater clips? I bought them years ago for $2 cause i like the filigree around the pink cabochon and always intended to disconnect the chains, but never got around to it.

Now i'm kinda glad that i didn't.

As you might know, enamel flower pins have made a serious comeback. Here is my newest one in pink and purple (thank you people who sell awesome things at yard sales for $1) at the bottom of a braid ending in a side ponytail.

At that same yard sale i picked up these shimmery clip-ons made from hundreds of tiny seed beads strung and twisted together. I heart you, dollar bin.

And speaking of beads, i love, love this strand so much that i wound it around my ponytail one day. I used to wear it all the time when my uniform was red, but since we went blue, it has languished in its hook, sad and unworn. But no more! Everything gets worn!

Like this awesome double strand of white beads with amazing gold links. I found this necklace at Objects Found and got it on sale for $4.

I have a serious problem with white beads; I am drawn to them, but once bought and home i never know how to wear them. I think it works paired with this navy polo.

My hair that day was in six mini-buns and to play up the gold and white of the necklace and echo the twists, i added a vintage pin of my mom's.

mayhaps i should have checked those bottom buns after my nap; yikes


This burnished and detailed open gold spiral with white enamelling was a favorite of mine back in the 80s when my mom and i would frequently share jewelry. She'd had it as long as i could remember and one day she told me to put it in my box instead of returning it. I probably haven't worn it in 10 years and it made me really happy to put it on again.

My favorite new hairstyle based on jewelry from this summer is this set of sleek twists around a small sausage- curl ponytail. I got the idea when i decided to finally wear this pin one day. I've had it for 10 years, having rescued it from a junk jar. All of the leaves are made from thin wire twisted around and around; it looks solid, but it isn't. It is the first time i've ever worn it; not bad for costing about 12 cents.

And in case you are wondering whether or not i ever wear pins like a normal person, i do. In fact, two days in a row i wore a pin on a shirt, but i didn't even think to take a picture because it was so normal. But, since i am trying to keep track of my jewelry consumption, i snapped this before i did the laundry:

The bottom pin is the one i bought from the talented wife of fTM AJ a few years ago and the top one is a great wooden carved fish that i wore to the sushi buffet.

It was the first time i wore of either of these pins.

Two down, a zillion to go.