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Spoon Rings As far back as the 1600s, in England, spoon rings were created and given as a representation of love, responsibility and commitment. These rings were made from spoons that servants had stolen from their masters’ homes. They were used as wedding rings by those who could not afford anything else. Today, spoon rings continue to represent the meaning of love and commitment. However, spoon rings have also become a fun addition to a jewelry collection. The vast array of patterns allows for a diverse selection ranging from eclectic to elegant, many times with humor thrown in. I hand-select spoons from a wide range of vintage silverplate silverware. Sometimes people give me their unwanted silverware sets, I find great bargains at garage sales, antique stores, and of course, am constantly cruising online venues. I have found that demitasse spoons and cocktail forks are the best for small rings. Please click on the links and take a look at the handmade rings I have to offer through Hendywood. As you might have surmised, all of the spoon rings offered by Hendywood are handmade by me. ~ Karen The links below will take you to my spoon rings and more. Handmade Rings on Amazon Handmade Rings on Etsy
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 First, I try to decide what size buttons I want or need. Then, of course the hunt for the right branch gets underway.  Maybe I'll find the perfect branch in this stack of wood ...Yep, found it! The branch for these buttons was blown out of the tree by tropical storm Beryl, a recent visitor to our area.  Using my band saw the branch is sliced into eight little pieces. Man-o-man, they look rough and that bark doesn't look very sturdy. Hmmm...  The bark had to go and two of the slices did not pass my stress test. I tried to break each piece to make sure it was strong enough to be a button. These strong little guys will work :) (They feel a bit naked)  The Dremel tool smoothed out the saw marks and the sander took care of the fine-tuning. It's tricky holding onto these little suckers while doing this.  These buttons were so tiny, I used pliers to hold them in place while drilling two holes. I want to keep my fingers for another project.  All surfaces were sanded several times until they were super-smooth. The edges were rounded a tad to soften them up. I included a pencil to help you see the size of these tinies.  I applied wax and set them out to dry. Any extra wax will easily be buffed away.  Finished branch buttons!
These are the tiniest I've ever made, but little beauties. Complicated? You decide. Find more buttons at Hendywood on Etsy. Shop Hendywood for unique handmade jewelry.  I love to work with old, gnarly wood that I can reclaim or salvage. This piece was a pine plank taken from a very old house during a remodeling project. The wood was over 100 years old and, well, didn't look that pretty as you can see.  Oh, but the ugly was only skin deep. The beauty within was amazing.  After attaching the block of wood to my lathe and giving it a whirl (not to mention using a few cutting tools) an interesting little form began to emerge. The aroma of pine was strong and the sticky sap meant many stops to clean my tools.  At the halfway point, the newly formed block was flipped over and reattached to the lathe. More ugly...  A little more turning and cutting - it finally started to look like a bowl.  Not only was the grain beautiful in this old wood, but look closely and you can see the nail holes. Sweet!  Done. A beautiful little bowl from reclaimed antique pine wood that was once destined for the trash heap. One's trash, another's treasure.
I thought I was going to write a little bit about the history of the coin, but alas, it is vast and shrouded in mystery. However, I thought Coinage -- Ancient History Encyclopedia seemed like a good source of information, so here's the link to the page. http://www.ancient.eu.com/coinage/ Some of my own observations: I enjoy making jewelry, mainly necklaces, from coins. Favorites are coins from countries that celebrate their wildlife. Africa, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand offer a few examples of unique "animal" coins. Click on any picture on this page to be taken to the listing and more information. Some of the links will go to my store on Etsy.
Coins from other countries celebrate their history and culture. France, India, Israel, and Italy are wonderful examples.
In my opinion, coins from Japan and Hong Kong are exceptional.
The best part about all of this is the creativity. Coins are wonderful charms when left in their original flat shape, but they don't have to stay that way. I like to change it up a bit by adding colorful beads and/or shaping the coin into a shape like a dome.
Find more coin Jewelry here /store/c6/Coin_Jewelry_and_Accessories.html
Shop all of Hendywood here /store/c1/Featured_Products.html Feel free to leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you!  <-------- Reclaimed Cedar Wood and Copper Necklace Wood is a renewable resource. It is natural, beautiful, and relatively easy to work with. As long as people gather and use wood responsibly, it will stay with us forever. However, the clear-cutting of forests will result in an improper balance between Oxygen and carbon dioxide - essentials to our existence. My favorite wood to make jewelry from are the pieces picked up from the ground and reclaimed for my craft. Take a look around my store. You might find something irresistible! More wood and stone necklaces are here Shop all of Hendywood here Take a look at Hendywood on Etsy too Hendywood on Etsy http://www.Hendywood.etsy.com Hendywood store /store/c1/Featured_Products.html Life got a little chaotic there for a while. Since I'm a teacher, school started in August. The same week that I went back to work, we decided to sell our tri-level house and move into a flat floor plan. The house went on the market and sold IN THREE DAYS!! Crap! We were not expecting that and had no "new" place in mind for purchasing, yet. We looked at a few houses and made an offer that was declined and another that was accepted. In the meantime, my third grandchild was cooking, and due to enter this world in mid-September. Fortunately, my daughter and her family live nearby and I had full intentions of "being there" for the birth of this little blessing. ~ Mortgage inspections, paperwork, questions, questions, and more questions were coming and going in rapid succession on both houses. YOU HAVE BEEN SUMMONSED FOR JURY DUTY - yikes!!!! Now I don't mind being called upon for civic duty - but not at the exact same time the baby (now overdue) is supposed to be born. - more mortgage stuff kept coming in. Did I mention I was also at school everyday trying to keep a smile on my face and teach the kiddos? HA! My number was not called for jury duty (dodged that bullet) and the sweetest baby boy ever was born happy and healthy. Where does my Hendywood shop on Etsy fit in? I was selling during this time, but obviously, not creating. October 1st - Etsy announces major changes that would redefine "handmade" in Etsyworld. Now, people could design, but hire others to make and manufacture their products on a large scale. I don't know, I'm just a little fish here with no extra help, but my sales and activity slowed down significantly. Could be my life at the moment, but I think that is in addition to an extremely saturated Etsy market that now expands the true definition of "handmade." I felt Etsy was trying to break up with me and kick me out. But I will not go down without a fight! MY PROMISE TO BUYERS - All products that are for sale by me, Karen at Hendywood are handmade or assembled by me, Karen at Hendywood, unless I state otherwise in the listing. Weebly to the rescue! This site is hosted by Weebly. In mid-November they rolled out an ecommerce store that makes listing, organizing, and ordering from this shop easier and more secure. Check it out /store/c1/Featured_Products.html Now that we are settled in a new house, my shop is up and running, and most importantly, my family has grown by one and all is healthy, I'm back to work creating. New listings will be showing up in both shops. Etsy will not defeat me, I will learn to work with them by creating unique, handmade items that others could not replicate very easily (especially the wood stuff.) Merry Christmas! 
I'm pretty sure my husband thinks I'm nuts. Whenever we go ANYWHERE, I'm always on the lookout for what I could reclaim and reuse. *Feel free to click on any of the pictures to find out more about the item.*  "Pick up that wood over there." "What wood?" "That tiny branch in the ditch. Don'tcha see it?" "That? I barely see it" "Yeah, but it'd be perfect for earrings." Daily banter between hubby and me while walking the dog around the neighborhood.  I'm a teacher, a science teacher. However, I do have another life and I guess you get a glimpse of it in this blog. I shoot guns. Not big ones, and not illegally, but yes, I shoot and I think it's fun. However, I had to figure out what to do with the empty casings. Beautiful brass vessels just waiting to be reused. - Jewelry - stellar idea.  I've been married for a while...Not too long ago, my husband brings me a bag of coins. "Can you do anything with these? I'm really not that interested in them." I take a look inside and much to my surprise it's a bag of older coins from all over the world. He had a coin collection tucked away that I knew nothing about. So, I snatched the bag away from him. I've been using coins in my jewelry ever since. Nowadays, people give me their unwanted coins and I've made a few custom pieces. - All because HE had a hidden collection that came out at just the right time.  Who'd a thought a sewing thimble could be so pretty. I cleaned up an old thimble that was tossed aside and added a little bling. There you have it, a tiny bird flying out of Peter Pan's kiss (go look it up :). To see more of my work click on the links below:
Hendywood.com /store/c1/Featured_Products.html Hendywood.Etsy.com http://www.hendywood.etsy.com  Before I was a Mom ~ Author Unknown ~ Before I was a Mom - I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed. I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday. Before I was a Mom - I cleaned my house each day. I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations. Before I was a Mom - I had never been puked on - Pooped on - Spit on - Chewed on, or Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and My thoughts. I slept all night. Before I was a Mom - I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests...or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep. Before I was a Mom - I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom. Before I was a Mom - I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important. Before I was a Mom - I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known The warmth, The joy, The love, The heartache, The wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom. Now I'm a Grandmom :) Mother's Day is coming ~ maybe she'd like some jewelry ♥ Click on any picture below for more information. To see all items in my shop click here /store/c1/Featured_Products.html
I will refund 20% on any order placed because of this blog entry. Just let me know who you are through a comment or the 'Talk to Me' link on the left of this page! My man, my dog, and I take walks at our favorite little "wild" spot where I find inspiration for my craft. **Click on any picture to enlarge it for a better view**  The Jacksonville Arboretum in North Florida offers a bit of paradise in the midst of a busy town. http://www.jacksonvillearboretum.org/ Enjoy snippets from our walk one recent December morning.
I took a picture of the leaves changing. What an amazing sight in Florida...NOT, but it is a beautiful leaf nonetheless. However, the wildlife can be breathtaking and this Anhinga bird sunning itself on a branch overhanging the lake was just that...breathtaking.
Poor Bama couldn't (or wouldn't) read the sign. Maybe she doesn't realize she's a dog? I took the short walk without her.  We were reunited and headed on down the trail together :) Feel free to look at my handmade jewelry. Click on links and pictures below and see if there's anything you like! Remember, I will refund 20% of your order if you tell me you visited this blog.
Shop all Hendywood items /store/c1/Featured_Products.html
Shop Hendywood natural jewelry /store/c4/Natural_Handmade_Jewelry.html Shop Hendywood eclectic jewelry /store/c5/Handmade_Eclectic_Metal_Jewelry.html Shop Hendywood on Etsy http://www.hendywood.etsy.com  Someone, not too long ago asked, "Why blog and where do you get inspiration?" I answered, "I don't know. Inspiration? Comes from everywhere and nowhere, it just depends." Today, I'm inspired to write about nothing. What is the point of a blog? Most of the time, I think, people are looking for information. Other times, entertainment. Today...in my blog...empty thoughts. Hope you have a wonderful day. I AM inspired by the change in season and the cooler temps, here in Florida. We are headed north to the North Carolina Mountains in a few days. That should inspire a blog entry when I return! A few Hendywood Highlights! Click on any picture below for more information about the item.
For more of my handmade jewelry go to: /store/c1/Featured_Products.html
Please take a moment to visit my Etsy shop where you will find a much wider range of handmade treasures! http://www.Hendywood.Etsy.com It's not too early to start on that holiday shopping! |
Karen HendersonWife, Mother, Grandmother, Teacher, Lover of Animals, Woodworker, Jewelry Designer, Owner of Hendywood. Archives
June 2016
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ARTISAN JEWELRY, ORNAMENTS and ACCESSORIES
