How to start your own heirloom jewelry, the charm bracelet.

For those of you who have daughters, little sisters, nieces, baby cousins, granddaughters have you ever thought about that one expensive heirloom watch you’ve been preserving so you can give it to her?
Have you ever walked into an upscale store and saw an expensive piece of jewelry and thought, ‘I’m going to buy that because I want her to wear it when she grows up?
But what’s a luxury item if all it is, is a price tag? Heirlooms are supposed to have a story and passed down to tell another story. That’s what makes it special.
And that’s why I began filling up my charm bracelet.
I’ve always admired those Tiffany and Juicy Couture charm bracelet. But I didn’t want to just buy charms that had no meaning. So how did I accumulate enough charms to make it look full and still have room for the next generation?
First I had to find the perfect charm bracelet. It had to be sturdy and big enough to hold a lifetime of charms.
I was so lucky to find a vintage sterling silver charm bracelet on eBay with extra large links for a mere $12. Bigger links=more space.
Then came the fun part, it was time to look for charms. I went online first to look for charms that would remind me of milestones in my life such as the birth of my children, graduations, baby’s first Christmas, first tooth, days at the beach, family vacations, etc.
Browsing through numerous websites I noticed some charms are also described as pendants or “necklace enhancers” (same thing - rolls eyes )
So I began to think of all the necklaces I have in my jewelry box that I don’t wear because obviously I can’t wear it all at once. LOL. Also, each necklace had a story for they were given to me on special occasions or milestones in my life by people that love me like my husband, father, my grandmother etc.
Then I got creative and thought about how people wear rings as pendants. So why not? I can put rings on my charm bracelet as well. I did this because whenever I personally buy jewelry for myself, I buy rings.
Then whenever we’d do something as a family or celebrate, or sometimes just because…I end up finding more charms to put. My daughter and I were making frequent trips to Micheal’s Arts and Crafts store for a while so I let her pick out a couple of charms. She’s 4, and when she’s 18 she’ll always remember how her and I picked out those charms. On a spontaneous road trip to the Outlet Mall on Stateline here in Primm, Nevada We stopped by the Juicy Couture store. My daughter saw the soda can charm and immediately thought of “mommy’s drink” so we added that to the bracelet as well.
There shouldn’t be a limit to what you put on your charm bracelet, just because it isn’t an actual charm doesn’t mean you cant make it a charm. (jump rings are your friend, their cheap too on eBay) So don’t restrict yourself. The bracelet is a work of art. Life is a work of art. Finding the charms to put will come naturally as life moves forward the bracelet gets filled.