Ivy & Gold Handcraft

Category: Custom Jewelry

Violin Bridge Necklaces

I was approached a few months ago by the lovely Michele to create some pieces for her violin students that were headed off to college this fall.  She was looking to make violin bridge necklaces.  Now, what exactly is a violin bridge?  It is an arched piece of material, generally constructed out of wood which holds the strings of an instrument above the fingerboard.  They also aid in transferring the vibrations of the strings to the soundboard in order to produce an audible sound. Out of all of the violins and violas, and guitars I’ve seen in my life I’ve never noticed this piece.  So, I had Michele send me over some pictures to get me acquainted what I would be making. As soon as I saw pictures of the bridges I knew that I was going to love working on this project! I found a couple really great examples of different bridges for the proposed design of the necklaces.  Michele chose which one she liked best and requested that I make two more necklaces, one for her to have and another for a friend. Michele was kind enough to do a little e-mail interview with me after the pieces ...

I got the World Cup blues…

This was my first year watching the world cup.  I mean, I knew it existed but, I never really got into it.  I mostly understood the sport, I had no problem watching it and “getting it”, unlike good old American Football. Try all you want I will never truly grasp it. When my husband Jeff and I started dating a few years ago, I quickly learned that the premier league schedule would dictate the course of our weekend plans.  Jeff is a massive, die hard Tottenham Hotspurs fan.  Maybe some women would get annoyed with this, and I’ll admit there were (and still are) times it was kind of annoying but I made a decision: if you can’t beat them, join them.  I started watching games and learned a little bit. Jeff taught me about the players, histories of certain teams, club songs etc.  I even got more familiar with the rules of the game. Although, the whole “Off-Sides” rule still really puzzles me from time to time. After a year and a half of watching Premier League Soccer, I decided it was time to choose a team.  Naturally, you’d think I’d choose my husband’s team, the Spurs.  Which I did ...

We’re all a little weird

“We are all a little weird, and life’s a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love” Back in April, my cousin Katie’s husband, John, contacted me and said he wanted to have something special made for their first year anniversary coming up on June 1st.  John, being the very thoughtful person that he is, wanted to incorporate paper which is the traditional first anniversary gift.  As you might know, I don’t generally work with paper too often, but I was completely open to the challenge. Now, I realize that it doesn’t sound practical, paper jewelry.  My first thought was necklace… I could draw something cute… put it in a handmade locket… BRILLIANT. Then I remembered, Katie can’t wear necklaces.  No matter what the material it always irritates her skin. I begin to panic, and I turn to John for some help.  He agrees that a necklace isn’t a good idea and he thinks a ring would be best.  A lightbulb goes off… Katie is an English teacher, she loves reading.  I can put a quote on the ring in paper.  ...