Sunday, August 29, 2010

Creepy Crawlies and Scary Stuff Treasury

Halloween has to be one of my most favorite holidays. In honor of that, I've created a treasury of things that are beautiful, quirky, and maybe a little bit scary. Please check it out and visit some of my Etsy friends. Of note, in keeping with the idea of promoting other artists, none of these items are mine. Instead, they are other talented artisans and designers from Etsy:

Generated using Treasure Trove by packagery.com

Monday, August 16, 2010

My Fascination with Beautiful Lockets

I have been in love with lockets since I was a little girl and received one for my birthday.... which I promptly lost. I couldn't believe it! My special locket with its tiny diamond was gone. I always wondered what secrets could a locket hold? What photos might I have placed inside, or would I have had it engraved with a special poem? I love the fact that a locket can hold a photo, a message, or a scented piece of felt with your favorite perfume or essential oil. The possibilities for personalizing a locket are endless.

In past years, lockets were used to carry medicine, poisons, keepsakes, good luck charms, hair, ashes, and most recently pictures. They ranged in styles from very simple metal designs to ornate shapes with seed pearls, gemstones, diamonds, and inlays. In Victorian times, the locket was associated more with fashion purposes than holding keepsakes, and monogramming and engraving became popular ways of personalizing lockets.

Recently, with the advent of certain movies, such as Alice in Wonderland, and the rising of Steampunk and Victorian fashions, lockets are once again gaining in popularity. I've recently been listing quite a few lockets in both my Etsy and Artfire shops.


This is a locket that was featured on The Perfect Palette Blog. It was in a grouping of items called "blueberry," featuring shades of blue. Link here: http://theperfectpalette.blogspot.com/2010/05/blueberry-bliss-palette-of-shades-of.html




This is a scent locket! I just love this idea. Rather than wearing a scent on your skin, a dab of essential oil, a bit of perfume, or even wax shavings from a candle or Scentsy tart can be placed on felt or a piece of coffee filter and placed into the locket. The heat of your body then allows the scent to gently be released without being overwhelming. This is a great item for someone who has difficulty wearing scents because of their body chemistry or allergies. Wearing scent in a locket allows the lovely scent to be released without the worry of a reaction.

I have a nice selection of lockets in both my Etsy and Artfire shops. These include lockets from the tiniest size to large lockets that can hold larger photos. If you are like me and have a fascination with lockets, then you will love seeing these!