Family Photo Jewelry Ideas

Dear Friends,

Where is the year going? "The hurrier I go, the behinder I get!"  Today I'm sharing some of the designs I've made from some family pictures.  The group picture below is a one of my sister, Wendy, and I with friends on our 4th and 5th birthdays.  You see, we are "Irish twins" for about 3 weeks a year. My birthday is in August, and Wendy's is in July, so we aren't quite 12 months apart.  My mother would have one birthday party for both of us somewhere between our birthdays.  My sister is 3rd from the left and I'm 5th from the left.  We were all in our "mommy" dress-ups and brought our baby dolls and baby strollers.

I etched the metal and soldered a frame and poured resin over the picture and added the little flower and butterfly beads.  One of the nice things about resin is that you can add little doodads to the picture.

Here's are examples of two different pictures of my mother, Shirlee.  The top is one when she is about 18 months old sitting on top of a round table, looking into a large fish bowl.  Because I used a beveled glass tile, the reflection actually casts a little light onto the bowl.  It's hard to see in the photo but it's a nice affect.

The next picture is my Mother about 2 years old.  I etched the back of the metal frame.  On the front, I soldered the small frame, poured resin and added the rhinestones.  I stamped the word "sweet" at the top. The five little pearls represent us 5 daughters.  I finished it with a sterling silver chain. The pendant is about 2 1/2 inches with the pearls.

Always use a LASER copy of a photo, not the real photo.  I use heavy gauge packaging tape to cover both sides of my photo leaving a small edge around the photo to seal it for the resin.  I make sure the edge around the photo is sealed by running a credit card or my fingernail along the photo to press out any bubbles and the edge to keep the resin from seeping inside. I enjoy making jewelry with family pictures to give as gifts.

I receive commissions to make jewelry for people with their family photos of loved ones who are dear to them.  This is my favorite type of commission work.

Consider making jewelry with copies of your family photos in them.  They make great keepsakes. 

Have a happy day and thanks for stopping by!

Yours truly,

Julie