Antique Jewelry Lampshade

I’m so fortunate to have a great collection of antique costume jewelry given to me by my two Grandmothers, my Mother and my husband’s Grandmothers. They all knew how I love sparkly-pretty-girly things and for years, I’ve made it into an antique jewelry lampshade which sits on my dressing table.

After I caught a good glimpse of the lamp in the sunlight the other day, I saw that it was in desperate need of a new shade and all the jewelry needed a good cleaning. So one by one, I took each piece off, cleaned it and put it back on the new shade.

To anyone else it would have been a chore, but I thought it was great fun to look at each piece and remember where it came from. The turkey pin was bought for me by my Mother in an antique store in DeFuniak Springs. I wear it at Thanksgiving, of course. One of the sweater clips is below the turkey, and it’s one of my favorite things from the collection to wear.

The owl is probably my least favorite, but it’s still pretty cute. It came from my husband’s paternal Grandmother. Not only does he look a little goofy, but it’s also really heavy. I wore the stick pin on the top right when I was in high school. It came from my maternal Grandmother.

“Ear-Bobs,” as my grandmothers called them are clipped to the bottom and top of the shade. I’ve had a few  converted for my pierced ears, because there is no hell on earth like having the blood squeezed from your ear lobes by heavy clip-on earrings! How did ladies stand it? I tried to wear a pair to church one Sunday and almost passed out from ear-throbbing! People around me thought I was caught up in the moment, when in reality, I was having  jewelry trauma.

These photos show up better when the lamp is turned off, but in person, it really sparkles when lit.

There are two collar clips (above) that I haven’t really figured out how to work. I’m not even 100% sure that they are collar clips. I just don’t know where else they would go. They don’t really “clip,” but they just sort of hang there. Too big for earrings, I’m just not sure what they are. But they’re beautifully made, whatever they may be.

I’m so glad I finally got around to cleaning everything and changing the shade. Instead of hiding these treasures away in a box, I get to enjoy them every day and remember all the ladies I loved (and present tense – “love” for my own Mom!)  who shared their pretty things with me.