Sunday, September 12, 2021

Vintage Costume Jewelry Tree Of Life : Creative Upcycling With A Personal Connection

A shadow box display of a loved one's jewelry can make a sweet memorial - just as all of the other ideas we looked at in my blog post from 2012 entitled, Vintage Costume Jewelry: Upcycled & Repurposed.

Once I shared the images from that post, the reader comments and photos poured in - especially on one particular project: a "vintage jewelry tree of life" framed, collage-like display of a collection of vintage jewelry. 

Whether you use your own vintage jewelry odds and ends that may have been passed down to you from your mother, grandmother, aunts or other relatives - or you use old jewelry that you've picked up here and there at thrift stores or flea markets - the final result is beautiful. 

Intricate, colorful, and full of different textures and shapes, I am sold on these vintage jewelry trees. One thing that really impressed me with these is how the folks below used innovation and creativity to each add their own little touches to their trees to really personalize them and make them their own. Be inspired! 

This jewelry tree was created by Lynn Racz. Lynn says, "Most of my jewelry on this means something to me. I went to garage sales and found a lot that I cut apart."
So pretty Lynn!



Jewelry tree by Linda Spitzer who said, "I used heavy cardboard...and a quilting hoop covered with leather!"
Great ideas Linda!


For this tree made by Terry Grochola, Terry said she started with a tree of life that she purchased at a craft store and used that as a base to build her design upon.
I love your use of pearls and the Victorian flair Terry!



 Jewelry tree made by Loraine French. Loraine said she used an aluminum circle as the base and covered it with cardboard so that she could adhere the jewelry to it. She also painted the aluminum green and covered some areas with real tree bark she found in her backyard and painted it as well. Great use of items you had on hand Loraine!



This pretty tree was made by Clarina Talarico who adhered her jewelry bits inside of a picture frame. She said it is "a living tree for her sister." Lovely!



This jewelry tree made by Valerie features a different perspective and dangling beaded drops.
Creative and eye catching!



Wendi made this tree and said, "I love this! I turned it into an embroidery project and mounted it in a shadow box frame. So many sentimental pieces that I will never wear but can now enjoy seeing on a daily basis!"
Wendi I love your embroidered details!



This jewelry tree of life was made by Bonnie Brinks who said, "I made a keepsake tree of life with my mom's jewelry in a shadow box." I love the watchband tree trunk Bonnie!



This jewelry tree was made by Anna Starks. Anna said, "This is my take on a tree of life. It is in a shadow box. I love love this type of art" Anna I love how you used chain and buttons and the little touches of the butterfly in the sky with the stars and hummingbird!


I hope you enjoyed this creative inspiration and maybe you will want to create your own jewelry tree of life. Send me a great photo of your project and you could be featured on Dishfunctional Designs blog! 











Article copyright ©Laura Beth Love 2021 and may not be republished in print or other media without express written permission from the author. For any link updates or corrections leave correct info in comment area.