Handmade Christmas - Napkin Rings

I ended up making several Christmas presents this year...and although a few of them went through multiple revisions...I am pleased with the results and I think they were well received too.

My sweet grandmother passed away a few years ago and my mom let me look through some of her old jewelry. I have lots of childhood memories of sitting at my grandmother's dressing table and playing dress up with her jewelry with my cousin Joanie. Looking through her jewelry brought back lots of memories...but it also made me think of an article I had seen in Southern Living about how to turn antique jewelry into napkin rings. While I didn't think anybody in our family would wear this jewelry anymore...I was excited to repurpose these precious earrings for Irene's daughters and granddaughters.

I was able to make 6 rings for 6 of us...my mom, my aunt, 3 cousins, and myself.



I couldn't have done this project without Adam. He helped me remove the backs of the earrings...and then helped with all of the gluing too. He may not have had to do too much Christmas shopping this year...but he definitely contributed his fair share to the handmade gifts. :)



After we removed all of the earring backs...I matched the different pieces to the napkin ring I thought looked best...or the napkin ring that worked best! I found the napkin rings at Bed Bath & Beyond. At first I was disappointed that they didn't have 36 of one style of napkin ring...but then I decided to go with 12 each of 3 different styles and it worked out great! I loved the mixed look...and it really helped with the attachment too as some pieces worked better with some rings than others.



We attached some by wire...



And some with a really strong jewelry glue...



We let them set up over night...and then my other sweet helper helped me wrap them all up!



Now, the best part about this gift for me is that I got to give all 6 sets of napkins rings at the same time! My mom and aunt from Georgia...and 3 cousins from Florida...we were all at my Granddaddy's house for Thanksgiving and I encouraged everyone to open them early. I truly think everyone was touched. Granddaddy (who is 99) sat and watched everyone open their gifts but I don't think he understood what they were at first. After a few minutes he said "You mean, those are Irene's jewelry?" When I confirmed they were, he was overwhelmed with emotion for his sweet wife. It was the most touching and heartbreaking thing. Their love was/is truly one of a kind.