This is my summer uniform for my wrist lately--or something similar to this. I have a slight obsession with bangles and a slightly bigger obsession with jewelry from special places and times. All of these pieces are from travels and remind me of a specific person, place or time frame... From left to right: the leather bracelet with the green eye is from Prague where Anni spent a semester in undergrad, the three cloisonne bangles are from the Philippines- my aunt Preci picked them out for me and my grandpa brought them back (I didn't even know Preci at the time, which made it especially exciting and mysterious to receive presents of jewelry from her), the wood-wrapped bangle is from a fruit stand in Kauai which was one of my favorite memories of that trip--we all rented cars and just explored the island via road trip, stopping at all kinds of interesting-looking fruit stands etc... The gold bangle was my grandma's- she always had the coolest treasures and saw the free-spirited hippie in me before I even hit middle school. She left me the most unique and beautiful jewelry that she collected over the years at flea markets and antique shops (because she must have known that she would have a granddaughter someday that would treasure them). The last two are from my recent trip to China- the red one is red coral and was purchased by me in a silk market in Beijing, the last are prayer beads from the Llama monastery in Beijing-they are blessed by a monk (which I'm not Buddhist, but it is still cool).
Not pictured: two delicate gold bangles that I inherited from my lola when she died. My mom said she got them in Taiwan and they were the prettiest, simple little bangles that fit my tiny wrists perfectly. They reminded me of her because she was also very delicate. Plus they were from Taiwan which is a place I have never been, but makes me think of her as an adventurous and fascinating woman. These bangles were in my purse when it was stolen out of my car when I was in dance practice. But I still remember them...and maybe I will go to Taiwan someday.
Ok, so there is a less than comprehensive overview of my arm candy. In other news, I came across a cool how-to on making a leather passport holder
here. I'm a little clumsy for this kind of project, but it would be nice to try it...maybe I could paint the front...
