KCC: Kate's Favorite Things! CHARM BRACELETS!

This week we're keeping Kate's broadcasts short and sweet so she can get right into fulfillment and shipping for your orders! We are so thankful for the orders we get, and we're so thankful for your patience as our dynamic duo works so hard to get them out the door. To help out, this week we decided to plan a week based on some of Kate's absolute faves. Enjoy!!

Thursday, 5.14.19: Charm Bracelet Day!

Kate SO loves charm bracelets, she has even dubbed herself the Queen of them! Today we're focusing on this style of bracelet...and with good reason! Janice has created a new charm bracelet project!! But first, let's take a walk down memory lane...

A few years ago we did a blog post showcasing the charm collections of Kate and former beadshop employees Cara and Grace. Find that post here! It's a great peek at quite the collection.

Kate's now on her 6th charm bracelet. Collecting from a young age, charms have been picked up along the way and added over the years...big life moments, vacations, "just because," all commemorated in jewelry!

Drea and her family also have some charm bracelets to love. In fact, Drea's grandmother had quite the charm bracelet...so many charms that it was too heavy to be worn anymore, and so it was made into a necklace! Among others, she had a charm for each of her children with their name and birthdate, then one for each child's spouse, one for each grandchild, one for each grandchild's spouse, and one for each great-grandchild! Well over 40 charms...no wonder it was so heavy!
Drea's own collection started when she was a young girl, thanks to her mom, who of course has had one throughout her whole life, too. It's a shared family tradition passed down from one generation to the next, as we each add charms to our own chains to remember life's incredible moments. It's a tradition we all love here at beadshop!

Making your own charm bracelet is easy-peasy! Janice has a beaded version to share with us today, all in silvery shades with a bumblebee charm at the center.

When Janice created it, the world was in the beginning of the worldwide spread of COVID-19 and everyone started staying home to help stop transmission and save lives. “I had a very strong reaction to how much life was different 'Before' the outbreak; the old way of life and how busy we all were, how crowded life was…and then came 'After.' Suddenly there was quiet and birds were everywhere and the air was clean. I felt an internal need to express how I was feeling and it came out in this bracelet, which I treasure.”

During the live broadcast (see it below) Kate showed a copper colorway to make a different version of Janice's silver Before project. Find those ingredients here:

Cleo 3- Antique Copper
22G Wire- Antique Copper
Copper Chains- Rustico, Smooth Sailing, and Leafy or Teardrop Bauble
8mm English Cut- Green Aqua Mercury
5mm Rondelle- Metallic Mix
6mm Melons- Blue Turquoise Picasso
Smooth Drops- Luster Green Mix
Charms- Oasis, Little Bitty Drop, Hand of Hibiscus, Little Earth, Organic Bee, Hibiscus Drop
4mm Jump Rings- Antique Copper
2" Headpins- Antique Copper