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A Family Heirloom

I know from emails and Facebook status updates that lots of people purchased, set up and decorated their Christmas trees this past weekend. We bought ours last week, in fact, but we won’t be putting it up until the end of this week for a couple of reasons. One is our wood stove, which dries out a tree faster than you can say Merry Christmas. The other is that Hannah begged us to wait for her to get home.

Jeweled Christmas Tree 1 blog size

I don’t mind waiting, though, because we have this beautiful jeweled Christmas tree to enjoy in the meantime.

My mom started this tree when I was around 10, I think. She scoured flea markets and yard sales and thrift shops for months, purchasing only very special earrings and pins to use as the decorations. After she amassed her collection she cut off the backs of the pieces and filed them smooth. In the meantime my dad cut out the background plywood and shape of the tree and my mom glued white and green velvet on those pieces respectively.

Jeweled Christmas Tree 3 blog size

And then the fun began. She set up the velvet covered tree on the dining room table and laid out all that jewelry beside it. My brothers, my mom and dad, even my grandparents, all took part adding and subtracting and rearranging that jewelry until we got it just right. It was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle and everyone in the family seemed to have an opinion on the placement of the pieces. I can still remember the debate over whether to put those green pieces on the trunk of the tree. And I remember when my mom went to her own jewelery box and got that big round pin that it’s in the center of the tree and decided to sacrifice it for the project.

Jeweled Christmas Tree 4 blog size

When I was a kid those intertwined pinkish hearts were my favorite. These days, though, I keep looking at it and seeing new favorites and thinking about what a fun and satisfying project this was.  My mom was so proud of it and it always hung over the piano in our living room – which was especially nice for me since I was the only one who played the piano and I loved looking at it while I practiced.

Jeweled Christmas Tree 2 blog size

It’s hanging in my dining room this holiday season and it’s the first year I’ve ever hung it in my own home. It has brought back such great memories of my family and especially my mom.

Oh Christmas Tree, indeed.

This Post Has 65 Comments

  1. Carole, what a beautiful way to showcase vintage and not so vintage jewelry! Your mom’s creativity is truly inspiring! The best part is everyone had a hand in the creation. Very special!

  2. That is an amazing piece! A real treasure. Thanks for giving us a peek and sharing the background story.

  3. Wow, that is wonderful, and I think I may have just found a use for the big box of jewlery my mother has collected from various relatives over the years!

  4. Lucky you!! What a beautiful piece of art work!! I am a very sentimental person and love items that people have created with love!! I am sure it looks great hanging in your home 🙂

  5. Very unique and beautiful indeed! And the story and memories
    behind it is priceless. Thank you for sharing it with everyone.

  6. I have one of those trees that my boys’ grandmother made for us. I love it! I need to go find it, it’s been in storage for a couple of years.

    Love your jewelry tree!

  7. The tree is beautifully put together with jewels and memories. You also have something you can pass down to Hannah when the time comes. It’s a lovely heirloom!

  8. Tears. Thank you for sharing this story! And the snowfall is delightful.
    Our tree is in the house and we decorate this evening. I appreciate your Christmas memory – I had planned on really downsizing the decorating due to a trip out of town for the holiday – but my girls reminded me that this is when we are making their memories. You just confirmed that for me. Happiest day, Carole.

  9. What a wonderfully creative idea! I love it 🙂 I might just start going to yard sales again, I’m thinking the girls would really love to make something similar!

  10. That is beautiful, inventive, smart, clever and talented of your mom. Fantastic project! Quite the person.

  11. My grandmother made something very similar and it currently hangs in my Mom and Dad’s house. It is a very special family treasure.

  12. Well, that is awesome. People either seem to love those things or hate them (I’m in the love camp, myself) — but yours, WOW, to have such memories attached… that is truly awesome!! That’s what it’s all about!

  13. Wow! That’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen! What a treasure and what memories you must have when you take it out each year. Thanks Carole!

  14. That is truly a treasure! What a wonderfully innovative and creative family project. I’ve never seen anything similar. It’s beautifly done.

  15. That really is the most lovely family heairloom. I love the story of how it was put together and all the consideration to get it just right.

  16. What a beautiful Christmas heirloom, Carole–and what special memories you have of your family. My grandmother has one just like it–decorated with jewels (and “jewels”) from both sides of my dad’s family–it’s one of my favorite things about the holidays. As a little girl, I was fascinated with the sparkles. I guess I still am.

  17. Carole, that’s so beautiful. I’ve never seen one like it. I’d love to make one. What a special memory of your mom. I can’t wait to see it.

  18. What a unique treasure! I think that those kinds of special decorations and ornaments are part of the best part of the holidays because they remind of us those we love and the special memories.

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