Long ago my Mother gave me a necklace that my Great Grandfather had given to my Grandmother Elizabeth for her tenth birthday.  It was a relatively long necklace of ruby red and crystal beads.  I had restrung it and wore it even in high school and college although I took some good-natured kidding about it looking so old-fashioned.  It reminded me of my happy summer visits with Grandmother where I stayed for weeks at a time.  On rare occasion, I even wore it to the office when I wanted something red or long for a plain sweater.  Then over the years, I forgot about the necklace, and it lay tucked away in one drawer or another until I recently ran across it.

When I saw it again, it struck me that as the oldest granddaughter, I may be the only one with something that personal of Grandmother’s.  After she died, Granddad had accidentally set fire to the house, and anything like that would have been lost in the fire.  So I’ve counted up all the granddaughters.  There are eleven of us, and I took the necklace apart to make eleven necklaces, trying to keep in mind the observed tastes of each as much as possible.  There were six or seven red beads each.

The results were quite nice and every one who got these necklaces loved them. Many cried when they called to thank me. It was very touching. I also drew a sketch of Grandmother and made a card to go with the necklace, adding a remembrance of her and explaining where the beads came from. . 

Very soon I will attach a free e-book to our website.  It will explain the minimum materials you might need to learn to make your own necklaces.  I used to throw make- your-own-Christmas-present parties for the ladies at banks where I was consulting.  My lady bankers amazed themselves.  Some of them even went on to design for themselves and others.  Often they went home and took a new look at what they had tucked away in their own drawers.  Alas, some became as addicted to second-hand stores and bead shops as I am.  Guilty!