Use Old Jewelry on Layouts

This cross pendant (above) was a gift from a Russian friend.  I used to wear it on a regular basis.  I even wore it for my wedding; it was my "something blue."  However, over the years I find myself wearing it less and less.  Even though I seldom wear it, I do not want this treasured pendant just sitting at the bottom of my jewelry box, collecting dust.  I have been keeping my eye out for a way to incorporate this cross into a craft project, and the opportunity finally presented itself when I created this page, "Restoration" (below).

Supplies: blue cardstock (TPC), white cardstock (American Crafts), bittersweet cardstock (Colorbok), rub-ons (Heidi Grace), cross patterned paper (Flair Designs), geometric patterned paper (My Mind's Eye), journaling block (Bo-Bunny Press), circular page accents (Bottle Cap Inc.), butterfly sticker (Upikit), ribbon (Berwick Offray), pen (Zig), corner punch (Creative Memories).  This page was created for palette #53 on the Color Room site.

The journaling reads: "During Soviet times religion was officially illegal, so Russia's many beautiful churches languished.  But now they're being restored to their former glory--inside and out--which is great to see.  The church with the support beams around it is from the 12th century!"    You'll find a close-up photo of the journaling block below.

 Before I go, here are a few more notes about this layout:

*These photos were all taken in 1995 in the city of Novgorod, which is a bit south of Saint Petersburg (formerly Leningrad).  If you ever visit Russia on vacation, and if you like old churches, I highly recommend a side-trip to Novgorod.  By now the restoration of these churches is probably complete, and I am sure they must look absolutely stunning.

* I made my own patterned paper by applying leftover alpha-numeric rub-ons to the white cardstock.  This was a win-win situation, in that I used up some odd, leftover rub-ons (you know, those letters like X, Q, and Z, that always seem to be left over) and jazzed up my plain white cardstock at the same time.

*Since I could not be sure whether the cross pendant is photo-safe, I made sure not to let it touch my photos.  This particular pendant is very light, so I was able to adhere it with 3L adhesive tabs.  If you try using vintage jewelry on your pages, you may need to use a stronger adhesive to adhere heavier items.

I am so happy that my special pendant is no longer languishing in the bottom of my jewelry box.  Instead, it has a place of honor on one of my scrapbook layouts.  Thanks for looking!