Mom's Brooch Collection

My Mom collected brooches, and I've kept them for years and years on this velvet pillow. The other night I decided to take them all off of the pillow, and gave them a good wash in warm soapy water and scrubbed them with an old toothbrush. Some are awful, some are really beautiful, but they are all special because Mom bought them all. One at a time she found them. This was before garage sales were popular in the city, so I'm not sure where they came from. One I made, the letter "I" for Irene I cross stitched, at the bottom of the first photo. I remember she wore the cameos.

They cleaned up really well. The sparkle and shine doesn't really show up in the photos.

I mounted a few on a linen like fabric in this frame, I painted and distressed. The rest are in a cookie tin, waiting to be reborn in another craft project.

Funny, these brooches, though they were Mom's, make me think of a woman I worked with long ago. Her name was Claire. We worked together at a Savings and Loan (A bank, for you youngsters) where we wore a lime green uniform. (The seventies were like that!) Well, Claire was much older than me, and wanted to set me straight. I was Mother Nature's daughter and wore no makeup, with very long and perfectly straight hair. (Obviously trying to hide the lime green polyester uniform) Claire thought me to be very unprofessional looking. She worked the lime green uniform, with her bright red hair perfectly coiffed and sprayed, and wearing a different brooch every day. God Bless Her, if Claire is still alive, she is well into her hundreds. I bet she never gave up that look, the bright red hair and the colorful brooches.

Well friends, the Bears won, HOORAY!, the snow is falling again and I have some projects to finish. Looks like a great day.