I have had a Pandora bracelet and a few charms for years...and have never cleaned them! Now that I'm more inspired to style and collect charms and jewelry I've also been watching a lot of videos and learning more about how to care for them. Sound familiar? Yep, that's my pattern...become passionate about something, learn everything about it, research and study it to death, collect it, play with it, and then care for it. :) This time, it's Pandora! (Past obsessions include scrapbooking, stamping, cooking, nutrition, mixology, Elvis, Disney, quilting, sewing machines, fitness, cycling...just to name a few!). The passion-of-the-moment may wax and wane but it always remains a part of my life in some form. I do not see this as a bad thing because I am always learning and growing, having fun, and making new friends along the way...
It was definitely time to clean up and polish some of my older charms. The dirt and tarnish isn't something I would even have noticed or cared about until I watched a video sharing the cleaning process. Even a light polishing brings up the brilliant shine on silver and a thorough soak, gentle brush, and finishing polish with a special cloth makes all the jewelry dazzling.
I followed the instructions in the videos below and was so pleased with how my charms looked. The Ugly Duckling swan had the most dramatic transformation and I hadn't even realized he wasn't actually supposed to be black! I won't have to do this complete process too often but will make sure to polish lightly with the Pandora cloth on a frequent basis (I'm thinking once a week depending on how many times I wear my bracelet).
Since I can't get a branded Pandora storage jewelry box (no longer available) I have been putting together a system myself. It started with the storage trays and container with styling tray I shared in November and now I've added this compartment tray. I plan to use it to house the charms I have available when starting over with my bracelet styling. I also picked up this Bead Landing bracelet bead design board from Michaels (only cost me $3.49) to hold the charms in place as I play around with the order selection. I like that I can add them to the channel and they won't topple over so I can get a good idea of how they'll look when on the actual bracelet. It's possible to go a step further and arrange them in the appropriately sized bracelet-shaped circle to easily estimate how many beads will fit. I haven't tried it yet but once my freshly washed jewelry has dried, I'll reassemble the bracelet in a new arrangement for the week ahead.
I am having so much fun with this and even though I don't have too many to work with compared to some of the serious collector's on YouTube, I really appreciate the charms I do have. Taking care of my things is half the enjoyment and playing with them is another!
Can you tell me are you using a stitch regulator on your janome 1600P? I have one and am having a lot of trouble with the free motion foot working, it's breaking the threads. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Vickey
Posted by: Vickey Black | January 14, 2018 at 04:38 PM