Over the Kitchen Counter: Angie's Place for Cooking and Crafts: My Pandora Bracelet: Purple for Mom

I have been 'working' on a purple Pandora bracelet in honour of my mom...for three years! Purple was her favourite colour and when I picked up a CZ purple pavé clasp bracelet in Vegas years ago I knew it would be the perfect one to use for this project. I had gathered several gorgeous charms to suit the colour scheme and played around with many design variations. I had two Muranos, one dark and one light (Purple & Dark Purple Shimmer), and the lovely Regal Beauty charm with purple enamel for the centrepiece. The retired Whimsical Lights and Ocean Wave were both excellent additions and I thought I might include some kind of elephant charm (mom collected elephant ornaments and decor pieces).

Once I started putting all the charms together the bracelet looked great but was simply too tight. The snake chain was new and stiff and the extra Murano glass beads and heavier accent charms were just too bulky. I removed some, re-arranged and still wasn't happy with the result. I never wore the bracelet and was disappointed I just couldn't get it right.

I finally had some time last month to pull out this purple project and figure out what I could do to make use of it. I think buying the purple leather bracelet gave me the idea to separate the charms and split the design into two. I also decided to break up the mega violet colour scheme with a complimentary Peridot green and a few charms I'd been able to buy pre-loved were perfect for the job. I also gave up having both Muranos on the bracelet at the same time and will swap them out or use one in a different design.

I was so pleased with the final style and absolutely love wearing the set now. They are comfortable and beautiful, reminding me of mum whenever I glance down. We just got back from a quick trip to Florida and I was finally able to score the last missing charms I've been looking for. I wanted a pair of Purple Petite Facets, gorgeous accent charms I'd never previously invested in (preferring to spend my budget on character beads instead) but sadly, they are retired and now hard to find. A small, local shop-in-shop in the town where we stayed had two and I was thrilled to finally add them to my leather design. This bracelet theme is now complete and I am so happy to wear them often. Sometimes with creative projects it turns out well to shelve them for a while until inspiration hits and the stars align, resulting in a renewed passion for the design process and a beautiful finale, whether it be a quilt, a bracelet, or another work of art!