My Talisman, the first Assemblage Necklace, and my dear Vintage Photo Booth Photos for You to Use!

my dear sweet talisman

She smiles and says, something is coming...it is a secret that I can hardly keep, but it's good. It's really really good.Wait for it. Just wait. and keep going. Do what brings you joy. Because you only get this one wild and crazy life. This is not a dress rehearsal.  Hold on to your child-like wonder, your creativity, your smile.

I found the vintage photo booth picture of her while dumpster diving after the residents of a small house fire began clearing their basement. I spent hours that day foraging for old books, photographs, antique lace and scraps...it was the most amazing "dumpster dive" I had ever encountered. (and I've had many. My children will unabashedly attest.) I went back for one more look when the throw away frenzy came to an end...and there she was...at the very, very bottom of the bin. A bit wet. A bit dirty. A little lost and forgotten.
I took her home.
I began making my assemblage jewelry a few years ago after I purchased a huge 20 pound box of junk jewelry parts from Ebay. I made that necklace first, and sealed her sweetness inside of it.
She is my talisman, when i feel the prying fingers of doubt and dismay pulling at my spirit. I wear her, and she brings me joy. She reminds me that anonymous wholesale or warmly known, the work of my hands will still be out there...touching lives...bringing conversation or compliments, or making women smile at themselves in the mirror. That's what it is all about, she tells me. It's about touching lives. It's about what we leave behind. it's about bringing joy and helping you feel pretty and brides feel beautiful on their most special day~

one of lovely "my brides" Celeste, wearing Joyous earrings. click image to see

So sweet that she has the same beautiful smile that the girl in my talisman has...and her photo and sweet words came along just when I needed reassurance that what I do for a living is significant and relevant in this world.

Ann, vintage photo booth photo

Would you like to make something with some of my collection of vintage photo booth photographs? The collection below was given to me by a sweet friend recently. They were all neatly displayed in a large photo album. Each photo booth photo was labeled underneath with the name of the person. I gently removed them from the album one by one, and wrote the name on the back of each so that I could know their names and return them to the proper spot in the book. I adore these types of photographs, and have been collecting them for years.
The one for my talisman necklace is the original photograph that I sealed with resin. You may use these for a project as well, but be sure to seal the photograph with something like matte medium before using the resin, so the photograph doesn't bleed.

Bernice, vintage photo booth picture

Stas, vintage military photo booth picture

Stella, vintage photo booth photo

Frances, vintage photobooth picture

Elsie, vintage photo booth photo

I just adore old photographs and my collection is ever growing. I have so many more of these tiny photos! If you'd like, I can email you the files. I'd love to share more of them with you.
Here is a collection of more. I scanned them at a high resolution, so they should print well.

My address is sacred_cake (at) yahoo [dot] com. Just send me an email and ask for more.
If you have any questions about how to make a necklace like mine, I'm happy to oblige.

Hey, have I told you lately how beautiful you are? In so many ways...
and I'm happy you are here today.

 Blessings and Light,
Jennifer Valentine of Sacred Cake