My First Tommy Bahama Necklace Purchase and Review

I have walked into the Tommy Bahama store in Crabtree Valley Mall for years wishing I could afford their beautiful beach themed jewelry. Usually it is very much out of my bargain budget of how much I will pay for costume jewelry. The prices can range from $50.00 and up.

In January, I was on a trip to Myrtle Beach, SC and I stopped into the Tangers Outlet that has a Tommy Bahama Outlet store. The outlet store was having a 50% off sale Wow! I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time. Interesting fact about the regular Tommy Bahama stores: They do NOT do markdowns.


This amazing bib style necklace is a statement piece composed of very shiny gold tone and rhinestone sprinkled sea life pendants. The pendants in the shapes of pieces of coral, shells, round shapes with the imprint of sand (?) and other random faux pearls and plastic beads.

It is a little over 18 inches long stretched out. The center pendant (the shell) is an inch long. The extender is 3 inches long with a crystal bead at the end.  Near the lobster clasp is a tiny tag with the initials TB.

This is a back view of the necklace with the clear faceted plastic bead. Side note: My necklace stand is not covered in lint. It is actually the sun reflecting off the velvet cloth on the stand. So annoying. LOL!

I really love this necklace. I will get a LOT of wear out of it. The quality of the piece is impressive. I don't think the gold tone will faint or turn. The rhinestones have a lot of sparkle and are attached very securely. The pendants have a lot of detail and dimension.

A couple of  close up views of the pendants. It is gorgeous! Definitely a standout piece in my collection.

There are only two downsides to the necklace: it is slightly heavy on the neck after wearing it for a while and the pendant do jingle jangle a bit when you move around.  While this is not very annoying, it is a lesson learned from here out to shake a necklace to hear if it will be noisy and feel how comfortable the weight will be around the neck.

I could not believe I was finally able to buy something from this expensive "resort wear and beach home lifestyle" store. This necklace was in an end of the season markdown at a Tommy Bahama outlet store. You might not find this exact piece but I have a link to the store's website at the beginning of this post.

There is no way I would pay $68.00 for a piece of costume jewelry. I was lucky to get this 50% off plus tax. Yes I think the necklace is worth the sale piece. I love the quality and the design of Tommy Bahama jewelry but I am can find similar pieces Versona.  Tommy Bahama is a bit better quality, designs and materials but the price is not what I am willing to pay.

I love it when I get jewelry bags with the purchase of jewelry. Anything that will help me keep my vast jewelry collection organized is appreciated. It was just a thin cloth drawstring bag.

Finally this is a back view of the necklace. It has a nice good quality gold tone finish.

My inner mermaid was definitely drawn to this beach themed jewelry. I am inspired to see if I could make a necklace like this from pieces I can gather from the beach and craft stores.

I have not only a beautiful statement necklace, I have a source of inspiration.


Please let me know what you think of this necklace.

thomasinawords@gmail.com

@ThomasinaWords - Twitter


 Thank you so much for reading my post.


Thomasina

A Necklace Becomes A Bracelet - Quick DIY

A $2.00 Rue21 necklace becomes...

a brand new bracelet!

I redesigned this necklace into a bracelet by simply shortening the chains on both sides.  

Lay the necklace across your wrist and gauge how loose or tight you want the bracelet to be.

Using my jewelry pliers to open the links to remove the excess chain then reattach the lobster clasp and the jump ring to the chain ends.

You now have a new bracelet!

It only took about 5 minutes to complete this super quick DIY. 

The necklace was so inexpensive, I had to buy more than one (LOL!). Layering the two necklaces was an idea at first but I thought of the matching jewelry suites from the 1950s and 1960s and got inspired to make a bracelet.

Do you ever give your jewelry a makeover? Tell me all about it in the comments.

Thanks for reading!

Thomasina

Necklace Of The Day Rue21 Charm Necklace

I love a bargain especially when I shop for costume  jewelry. Rue 21 has weekly markdowns on their clothes and accessories.  

Today's necklace is a double chain multimedia  charm necklace. I got this fun piece for only $2.00. 

A close up picture of the heart and turquiose bead. 

This necklace reminds me of  the charm bracelets that I make from odds and ends of  I take apart or broken pieces of    

jewelry. 

I can imagine each individual charm as having a story or meaning.

Have fun with your accessories. Take them apart and create your own unique piece.

Another post about a necklace is here.

Thank you for reading my post!

Thomasina

A Bracelet That Will Become A Necklace

Bracelet from Versona - green glass beads between two goldtone chains

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know I love a bargin especially when it comes to costume jewelry.

I got this pretty bracelet for only $1.99. 

Another reason I love markdown price is that I make jewelry and I know I could not make this piece for such a small amount of money. The materials alone would cost more than just two dollars.

Why am I turning a bracelet I really like into a necklace? Because the green glass beads scratched my skin when I wore it. The beads are faceted and the points are sharp.

I was so bummed. This was the first time in all my years of wearing costume jewelry that this has ever happened. This was also the first time I've had a problem with Versona jewelry.

No problem. I will turn costume jewelry "lemons" into lemonade by attaching two separate pieces of chain to either side of the bracelet after removing the clasp. 

An instant "necklace" made from pieces of goldtone chain I recycled from old broken necklaces. The stones will not touch my bare skin so the scratchy problem will be solved. 

Lesson learned: Try on and really feel surfaces of the piece to see if it will feel smooth and comfortable if it will be worn on bare skin.

Have you had trouble with any costume jewelry purchases lately? I want to hear your stories. Please comment below.

Thanks for reading my blogpost.

Thomasina

Believe You Can And You're Halfway There

 

Bracelet - silver tone metal rhinestones in the word "Believe" on a black elastic cord.

Love this saying on the display card of a $1.00 bracelet I got from Rue 21 today. 

Believe you can and you are halfway there. This is so true. If you don't think you can do something, you won't. 

Not believing in a goal will cause you to consciously or unconsciously put up obstacles to reaching that goal.

Believing is making the effort to do the hard work to move forward. Believing is pushing through rejection to get to the next step to reaching your dream.

I am glad I just happened to go into Rue 21 to browse their sale section. Who knew I would leave with a cute rhinestone bracelet and words of encouragement.

It felt good to get out of the house after the ice storm melted a bit.  I had a bit of cabin fever. 

The sunlight shining on the ice covered bare branches is beautiful.

My Alias season 4 is intriguing to watch - learning geography and some vocabulary.  More on that in an upcoming post.

Take care, stay warm and be safe.

Thomasina

Express Jewelry Clearance Haul

Here are the items I was lucky enough to find on the almost non existent jewelry clearance sale rack at Express.

Maybe this is a once a year event but their jewelry rarely goes on any type of sale or markdown much less at clearance prices. 

I love the dainty elegant sparkly bracelets and earrings I got. Express has beautiful good quality costume jewelry but it is very overpriced. Everything was priced at $5.99 and then 50% off. 

Gold tone with rhinestones circle black cord with gold beads bracelet. 

Love the gold beads. They add an extra finishing touch. 

This is a very tiny letter "T" goldtone with rhinestones chain bracelet. 

A goldtone rhinestone very small star bracelet with a sky blue cord with gold accent beads. 

This "V" goldtone rhinestone gold chain necklace looks so much better when I put it on. I was kinda unsure about the design of the piece in the store but loved the price. 

I am so glad I got it. "Goes with anything"   simple tiny sized necklace. I love my big statement necklaces but this is a nice change.

Love this infinity or the number 8 necklace. My favorite symbol and number. Anyone remember the School House Rock song with the little girl skating on the pond? Love the song!

The last piece is a faceted plastic bead bracelet with a beautiful thin rhinestone cross.

Part of the cool thing about buying jewelry at Express is getting your purchases put into these mess drawstring small bags. 

Another nice "display" item is the actual card the jewelry is attached to. It is a thick paper that feels like suede.

Of course this nice packaging adds to the high regular price of the items.

It was so exciting after browsing in Express for ages to finally be able to buy something. 

Express jewelry is made from very good quality materials. Love the design of most   of the jewelry but it is usually way out of my price range.

Thank you for reading my blogpost.

Thomasina

If you have questions or comments, you can also email me at Thomasina8@gmail.com

Easy Quick DIY - Turquoise Pendant Necklace

DIY Necklace

The materials I used:

 A cord from a broken necklace.

 A pendant from a long pendant belt . I never liked that belt and hardly ever wore it so I decided to take it apart and make one of the pieces part of a necklace.



Instructions:

 Loop the chain around cord and attach to pendant. I have a set of jewelry pliers I got from Ross. You can use any kind of pliers

That's it you are done! Very simple and very quick.

 If a piece of costume jewelry breaks or I just don't wear it anymore, I will look at the different elements of the jewelry and imagine how I can put it together to make a completely different piece.


With most of my costume jewelry collection, if piece breaks, and I can't put it back together to repair the original piece, I will reuse the parts to make something new and different.

When I am shopping the costume clearance section or thrift shops, I will not only look for items I will immediately wear but for jewelry I can take apart to make new pieces. Just think, the new piece of jewelry is unique. You have just made an original piece no one else will have.

You don't always have to spend money to have "new" things to jazz up your accessory wardrobe. Recycle, Reuse and Remake inexpensive jewelry into a completely new piece of jewelry you designed yourself.

Enjoy your  "new" necklace.

Another easy to do  DIY post -  A framed jewelry necklace holder.

Thank you for reading!

Jewelry Of The Day - Rhinestones And Rock Crystal

Hi Everyone!

It is so good to be back talking to you all again. Finally my tedious computer issues are over. LOL!

These are the three pieces of simple jewelry I wore today. Earrings: clear beads on silver wire, necklace: a big single rhinestone pendant on a silver chain that I got a New York Company and bracelet: a chunky but smooth polished rock crystal piece from Black Market Minerals in Myrtle Beach, SC.

I love going to Black Market Minerals when I visit the beach. The store is full of jewelry made from all kinds of stones and lots of loose stones for display, jewelry making or collecting. The location I visited was in BareFoot Landing.

Thanks for reading!

Earrings Of The Day - Indian Inspired Brass Star And Moon

Love the simplicity of these lightweight brass metal earrings. The delicate linework in the metal adds such detail and interest to this piece. I have had them for ages - notice the fishhooks clasps are different. LOL! They have been loved very much.

These earrings are in the casual category of my jewelry collection. I would throw these on easily with jeans or shorts and a simple top then head out the door.

Indian jewelry is some of the most beautifully crafted jewelry I have ever seen. Intricately crafted and colorful. My goal is to own as many pieces of Indian and Indian inspired pieces as possible.

Thanks for reading!

Necklace of the Day - Red and Dark Red Beads

Red beaded necklace

This necklace reminds me of cherries. It is two colors of red light and dark. I love wearing this with a white or black top and gold earrings.

Jewelry Collection Organizing

The organizing and sorting begins

Jewelry boxes

I have a LOT of jewelry. Every once in a while I have to bring back some order to my collection. My method is to pull everything out, sort, and arrange the pieces as neatly as I can. My collections are not meant to be put away and not used. The more organized my jewelry is, the more creative I can be which leads to using the entire collection.  I can not stand watching you tube videos of people with a HUGE amount of makeup or whatever and it is so obvious they don't use all the items - They just want the shopping thrill and attention of talking about possessing the latest trendy whatever.

Brainstorming new ways to wear all jewelry is a must. I will wear a pretty rhinestone pin even if I am not leaving the house.  Layering necklaces and bracelets is another way I get around to my entire accessory collection. Watching a TV show or film always inspires me to shop my collection and wear a necklace a  way I never thought of before. This is one of the reasons I loved watching Charmed,Veronica Mars and Buffy - the accessories the characters wore with their amazing wardrobe.

Thanks for reading :)

My Silver Pin/Brooch Collectiion

My silver pins and brooches collection on a satin skirt hung on a door.

I started collecting jewelry years ago and I always loved finding pins and brooches. When I watch old black and white movies, I always look at what accessories the actresses are wearing. They would a lot of the times wear the entire jewelry suite: matching earrings, necklace, pin, and bracelet. I would always be inspired to go thrifting or sometimes buy new pieces and try to put them together like those fascinating moving images of fashion.

Unfortunately, for the past couple of years, it has been very difficult to find  vintage jewelry in thrift shops. People are donoring the pieces less often (selling it themselves)  and when they do donate, the pieces are priced a LOT more expensive and sell very fast. I am so thankful I accumulated all the jewelry when they were easier to find and very inexpensive.

Displaying my jewelry is the same as displaying a piece of art in my home. I also try to make a point to wear a different jewelry item every single day. I do not want to just collect things and let them go unused. That is a waste of time and money. Possessions are to be enjoyed.

My gold pin/brooch collection post will be up soon.

Thanks for reading.

Red Velvet Box of Treasures

Red Velvet box with pieces of rhinestone and glass costume jewelry

A red velvet box full of broken pieces of  costume necklaces, brooches, and earrings may not seem like treasure to most people but I think this is the best treasure ever. I brought some of these items already broken to make into "new" jewelry or they are too broken for me to repair on my own. I love how they all look sparkling in this sweet little box. There is so much history and memories I wish I knew the entire life history of all of them. They were loved by their owners then passed on to me.

Do you have a jewelry treasure box?

Thanks for reading

Necklace of the Day

Vintage multistrand green bead choker necklace

This necklace looks amazing worn with a white shirt either a dressy button down or a casual T-Shirt. This thrifted choker has green plastic beads that are round but flat. I wish I could find more necklaces like this in ever color.

Artist Tools of the Trade

Royal Langnickel Acrylic art set

This is one of many art sets that I have accumulated over the years. I have been Spring cleaning my art supplies.

Red Bird painting in my journal - acrylicsI

I painted this red bird to in acrylic paint in my current journal. He is not perfect (I love Cardinals) but at least most people would identify him as an actual bird from the planet earth.

This is my most current journal.

Current art/writing journal with vintage rhinestone drop earrings

I think this is the Black Widow character in the pic on the cover. She was cut out of an old super hero calendar I had. The vintage rhinestone earrings I think I may gotten from a yard sale. I must find the right outfit to wear them with.

Take Care. Talk to you soon :)