Grace Kelly Bracelet Challenge

The Grace Kelly Bracelet Challenge 

I should start at the beginning.

Any "Castle" fans out there?

Our whole family is addicted to the ABC TV Show "Castle".  

If you haven't seen it, I envy you because you can start from the beginning 

and watch about 150 episodes and discover the delights 

of watching Castle and Beckett and Company 

cavorting through crime scenes in NYC together.

It's funny and  interesting and it's creative and fast paced.

We somehow only discovered it this winter 

and we have been binge watching the early seasons.

It's great.

Anyway, it was several weeks ago when Darling Daughter (DD) and I were watching 

the Castle episode based upon the Alfred Hitchcock movie "Rear Window" 

starring Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly. 

It occurred to us that DD had never seen the original movie 

and so, through the magic of technology and our fancy smart TV, 

we were able to push a few buttons and watch it right then and there.

DD liked the movie well enough, but we were distracted and soon became obsessed 

by Grace Kelly's wardrobe and more specifically, 

the fantastic pearl and charm bracelet she wore with that gorgeous green suit.

It is hard to find a clear picture of the bracelet 

but it looks like about six strands of pearls 

and a half a dozen large, clunky charms and lockets.

She was sooooo gorgeous in this movie.  

And she wore the whole fabulous wardrobe so perfectly. 

Sigh.

But that bracelet!  

We searched the internet to see if we could find one, but to no avail.

We did learn that we weren't the only ones who were smitten by the bracelet.  

There are scores of photos and style articles about it and lots of blog posts, too.

Add me to the list.

We talked about making our own bracelets 

and decided to go to the flea market together someday to find the parts.

Fast forward.

Kane County Flea Market, this past weekend.

Darling Daughter spies some vintage pearl bracelets 

and an old jewelry box filled with gold charms in the same antique booth. 

Her wonderfully young brain remembers- the Grace Kelly Bracelet Challenge.

It's On!

(We watch a lot of HGTV)

We comb through the jewelry and find the perfect strings of pearls 

and the perfect sized charms 

and we squeal (silently) together when the dealer tells us 

we can have them all for $12.00!

The bracelet was actually very easy to put together.

I've made a few bracelets over the years, so I knew just what to do.

You can read about some of them here and here and here....

I attached the charms to the clasp ends of the bracelet using jump rings

 - it helped to start with one really pretty bracelet and clasp-

and I attached the pearl bracelets together too.

The original bracelet in the movie has six strands of pearls 

and we thought about buying one long string of pearls and wrapping it six times, 

but DD is petite and we thought the six strands were too much for her.

The charms we chose have a coin theme going, even the sand "dollar"...

Here's our version:

The pearl clasp is perfect 

and the charms all bunch together well when it's closed.

Finding the "B" initial charm at the same booth told us it was meant to be.

The large coin is probably a reproduction of an Emperor Napoleon Franc.

I say probably, but we prefer to think it is genuine and worth a small fortune. 

That's way more fun! 

DD envisions herself wearing this bracelet 

to Formals at school and to work this summer.

I think it turned out very well.

Fit for my princess, for sure.




Linking to:
Inspire Me Monday at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch
The Scoop at Cedar Hill Farmhouse
Knick of Time Tuesday at Knick of Time
Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Through Life
Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style