Did you play dress-up as a kid? Think back... Waaaay back (speak for yourself Erica!)… You may be forgetting how much fun it was. Fascination with clothes and ornamentation starts from a young age and first expresses itself through play. Kate Spade said "As far as I'm concerned, playing 'dress-up' begins at the age of five, and never truly ends." I agree with Kate, and would like to suggest that playing dress-up starts even younger. As soon as my kids could walk, they were putting our shoes on to bumble around in, happy as clams.

One of my earliest memories of dressing-up involves going through my Mom and Grandma's collection of costume jewelry. Even the name 'costume jewelry' sounds fun. When I was a tad older, my Mom would buy my sister and I birthstone jewelry for our birthdays and Christmas, so we had our own jewelry to admire and play dress-up with. We were both born in December. Lucky her!

This is where my inspiration for my birthstone ring print collection came from - my early fascination with vintage jewelry and a wish to bring an age old tradition into the 21st century. I decided to put a fun, inexpensive, illustrative take on it. Why not play dress-up with our space, and our walls? Which in this cozy, indoor-intensive, sweatpanted era, seems to make a lot of sense… After all, if we don't nurture this innate need to play and experiment with both what we put on ourselves and what we surround ourselves with, our surroundings can become stuffy and stifling. Making these prints brought me joy and a sense of nostalgia. I love big, colourful jewelry - not unlike what I grew up playing with - and thumbed through vintage jewelry ads for inspiration. I played around, choosing the ring settings and manicuring each of their nails (see the full process in my Instagram story highlights). I felt this style was fitting with what I would love to see on my own walls.

Three generations of gems (that of my Sister and I, our Mom and our Grandma…) — Three generations of gems (that of Erica’s Sister and her, their Mom and their Grandma, consecutively…)

Now, I’ll briefly outline the origin of birthstones themselves, the reason there are multiple stones considered for each month, what they symbolize and some uses for them - both the jewelry and this print collection. With this information you can decide if you’d like to bring this tradition into your home.

From what I was able to gather (I'll link my sources below), birthstones originated before our calendar. Apparently Moses' brother Aaron wore twelve stones on his breastplate, representing the twelve tribes of the surrounding area. These stones were linked to signs of the zodiac and what they symbolized, before our months, as we know them, were even created. The original custom was to own all 12 stones (if that's something you wanted to do with my prints, I won't stop you ;)). Later, these stones became associated with the 12 months of the calendar year and the tradition evolved into wearing the birthstone of the month you were born. There exists to this day a controversy of which stone should represent some of the calendar months (i.e. March, June, August, October, November and December), for which there are multiple birthstones. In 1912, the American Association of Jewellers released a list of modern and traditional stones in an attempt to standardize practices. This simplified the jeweller's job of fashioning the - then novel - "mother's ring", by employing only modern, transparent stones. If you've yet to hear about this tradition, the "mother's ring" or "family ring" features the birthstones of someone's children or family, together in one harmonious setting.

Experts now say to choose whichever stones you prefer. For these prints, I chose stones that I felt provided variety to the set of twelve prints. This way, no two were too alike, should they be combined together in a gallery wall. In some cases I had trouble deciding, so I made sure to set the second choice of stone into a smaller ring (i.e. March, June, August, October & December prints). If you'd like to customize one of my prints’ stones (or skin or nail colour for that matter…), please contact me via email or Instagram DM to commission a personalized piece.

The stones I chose represent various things to various people. I narrowed down a list of adjectives related to what they are commonly said to symbolize. Whether true or not, I figure it's a calming notion to think about as you gaze at your print or stone. Your surroundings should elicit a sense of happiness. Why not have nice thoughts at your disposal, should you need one to cheer you up?

Garnet - Love

Amethyst - Clarity

Aquamarine - Happiness

Diamond - Strength

Emerald - Intelligence

Pearl - Honesty

Ruby - Stamina

Sardonyx - Courage

Tourmaline - Compassion

Sapphire - Protection

Citrine - Healing

Turquoise - Hope

Last, how can you use birthstones or my birthstone prints? As my Mom used them for my sister and I, they would make great gifts for kids, but also a new baby, a loved one, or even yourself! You could arrange them solo or group them, similar to a "family ring", mentioned above. Apart from rings, actual birthstones make beautiful earrings, necklaces and bracelets…even broaches. I see these prints in a nursery, powder room, bedroom or hallway, but the sky's the limit. If you see them in a dining room as a conversation piece, why not?! Please sign up for my quarterly newsletter, or keep your eyes peeled on my Instagram to learn about other ways you could style these prints. After all, playing dress-up doesn't stop near your closet - your entire house is fair game.

If you’re interested in seeing my full collection of prints, please visit my Society6 shop. If you’re so inclined, I would truly appreciate it if you could “Pin” or share this post to your social media of choice!

Thank you for taking the time to stop by, and take good care!

Erica

Sources:

gemsociety.org

jewelers.org

theraregemstonecompany.com