Jewelry Stories from The Finder of Forgotten Things

Why, hello there! I can’t tell you how happy I am that you stopped by for today’s Jewelry Stories. These posts give me such joy as I get to pair two of my favorite things together – talking about Christian fiction books and creating jewelry. Today’s book and jewelry combo was a delight to put together, and I can’t wait to share all of that with you below.

First, let me tell you a bit about our featured book – The Finder of Forgotten Things by Sarah Loudin Thomas –

It’s 1932 and Sullivan Harris is on the run. He promised the people of Kline, West Virginia, that he would find them water, but now he’s failed and disappeared with their cash. Although he’s determined to stay a step ahead of pursuers–like Jeremiah Weber–his resources are running low.

Gainey Floyd is suspicious of Sulley’s claim to be a dowser when he appears in town but reconsiders after he finds water. Rather, it’s Sulley who grows uneasy when his success makes folks wonder if he can find more than water–like forgotten items or missing people. He lights out to escape such expectations and runs smack into something worse.

Hundreds of men have found jobs digging the Hawks Nest Tunnel–but what they thought was a blessing is killing them. And no one seems to care. Here, Sulley finds something new–a desire to help. As Jeremiah–and now Gainey–pursue him, Sulley becomes the unexpected catalyst for finding what even he has forgotten. Hope.

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To be honest, I haven’t read much Appalachian fiction up to this point, and I started listening to this book on a whim. However, the more I listened, the more intrigued I became. I never knew there were people that were known to “find water,” much less find all the odd trinkets Sulley seemed to find. One of those trinkets–a wooden button–is featured on the book’s cover, and it’s even one of the designs featured below.

Without further ado, I hope you enjoy this collected of designs, and above all, I hope you grab a copy of this book to read for yourself! I’ll see you at the end for a recap. 🙂

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A stout woman with work-roughened hands and a square jaw walked over. She laughed from deep in her belly. “Boy, do I ever! Charm a bird off its nest.” Her already-ruddy cheeks flushed a shade darker. “Talked foolishness, but I’ll confess it was a pleasure to listen to him. Said he was good at finding things–water, missing trinkets, that sort of thing.”

She held her hand out, and he placed a dirt-crusted wooden button in it. . . “I had forgotten this. It has been gone for–” she bit her lip and looked up–“two springs. It is two springs since my Noah lost this from his coat.”

The only sounds were the chunk and thud of shovels slicing into soil and piling up dirt, along with the occasional call of a night bird. Calvin lit a lantern as the night drew close around them. The air cooled, making the work a little easier.

“Not all daddies are as good as yours, but God, He’s good all the time.”

He laughed and poked at a clump of grass with his cane. “I’d have a big house and a fancy wife and eat in fine restaurants. That’s when I figured I’d come home. Bring Ma a new necklace and Pa some cigars.”

Jeremiah recited the verse from Luke. “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

“It’s the sixpence my grandmother from England gave me when I married. I thought you might be hard-pressed to find one otherwise.”

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So there you have it! I’ve gushed over this book so much in the past week, but it really was a delight to create each one of these designs. On the first day I shared it on social media, I mentioned how it might be the most eclectic collection of designs to date, but each one shares a very different moment in the story.

From the top, here’s a bit of backstory on each piece –

• The bird’s nest bracelet just so happened to be the second bird’s nest design I’ve featured in less than a week! It wasn’t planned that way, but I’ll take any excuse to show jewelry that’s been inspired by nature. If you’d like to see the first bird’s nest design, just visit this link.
• This collection would not have been complete without a button design of some kind. To be honest, I’ve never done any kind of jewelry or even bookmarks with buttons, so I was at a loss of how to start. When I was looking for ideas, I came across LOTS of bracelets, but that seemed to be too much given the overall feel of this book. Once I learned a knot technique to secure it to this cord, it was paired with some simple beads on the other end. A simple bookmark, but one of my favorites ever to make.
• I came across the lantern charms when I was shopping online for some other charms. Given that most of what I read is historical fiction, I knew these would be needed for a design at some point.
• The God is Good bookmark was a first with this type of ribbon. Such a delightful shabby flair. 🙂
• The art deco necklace was the most unique piece of the lot. This book was set in the early 30s, and I tried to imagine what the necklace would have looked like as mentioned in that passage. Seeing as how they were barely out of the 20s, I imaged a pendant like this might have still been around. I didn’t want to do anything too gaudy as they didn’t much money, especially with just exiting the Great Depression.
• The bird necklace is one that I’ve had in my shop for several years now, and I’ve made it so many times. When I came across this verse mentioned in the book, it and the necklace seemed to be made for each other.
• And last but not least, the last bookmark is a twist on a sixpence, and with that sprinkling of glitter on the surface, it’s a perfect match to that sparkly bead and shimmery fabric tassel on the other end. The passage that inspired this design was an especially poignant moment in the story, and a beautiful conclusion – no spoilers, I promise!!

It’s always sad to bring a new collection to a close, but there are so many other stories and designs waiting in the wings!

Thank you for supporting my little creative endeavor and the authors who bring these amazing stories to life. My hope is that these jewelry and bookmark designs give you a fresh glimpse into those stories and a way to remember them for months and years to come. And if you’ve missed any past Jewelry Stories posts, you can find them all here.

If you aren’t already subscribed to my email list, you’ll want to do that here so you can be the first to see those new designs when they drop. In every email, there’s a list of books that I’m currently working on and designing jewelry for.

Until next time! ♥