What I Do Here

You may be noticing that Bliss, Books & Jewels is not your typical book review blog. While I love to review Christian fiction books, I also love to make and design jewelry. Here’s some background…

I come from a family of crafters and seamstresses. It was only natural that, as a young child, I would be influenced by all the things around me that were made by hand, and be inspired to learn a little myself.

I actually made my first few pairs of earrings when I was about 11 or 12. In hindsight, they were hideous (seriously, they were made from sequins, pom-pom balls, and ribbon). I can’t believe anyone in their right mind would ever wear them, but my aunt was one of my biggest fans and supporters. 🙂

It wasn’t until 2006 that I really dived into making jewelry on a regular basis, and it has been my favorite craft ever since. I still dabble in some other things, but jewelry is what I’m most passionate about.

Fast forward a couple of years later, and I started my first blog (Southern Sassy Things). Reading and reviewing books (at least in the Christian fiction genre) was really growing in popularity around 2008/9, and I wanted to be part of the fun! Also, that was well before my children came along, so my reading time was oh-so-plentiful. I read and reviewed books for about 4 years, and burned myself out. I loved it, but I let it take over my life.

Still with me? Good. 🙂

Right around the time that the SST blog started winding down, I started dabbling into jewelry making again. My first designs in this period were influenced by books and/or commissioned by some of my favorite authors as part of their book launches. But once the reading tapered off, the influence those books gave me for jewelry did as well.

It wasn’t until 2020 that the light bulb went off in my head – making jewelry inspired by books. ♥ Thus, Bliss, Books & Jewels was born.

You can read all about me in a separate post, but this page gives you all the background and connection between reading and creating. The years I’ve spent doing both have been some of the best of my life, and I’m so glad to tie them together now.

How does it work here at Bliss, Books & Jewels?

I read a book, then design jewelry based on that book. Usually, it’s inspired in one of these ways…

• An actual piece of jewelry is mentioned in the story, and I try to recreate it if I can.
• A quotable segment that I think would look pretty as a piece of jewelry.
• Different characteristics mentioned in the book – a certain memento, a location, a gift, certain colors, flowers, etc.
• A Bible verse that’s central to the story.

The possibilities have been endless, and it has stretched my creativity in new and exciting ways. I’ve found myself not only creating jewelry, but bookmarks and hair accessories, too. The styles are all eclectic as I like to read a few different genres.

Each week, I highlight a new book and collection of jewelry designs on my Instagram and Facebook pages. You’ll come to notice that I can be inspired by pretty much everything I read, whether it’s new releases or back list books. Once the book is read, the designs are created, and then shared in a fun series I call Jewelry Stories. Occasionally, I have authors that graciously come over for a visit for a little Q&A if their book includes jewelry as a major theme.

How is this fun for you?

My hope is that you share in my love of reading and seeing jewelry come to life from the lines in a book. I hope that you find a piece that means something special to you. Maybe you’ll find something that would be a great gift for a friend along with a copy of the corresponding book to support the author.

To get you started, feel free to visit the Jewelry Stories I’ve already shared, check out all the jewelry that’s already been created based on everything I’ve read/reviewed here so far, or read a book review to find the next book that should be added to your TBR pile. Wherever you start, I hope you enjoy your visit here!

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Authors – do you want to collaborate?

If you’re interested in working together on a project (book review, author chat, giveaway, or whatever you think might be a good fit here), please drop me a line at blissbooksandjewels {at} gmail . com. I’d love to talk it over with you. 🙂