Viola's jewels

Viola must have cut quite a figure in the small agricultural town of Alamosa, a place that even today boasts fewer than 8000 residents. I haven't seen her myself, but it sounds like her appearance was..well..distinctive, so I can get a pretty good picture in my head from descriptions given by people who did know her. Viola was petite but bosomy, she wore a large black wig and I imagine, wasn't shy with the lipstick. Viola played the piano for years at numerous local functions and it seems that she always dressed like a performer, even if the venue was no more glamorous than the town's Senior Center. Viola loved her 'bling', long before that particular slang term entered the public lexicon.

I learned about Viola just two weekends ago, when I was visiting with family in southern Colorado. My mom and I got a hot tip from our yard saling buddy Noodles (not her real name, LOL) that there was something of interest at one of the antique stores in town. It seemed that Viola had decided to move and is liquidating much of her 'bling' at said antique store. Noodles was in the shop the day after Viola had been there, and said that there were several tables literally covered in costume jewelry--it was spectacular enough a sight to cause even her husband to remark upon it. Vintage costume jewelry? In massive quantities? You're singin' my song, Sister.

Viola's jewelry had already been for sale for a couple of weeks by the time we got there, but there was still plenty to choose from. My mouth truly fell open when I looked in the glass case and saw the variety and scope of Viola's collection. There were brooches that were easily as large as the palm of my hand, gorgeous bracelets and necklaces in every color, and some pieces were present in multiples of two, four, six--apparently Viola used to wear them as buttons down the front of her blouse. We were positively giddy as we played dress-up with Viola's sparkling beauties. It was hard to narrow it down to a few must-have pieces--I could have swept the entire contents of that case into my purse without a second thought--but I finally picked out the things I knew I couldn't live without.

Green and teal, 1.5" tall and 2" long

Gorgeous pear-shaped clear stones, 2.25" across

Starfish, 3" across. This is the first thing I spotted in the case and it was love at first sight! I almost didn't get it because I rarely wear those colors but I knew I'd regret leaving it behind.

Bouquet, 3.50" across, 3" tall. This is one that is as large as my palm. There were some that were even bigger, if you can imagine.
Red aurora Borealis swirl, 3.25" long and 2" tall. I think this one is just gorgeous and I love the swooping shape.I told the owner of the antique store to be sure to tell Viola that her beloved jewels were going to a good home! I absolutely LOVE every single piece that I bought and I can't wait to wear them. For now, I just love to look at them and hold them, turning them so they catch the light and sparkle like crazy. I think I might have liked to meet Miss Viola--sounds like she was a heck of a gal. :)

While I had my camera out to photograph my Viola pieces, I decided to photograph the rest of my costume jewelry collection and I made a Flickr set, for anyone who loves the sparklies like I do. This is the bulk of my collection--although I'm always on the hunt for more! Don't know that I'll ever find a selection quite like Viola's, however!