Jewelry Christmas Tree

Friend Kathy's mother made a Christmas Tree out of jewelry picture for her years ago.   Kathy no longer had room for it and Friend Nancy took it for awhile before she passed it over to me this summer.  I love it.  Kathy's mother and her neighbor scoured garage sales to find the jewelry for it.  Look closely and you get lost in a world of of rhinestones, sprays, rosettes, frogs, peacocks, violins, lambs, butterflies, ...  It's beautifully unique.  I did worry about how to dust it, to protect the tiny little pieces from catching on things, and how to keep the cats from treating it like a new toy.   I took it in to a framer, explained my concerns, and asked what he suggested.  "A shadow box" he said.  He called me this week to say it was ready for pickup.  This is a 'before' pic of what it looked like before the framer changed the frame.  I'll probably post an 'after' picture closer to Christmas.  The picture has piqued two new interests in me.  First I've tried researching on-line of where & when the idea of making pictures with jewelry originated but haven't found any info.  Secondly I'd like to try and make a similar picture myself - maybe a wreath.  So if you have broken or old jewelry I'm taking donations.