Core Memory- Glitz

I was working on some jewelry (separate post on that forthcoming), and needed a very specific supply that just so happens to come in a very large container. I like to use the flat back acrylic hearts found in this extra big bag of gems. Other brands just aren't the same. Opening the bag, I ended up dumping the entire thing out on my bedspread and instantly got hit with a feeling: it was my inner child coming through, and boy was she ecstatic. There was no better feeling as a little girl in the 90s than being surrounded with plastic/acrylic "gems". Something about pouring that bag out send me reeling and made me feel like I had just opened a pirate's treasure box. I then proceeded to contemplate why I was so nostalgic over a bunch of shiny rainbow plastic bits...

While I don't feel particularly fantastic about working with plastic, nor the thought of the amount of plastic toys we absolutely shoveled through in our childhoods; I can help but look back fondly on a few literal gems. Take the fantasy game Tales of the Crystal, for example. I mean- look at the box! I don't remember exactly how the game was to be played but I do remember dressing up like the damsels they depicted; wearing the "crystal" necklaces provided (which were sadly dangling from a piece of plain white string? Given all the other detail in this game you would think they could have sprung for some ribbon or something?) and trying to listen intently to the instructions provided on a tape cassette! Focus wasn't exactly my forte thanks to my ADHD so my memory really just ends at me running around in fancy costume dresses with my sister and our friends in our backyard, decorating a bush with little bits and bobs and realizing YEARS later that a single piece of iridescent curling ribbon was still tied to a little branch from one of our quests.

Pretty Pretty Princess wasn't one that my sister and I owned but it was a staple at birthday parties. The objective of this one as I remember was pretty simple. Gather as many jewels faster than everyone else and then be crowned princess! I'm not saying our parents were trying to raise a generation of Marie Antoinettes or anything but as I said, we did often play this at birthday parties. And nothing goes better with plastic jewelry than CAKE! I might be in the minority here but as much as I adore a homemade cake, there is something about the storebought sheet cakes with their crunchy icing and rice paper decorations that make me crazy nostalgic and perfectly happy. But we'll talk more about cake on another day. Because I have a lot to say on the subject ;D

My parents still live in my childhood home and have made so many renovations. It's looking so nice these days, and luckily I live very close by. They recently converted our porch into a 3 seasons room which was needed. That porch took quite the beating over the decades by some memorable weather events and the reno didn't really change the spirit of the room which is nice. But a funny thing happened when they were cleaning out the basement to redo that space as well...I noticed some gems with velcro attached to them and could not for the life of me recall what these were. Until I sat down and really thought about it. Or maybe I just googled velcro jewels toy 90s. Either way, I found who had left them behind:

Ahh yes! Tis Little Miss Magic Jewels, herself! I have half a mind to see if I can re-create these hair decorations now. There was a time I took star sequins (the big kind of flat rainbow spangles that we all used to decorate with...I cannot seem to find them anywhere these days) and used super strong hair gel to "glue" them into my hair and I know this doll must have been the subliminal inspiration. If only I could find the wand she came with but alas, I was only able to locate the two gems from the basement. Ahh well. Life goes on.

I must give an honorable shout-out to this toy that I don't recall having but vaguely remember playing with at someone else's house...Treasure Rocks! I was looking around on youtube and somehow came across all the commercials for this one. Pictured is the Treasure Rocks Treasure Box which automatically just makes me giddy. I mean look at it. The hottest pink they could have manufactured, the little gold bezzles for the jewels; it's like every other toy on the market in those days was designed to stimulate creativity and fantasy and I have to say (despite all the plastic...eheh) that I am grateful. The fun thing about this toy as I was reminded by the commercials was that the gems came coated in some type of water soluble stuff that made them look like regular ol' rocks, until you tumbled them into the bottle included, which looked like like something straight out of I Dream of Genie; and then once you shook off all the mystery matter you had a handful of gems to place in the settings provided! Talk about inspirational!

So there's my little journey down nostalgia lane. Who would think pouring out a bunch of acrylic craft gems would evoke such memories? I had a immediate feeling of richness hearing the coin-like clinking of those jewels hitting each other onto the safety of my vintage Ralph Lauren bedspread. And as you can see, there was good reason for that immediate sensation. I have an abundance not just of joy but of respect to the makers of these toys for their creativity and for their interest (even if purely mercenary) in fostering the creativity of the next generation. As for me? I guess for right now you can just call me Little Miss Magic Jewels. Stay tuned because there will be quite a few projects featuring these colorful candy-like gems.

XOXX Dollie <3