The classics are a great place to find literary jewelry inspiration. The books are full of fun characters and phrases that many people remember.
Many times I'll start with a book, but sometimes, the inspiration comes first with the beads or materials, not the books themselves.
Recently, I found some tiny brass spoons. Seeing them, I knew immediately what I wanted to make: earrings inspired by the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. (The version of the story pictured here is a children's version for second graders.)
The spoons themselves were not enough to carry the theme I wanted to convey, so I decided to add some text by hand stamping some letters on scroll-shaped brass metal blanks.
The left earring reads "More" and the right earring, "Please"—a short version of the famous line: "Please, sir, I want some more." (Read the scene from the novel.) I buffed the metal a little around the text to make it stand out against the dark brass scrolls. I also added wirewrapping around the jump ring for a bit of decorative interest.
This weekend I've lots of jewelry for sale annual holiday mart at Northern Colorado Writers, including one pair of these Oliver Twist-inspired earrings. Twenty percent of the sales help support the studio, which offers writing workshops, an annual writing conference, and other activities that help writers develop their craft.
If you're not local—or too stuffed full of turkey to move—I also have another pair in my Etsy shop.