Custom and Handmade Gift Ideas to Make Mother's Day Extra Special

I’ve been missing my mom so much while self-quarantining. We usually hang out every Sunday (and like 3 other days of the week, honestly), and the closest we’ve gotten to hanging out in four weeks is when I sat on the other end of the porch from her and my dad and scolded them for getting too close to the mailman. Not seeing my parents has been the hardest part of isolation for me. That and finding dried beans. Ok and maybe a lot of other stuff. And, yes, I know I have it easy compared to a lot of people, but I’m gonna make a bean joke where I can. (I;m thinking about thos Beans.)

Anyway, I keep thinking about how Mother’s Day is going to be…. er… weird this year. This was actually going to be the first year in several years that I was going to skip participating in a craft show and spend Mother’s Day with my mom. Now I’m scheming up ways to make Mother’s Day special from afar, and I know a lot of you are doing the same thing.

I’m already working on custom jewelry for husbands to give to their wives, wives to give to their wives, kids to give to their moms, and moms to give to their kids who have just become parents. I thought I’d round up some of my most-loved and most-creative jewelry ideas for all kinds of moms this year.

Whether mom is just really into working puzzles or she’s your missing puzzle piece right now or all of the above, this handmade bronze puzzle piece necklace will soothe her soul. These hand-cast bronze puzzle piece charms are modeled after pieces from my favorite puzzle I have at home and which I’ve been working a lot these last few weeks. You can order just one necklace with one bronze puzzle piece or get a matching one to send to your missing puzzle piece person to brighten their day.

Immortalize mom’s empty threats from childhood with a keychain that says “Don’t Make Me Turn This Car Around.” These hand-stamped brass keychains can be customized to say whatever you like. They also make great gifts for dad if your dad was more of the mother figure in your life.

These custom birthstone necklaces can feature the birthstones of all the special people in mom’s life. You can also get mom a gorgeous strand of just her birthstone. See all my birthstone jewelry here.

Custom name necklaces are always a hit with moms. Add custom stamped tags for the little ones in mom’s life, and the necklaces come in silver and gold. You can also mix and match the color of the tags like the necklace shown.

Whether mom is edgy or sweet, these custom stamped mantra cuff bracelets can say her favorite catchphrase, snarky mantra or inspirational quote. Bonus: they are on sale while we’re working from home. Some of the favorite phrases right now are “Get Shit Done,” “Indomitable,” and “Take No Shit.”

Maybe mom needs a little motivation right now. Maybe she misses traveling and hiking in the great outdoors. This “Keep Going” stamped mountain range necklace will make her heart sing.

Maybe mom’s got a case of Arkansas pride. Maybe she misses Arkansas. Either way, this handmade bronze Arkansas necklace is the perfect thing to add to her jewelry collection. The hand-cast bronze Arkansas charm has a warm, golden glow and a substantial, luxurious feel. These Arkansas necklaces are handmade and kiln-fired in my North Little Rock, Arkansas, studio.

Is mom the bee’s knees? Tell her with this elegant honey bee honey drop necklace that features a faceted citrine as a little drop of honey with a brass bee charm on a gold-filled chain.

Happy Mother’s Day to dog moms and cat moms, too! Anyone who knows my work knows there is an extensive selection of cat lady and cat mom jewelry in my collection, so I’m shining a light on these dog mom necklaces.

Treat mom like the queen she is with this Queen Mother hand-stamped necklace. When you get to see her again, have tea with her, too. Missing mom’s bear hugs? Then maybe the Mama Bear stamped necklace is more her style.

Mom could always use a reminder of how strong she really is. This Strong As Hell stamped necklace is the perfect gift for one of the strongest people in your life.

Like the look of the custom name necklace but want to add a little more flair to it? These custom name necklaces with lockets will let mom put a tiny picture of someone she loves in a locket and wear it near her heart.

How many times have you heard mom deny you a Happy Meal with the phrase “there’s food at home’? Immortalize her favorite shut-down with a custom brass stamped keychain.

Want a cute or snarky card to go with your Mother’s Day gift? You can add one of these greeting cards to your package. If you want to mail mom’s gift directly to her, we can fill out the card by hand with whatever you want it to say.

If you are looking for more ideas of great mother’s day jewelry, please email me at stacey@bangupbetty.com and we can work together to create something perfect.

Bang-Up Betty is handmade, hand-stamped jewelry created in my North Little Rock, Arkansas, studio. When we’re not self-isolating, you can find my jewelry at Stifft Station Gifts in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Arkansas Jewelry Designer Bang-Up Betty Featured on THV11

Since 2013, Bang Up Betty has been serving up unique and fun handmade jewelry from Arkansas!

THV11 contacted me recently to chat about how I got started making jewelry, what inspires my handmade jewelry, what my bestsellers for holiday gifts are, and, of course, Betty the cat.

This interview with Ashley King airs Friday, December 14, 2018, during the 8 p.m. premiere of their new show, The Vine. It’ll be an Arkansas Christmas special focusing on what’s wonderful and local, and I’m so honored they chose to showcase my handmade jewelry.

I’m proud to be an Arkansas-based jeweler supporting local nonprofits and making folks laugh and smile with my jewelry!

Arkansas jewelry maker Bang-Up Betty at work stamping custom jewelry at Moxy Modern Mercantile. Bang-Up Betty handmade jewelry is designed and made locally in North Little Rock, Arkansas.

Thanks for Voting Bang-Up Betty Jewelry Best Artisan in Arkansas

Bang-Up Betty jewelry voted best artisan crafter in the Arkansas Times's best of Arkansas

I am so grateful and so humbled that y'all voted Bang-Up Betty jewelry best Arkansas artisan crafter in the Arkansas Times's Best of Arkansas 2018. It's so thrilling and so rewarding to hear from you that this little handmade jewelry business I started five years ago is meaningful to someone other than just me and my mama (who still doesn't approve of my nope middle finger necklace, that's for sure). 

I feel that making jewelry has been a part of my life forever. My sister Amy would take me to the original Argenta Bead Company in North Little Rock (where The House of Art is now), and let me pick out beads and make shiny things, and I felt so loved and encouraged by everyone in that shop, especially Ellie Roy, the owner. I made some TERRIBLE jewelry when I was 12 years old, but they let me try to sell it (no one really bought it), and therefore planted the seeds to Bang-Up Betty a long time ago.

Handmade necklaces by Arkansas artisan jewelry designer Bang-Up Betty. Find the I'll Cut You Necklace, Custom Heart Necklace, Made of Magic Unicorn Necklace, Salty Pretzel Necklace and more in the shop. 

I ended up working at Argenta Bead as one of my first jobs (I've always simultaneously had at least 2 jobs, always, because I'm a workaholic) and learned a lot more about making jewelry. I left for college with an arsenal of beaded necklaces I made myself, and I fit right in at the art studio in school. 

I put jewelry away in college and focused on getting a degree in communications (and minoring in binge drinking). I graduated with a good knowledge of marketing, writing, media, design, Español (my actual minor) and my entrepreneurial spirit intact. I interned at marketing firms, film sets and worked at stationery and invitation companies (hey, Mint Julep Paperie!) out of college, which sparked my first small business, Betty Pearl, hand-drawn greeting cards I printed myself. Like my jewelry, the cards were cute, offensive and salty. That's just what I do. 

Betty Pearl Valentine postcards, the prelude to Bang-Up Betty handmade jewelry 

I sold my stuff on street corners (at craft fairs! got you!!) while simultaneously working as a writer and editor in the Little Rock publishing scene until selling $4 cards ran me ragged and I retired Betty Pearl. Pretty soon after that, I found myself back into beads. Creativity and entrepreneurship needs an outlet. 

I made funny, four-letter-word bracelets for my friends as holiday gifts in 2012, after teaching myself how to stamp and drill copper and brass. When the bracelets were a success, I launched an Etsy site to make some money off my handmade jewelry on the side. It got kind of big kind of fast. 

One of the first Bang-Up Betty jewelry designs, a handmade stamped copper bracelet, called the four-letter-word bracelet. You could order customs! You still can in my brass or silver mantra bracelet. Photo by Arshia Khan. 

In the next couple of years, my handmade jewelry was featured in Bust Magazine, Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, Bustle, Cosmo UK and more. I created my own website. I expanded the business into wholesale, and now stores across the United States carry Bang-Up Betty jewelry, enamel pins, koozies, shirts and more. Oh yeah, I expanded the products as well. There are now about 100 designs in my repertoire, where I started with about four designs. I did all this while maintaining a thriving career as a nonprofit marketing director.

And when I say "all this," I mean all this. I do 98% of this business by myself. Designing and making the jewelry, marketing retail and wholesale jewelry, maintaining the website, fulfilling orders, photographing products, attending markets and craft shows, planning events, professional development, bookkeeping... that's all me. Shout out to Collin Buchanan and Katie Childs Photo for photography help and Lee Lee Arts + Design for graphic design help. 

Anyway, I've derailed from thanking you for voting Bang-Up Betty jewelry best artisan (for the fourth time!!). I guess I just wanted to share a little bit behind why this makes me feel so special. It's a lot of work (see above paragraph) to start, manage and expand your own business, especially if you yourself MAKE nearly every single thing that you sell. And it can be really scary to put your art out there, especially if it tends to lean one way politically and you live in a state that trends the opposite way. Sometimes my hands hurt, but my heart is always full. Thank you. 

Handmade jewelry artisan Stacey Bowers (AKA Bang-Up Betty) in her studio in North Little Rock, Arkansas, with her popular Smash the Patriarchy hammer. Photo by Katie Childs. I'm talking about myself in the third person. This is weird. But, you know, captions. 

My Top Nine Moments in a Dumpster Fire Year

Creating the Nasty Women Unite Pin, Not Today Satan Necklace, Smash the Patriarchy Pin, and custom brass jewelry to benefit Arkansas nonprofits were just a few highlights in this feminist Arkansas jewelry maker's year. Thanks for your support in 2016!

When I ran that "Top Nine" app on Instagram for 2016, my most-liked posts were all sad (in retrospect) posts about the garbage election. So, I chose my own top nine to commemorate the standout moments of arguably everyone's worst year ever.  Here are some of the precious moments that, for me, saved 2016 from being a completely unpolishable turd.

With your help, I raised $1,295 for Arkansas Women's Outreach with my Strong as Hell Bracelet. Yay for the power of handmade feminist jewelry! 

1.) Bang-Up Betty Gave Back

Thanks to everyone's generous support of my Strong As Hell Bracelet for Arkansas Women's Outreach, I was able to raise $1,295 for the nonprofit that provides feminine hygiene supplies and support for homeless women in Arkansas. I was also able to donate $106 to AVAC (AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition) in George Michael's memory through BUB sales. Throughout the year, I was able to provide auction items to support Lucie's Place, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, and Rescue Road animal rescue. And by partnering with Get Bullish and The Outrage, money from the sale of BUB products was donated to Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and Malala Fund.

World-famous illustrator Sally Nixon helped me bring my coffin heart pin design to life.

2.) My First Pin

In January, Sally Nixon helped me bring my first enamel pin idea to life! Special thanks to Sally for shining up my rough draft better than I could imagine. Snag your Eternal Love coffin heart pin here.

Congrats to Adam and Shelley, who used my custom handmade jewelry in their engagement. They drove to the Grand Canyon for the proposal! 

3.) I Helped With a Proposal!

Adam and Shelley drove to the Grand Canyon, where he popped the question using a handful of BUB jewelry and a stunning engagement ring. Congrats, you two! Read more about it here.

I'm still so excited that I got to make dozens of these feminist handmade necklaces that say "Smash the Patriarchy" for a feminist wedding. We should all have feminist weddings. I'm always open to make feminist wedding favors!

4.) The Best Wedding Favors Ever

Speaking of weddings, last summer I stamped dozens of these to be wedding favors at a feminist wedding. I still die of shock and am completely flattered anytime someone wants me to be part of their big day!

In 2016, I created the Smash the Patriarchy pin. This feminist enamel pin has been all over the world now and is still going strong.

5.) Smash the Patriarchy Pin

Choosing a favorite design is like choosing a favorite child, but if I had to pick, it would be this little hammer Smash the Patriarchy pin that's closest to my heart. Special thanks to Ashlee Nobel for taking my rough draft and creating something so smashing!

Thank you for voting Bang-Up Betty best handmade jewelry in Arkansas!

6.) Arkansas Times Best Artisan Crafter

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for voting me best artisan crafter for handmade jewelry in the Arkansas Times 2016 Best of Arkansas. It was seriously such a surprise and honor!

Watching y'all post pics at the polls while wearing Bang-Up Betty handmade jewelry and enamel pins rocked my world.

7.) I Voted

I can't not mention the dumpster fire election. While the outcome is a nightmare I never wake up from, I still remember every wonderful second I spent in that booth voting for a woman for president for the first time in my life. Hopefully I get to do it again.

Did I mention that I made this Party Hard bracelet for Andrew W.K. and gave it to him in person and fangirled when he put it on???

8.) I Met Andrew W.K.

Last fall I met Andrew W.K. and gave him this bracelet. And he Instagrammed it. And he listened to me talk about my big brother. It was so party.

Making this Nasty Women Unite pin was so empowering for me, and I'm so happy that this feminist enamel pin has made it onto the lapels of patriarchy smashers across the world.

9.) Partnering with The Outrage

A few months ago, a sweet soul named Rebecca reached out to me about her new website to promote feminist messages while funding feminist causes. It's been fantastic watching The Outrage blossom, and I'm thrilled to introduce three enamel pins I created exclusively for them. This Nasty Women Unite pin came first, and I'll be announcing the other two later this week.