Wear the Adventure!

My friend Tonya from Live the Adventure has opened a new Etsy shop called Wear the Adventure.    In addition to the fact that Tonya and I are both homeschool moms, we also share a love of travel and an obsession with pressed (or as Tonya calls them “smashed”) pennies.  So, when Tonya first mentioned the idea of opening an Etsy shop to sell her one-of-a-kind pressed penny jewelry, I got really excited!

Needless to say, I was more than willing to offer a review of Tonya’s jewelry pieces.  Tonya knows that I’m slightly Disney-obsessed, so she offered me a choice of several Disney-themed penny pieces.  I chose an earthy-looking piece with an Animal Kingdom pressed penny, featuring Mickey Mouse!  Here is what Tonya has to say about this piece of jewelry:

The necklace is made mainly of natural materials, hemp and wooden beads, with a collectable pressed penny from the Animal Kingdom that features a joyful Mickey dressed in Safari garb. I've added a hand crafted bead shaped to resemble Mickey Mouse ears, which so far is customary to many of my Disney pieces. Retail on that piece would be $12.95 with a shipping cost of $2.50.

Here’s a picture of Ashley, modeling the necklace:

Adorable, right?  I love the simplicity of this piece.  It’s very casual – and, since I’m a casual, jeans and t-shirts kind of girl, it goes with my style.  Ashley, however, paired the necklace with a dress and wore it to church.  So, in other words, it’s a pretty versatile piece!

Here’s the story behind Wear the Adventure (as told by Tonya):

Wear the Adventure was born out of my love for travel and my obsession with pressed penny machines. The sight of one has left me scrambling for pennies and quarters so often in the past that I’ve now learned to carry a supply of coins with me at all times.

As my penny collection grew, I became bored with the idea of storing them in books or turning them into magnets to hang on the refrigerator. I wanted a practical way to display my memories, and then it dawned on me. Why not turn my pennies into jewelry? So I did. I now have necklaces, bracelets, earrings, even money clips from some of our favorite places. My very first piece is a beautiful charm bracelet from the Tennessee Aquarium - until I created that piece my family had no idea what I was talking about when I mentioned opening an Etsy store selling pressed or smashed penny jewelry.

I use many high quality, natural materials and combine them with collectable pennies, making many of the pieces one-of- a-kind.

Tonya has some ADORABLE pieces in her Etsy store!  You need to go visit and check them out.  A few of my favorites are the Disney Dalmation Smashed Penny Charm Bracelet, featuring a Cruella DeVil penny, dalmation and Mickey head charms, and red, white, and black beads.  Another piece that stands out to me is the Los Angeles Rhino Smashed Penny Necklace.  Tonya’s eye for detail really stands out to me in this piece.  The bead just has a “safari feel” to it, which goes so well with the rhino penny. 

I’d love for you to visit Wear the Adventure and tell me which piece is your favorite! The prices at Wear the Adventure range from $12.95- $32.95 depending on the material used, amount of pressed pennies and value of the pennies.

Tonya has graciously agreed to offer my readers a discount!  For the next two weeks, you can receive 15% off your total order by using the code HEIDI2011.  Hurry, though – this special discount code is only effective through March 29th.

NOTE: I received free product from Wear the Adventure in order to write this review. I was not obligated to write a positive review; but, quite frankly, I think these pressed penny jewelry pieces are sheer genius – I wish I would have thought of it!