One of the all time craziest trends in jewelry making and stocking is breast milk jewelry. The very idea of making jewelry out of breast milk, or owning a piece, is really novel, and has a special place in the heart of every mother.
When I became a mum for the first time, I had a similar interest into breast milk jewelry. But it was soon enough that I realized that it was hard to learn and master the art of making jewelry out of breast milk. This is when I decided to compile all the information you need to know to fulfil this passion.
So read on, some very interesting insights enclosed for you, I promise!
Can you make jewelry out of breast milk?
Yes indeed, breast milk can be suitably treated and preserved , and later cast into stones which can be kept as keepsakes or fitted into precious metal to wear them as jewelry. You can either have this done by a professional breast milk jewelry artist, or can utilise the breast milk jewelry making DIY kits to do this on your own.
What is a breast milk necklace, ring or other jewelry?
Breast milk jewelry is jewelry made out of breast milk, post a process of compression and preservation. The jewelry is crafted using a mother’s own breast milk, and casting it into some form of a glazing or transparent raisin, into exquisite designs.
What is the purpose of breast milk rings, bracelets and other jewelry pieces?
Breast milk rings, bracelets, pendants and other types of jewelry pieces are used as a common keepsake by mothers across the world. Such a jewelry is a great way to commemorate the lovely journey of motherhood, and remember it for years to come. Many mothers also wear breast milk jewelry as memento of different pregnancies they have gone through. Commonly used jewelry pieces in these are engraved designs with names of their children.
Can you use breastmilk powder to make jewelry?
A very inquisitively searched for question, but the answer is rather simply. Yes you can use breast milk powder to make jewelry, and in fact this is the very first step in the process. To start making jewelry out of breast milk, you first need to preserve it and this essentially converts the milk from a liquid form into a neat powder.
What’s most interesting is that you can use any expired lots of pumped breast milk, and convert it into a powder for making jewelry later. This way you get to reuse the breast milk, which would have otherwise gone down the drain. However, do be informed that its best to prepare the preserved breast milk powder from scratch, as the composition of the powder can be crucial in determining the strength, form and feel of the resulting jewelry piece.
Can you use formula milk powder to make breast milk jewelry?
Well the answer is yes, formula milk powder can be used to make breast milk jewelry. I have heard friends order jewelry from a few shady makers, who had used formula milk or some other powder that possibly was a colored dye, to make pendants and other jewelry pieces.
There are prepared breastmilk powders available in the market today, which a lot of mothers use as supplementary food for their infants. However, these will not serve very well in making jewelry owing to the following shortcomings.
1. Dehydration Levels: To keep the breastmilk powder from rotting and help enhance its shelf life, moisture is sucked out of it through extensive dehydration. Often many dehydrating compounds are added to it as well, which can make such powders ineffective in crafting jewelry out of them.
2. Emotional Angle : The whole idea of making/getting breastmilk jewelry made is to capture the start of motherhood as a memento , and hence should be done with your own breastmilk, as opposed to a marketed powder.
How is breastmilk jewelry made?
If you are looking forward to have the lovely period of motherhood and all its memories captured in a keepsake, then there are two ways to go about it. You can either go to a DNA artist or breastmilk jewelry maker to do this for you, or you can try your own hand at it.
Having tried a hand at it myself, I can tell you that if its sophisticated looking jewelry pieces that you expect as a result of the crafting and you do not wish to take it up as a hobby, then it is best to trust a professional with it. However , a lot of DIY kits are also available, should you want to have the joy of trying it yourself, or would want to develop it as a trade skill.
1. PUMPING
Pumping of breastmilk for jewelry has no special procedures to it, and in fact you can also use previously pumped breastmilk to craft stunning jewelry pieces with it. This is because the preparation stage takes care of deterioration or the discoloration which may set into pumped breastmilk over time.
How much breastmilk do I need for jewelry?
Although the exact volume depends on the number of jewelry pieces you are looking to make, but the reigning idea is that 5ml to 30 ml of breastmilk is enough to craft beads, bracelets, broaches or any other keepsake that you want to make.
2. PRESERVATION
Preservation of the breastmilk is the second step in the process , and revolves around getting the pumped breastmilk ready for crafting jewelry out of it. In this step, the pumped breastmilk is mixed with a ‘preservation powder’, which induces some desired physical and chemical properties to it.
What is breastmilk preservation powder?
To be able to craft jewelry out of breastmilk, you must transform it from its natural liquid/emulsion form into a powder which is easy to operate upon. Also since breastmilk is laden with lactobacilus and other fermenting bacteria, it is important to preserve it from turning bad. These are functions which breastmilk preservation powders perform. It is a poder composed out of organic or inorganic ingredients, used to make breastmilk ready for making jewelry out of it.
Breastmilk preservation powders essentially perform the following two operations on your breastmilk, making it jewelry making ready.
1. PRECIPITATION
The basic idea of making jewelry out of breastmilk is to extract a milk protein powder from the liquid form, which can later be suspended into a resin. This first step of extracting the milk protein from the liquid breastmilk is done by introducing an acidic environment, through citric acid, present in the powder.
2. DISINFECTING
As its is essentially an organic produce, breastmilk inherently has a lot of bacteria which in turn cause it to deteriorate over time. This is the reason that pumped milk turns bad when kept unfrozen over time. To avoid this from happening, breastmilk preservation powders used in making jewelry have chemicals/substances added to them, which disinfect it and check the growth of organic miscreants.
3. BLEACHING
Breastmilk is rich in Colostrum, which is produced naturally in the body to give it nutritional and immunity boosting properties , to make it a wholesome diet for your young one. Also, the colour of breastmilk is highly dependent on the diet ( dyes and colours present in the food) which the mother consumes. This serves the natural purpose of breastmilk, however is an impediment when it comes to making white and spectacular looking jewelry out of it.
This is why breastmilk preservation powders also have chemicals such as hydrogen peroxide added to them, which bring in effective bleaching properties. This acts on the pale yellowish colour of the breastmilk, and makes it white at the time of preservation.
Here’s a great video from Allison’s Youtube channel, which I found captures the essence of the preservation process for breastmilk jewelry in a really elucidate fashion.
3. POWDERING
The next step in the process of making you breastmilk keepsake is to transform the preserved breastmilk into powder. This begins from using the preserved and dried paste of breastmilk from the last step. This was dried on a parchment paper, to absorb off any excess moisture.
How do you dehydrate breastmilk jewelry?
Dehydrating breastmilk may seem like a rudimentary heating job to dry out all the moisture, but this is rather tricky. What you want is to evenly dry the paste ,without ‘cooking’ or ‘boiling’ the milk itself , else it deteriorates the look and feel of the jewelry. Sun drying of the preserved breastmilk jewelry is also not an option as it can spoil the texture .Thus either a double boiler or a ‘make shift boiler’ is employed for the dehydration.
Source : Jenny @Welcometothecircus.com
A double boiler is the way to go since you do not want your breast milk being cooked, and hence it adjusts the intensity of heat transferred across to be in a progression. If you do not have a double boiler, a make shift one, as show above, will just do as good. The illustration shows Jenny , from Welcometothecircus.com using a frying pan, topped with a pyrex glass bowl, to serve as a make-shift-double boiler.
How to turn breastmilk into powder?
Source : New Little Life By Allison
To turn your preserved breast milk into a powder, work upon the solidified and dehydrated breast milk paste with either a mortar and pestle, or simply a spoon. While the former would give you a very fine powder, the latter approach gives you a rather coarse one. A coarse powder would result in a breast milk jewelry pieces which has a granite like look and feel, while a more opaque one results if your powder is very fine.
3. PREPARATION
The preparation step kicks in with the powdered , preserved breast milk and this is where you actually turn this into a jewelry piece. The powder here is mixed with certain agents to get it into the desired form, and is then given the physical form or shape as you desire in the keepsake.
Choice of Casting
Breast milk, even in its preserved and treated form, is an organic substance and needs appropriate casting or casing for it to be usable in crafting jewelry out of it. You have two options to choose from when it comes to the casting.
- RESIN : Resins , as used in jewelry casting, are highly viscous polymers which are composed as a combination of organic compounds or, maybe of synthetic origin.They come as a bottled liquid and highly toxic in liquid form. However, it becomes non-toxic in its solid form and does not release harmful residue. The non degradable nature makes it most suitable for creating jewelry out of.
- GLASS : Glass is yet another casting option you have, however unlike resin, this isnt something you can manage yourself at home. You need a professional doing this step of preparation involving glass casting for you.
Below is a graphical comparison of these two casting options, to help you make the best informed choice.
LONGEVITY OF BREASTMILK JEWELRY
Though not many appreciate it, longevity and useful life of a breastmilk jewelry keepsake should be something to enquire into before you order this being made by any DNA artist or breastmilk jewelry maker. This is because not all makers are equal when it comes to the longevity of the crafted jewelry piece.
Is breastmilk jewelry brittle/breakable ?
Well largely, breast milk jewelry is sturdy and far from being brittle or breakeable. This is because both casting options – resin and glass are hard enough to not be brittle. However, jewelry cast in resin isnt designed to be worn on a daily basis, and may show signs of breaking if worn frequently. Also , repeated thrusts on resin or glass exterior can also lead to the jewelry show signs of breakage.
Does breast milk jewelry wear-off with time?
Yes breastmilk jewelry can wear off with time, but the extent and susceptibility depends upon its make. A breastmilk jewelry keepsake which has been sealed to perfection and has a strong resin or glass on its outside does not wear off with time. However in crown styled jewelry pieces, perfect sealing is hard to acheive and hence water or air could seep through creeks and wear off the jewelry pieces over prolonged time.
How long does breastmilk jewelry last?
In theory, breast milk jewelry is composed of hardened and preserved DNA(breast milk), which is cast into very hard castings(glass or resin) and hence should last you a lifetime and beyond, if properly cared for. However factors such as frequent falls, over exposure to sunlight or smoke, prolonged contact with water, attack by chemicals such as hand sanitizers, removers etc. can all deteriorate breast milk jewelry and bring down its useful life.
BREASTMILK JEWELRY CARE TIPS
Though not many appreciate it, longevity and useful life of a breastmilk jewelry keepsake should be something to enquire into before you order this being made by any DNA artist or breastmilk jewelry maker. This is because not all makers are equal when it comes to the longevity of the crafted jewelry piece.
Is breastmilk jewelry brittle/breakable ?
Well largely, breast milk jewelry is sturdy and far from being brittle or breakeable. This is because both casting options – resin and glass are hard enough to not be brittle. However, jewelry cast in resin isnt designed to be worn on a daily basis, and may show signs of breaking if worn frequently. Also , repeated thrusts on resin or glass exterior can also lead to the jewelry show signs of breakage.
Does breast milk jewelry wear-off with time?
Yes breastmilk jewelry can wear off with time, but the extent and susceptibility depends upon its make. A breastmilk jewelry keepsake which has been sealed to perfection and has a strong resin or glass on its outside does not wear off with time. However in crown styled jewelry pieces, perfect sealing is hard to acheive and hence water or air could seep through creeks and wear off the jewelry pieces over prolonged time.
How long does breastmilk jewelry last?
In theory, breast milk jewelry is composed of hardened and preserved DNA(breast milk), which is cast into very hard castings(glass or resin) and hence should last you a lifetime and beyond, if properly cared for. However factors such as frequent falls, over exposure to sunlight or smoke, prolonged contact with water, attack by chemicals such as hand sanitizers, removers etc. can all deteriorate breast milk jewelry and bring down its useful life.
BREASTMILK JEWELRY PRICE
The price of breastmilk jewelry depends on many factors and this may be a consideration when you plan to have your keepsake. While resin casting is cheap and easy to do , casting breastmilk stones into glass requires skill and labor , making the latter more expensive. Also the type of jewelry – pendant, bangle , charm etc. along with the cast metal which supports the breastmilk stone also determine the price of the keepsake piece.
Who makes breastmilk jewelry?
A whole lot of DNA jewelry artists and breast milk jewelry designers today make jewelry out of breast milk. You also have the option of buying a DIY breast milk jewelry making kit from any of them and giving it a go yourself.
I have compiled below a list of breast milk jewelry artists and the range of jewelry pieces along with a price scale that they offer, to help you make an informed decision.
And signing off, I wish you loads of luck and love in capturing this lovely journey of motherhood in your very own keepsake!
| COMPANY | TYPES OF JEWELRY PIECES | PRICE RANGE |
|---|---|---|
| Milkies Milkies.eu | Bracelets, necklaces, pearls,beads,engraved stones | €50 to €330 |
