Why I Create Personalized Jewelry That Touches the Heart
Have you ever held a keepsake so precious, it felt like holding a piece of someone you love? That’s exactly the feeling that first sparked my passion for creating personalized jewelry — and it's what continues to inspire every piece I make today.
Hi, I’m Cheryl, the hands, heart, and soul behind A Timeless Impression. If you’ve landed here, you’re probably someone who treasures memories and the people who make life meaningful. In this post, I want to share a little more about my story...how loss, love, and a lifelong passion for preserving memories led me to create jewelry that helps you hold your loved ones close, every single day.
From Hobby to Heartfelt Purpose
I first started experimenting with metal clay in 2009, fascinated by the idea that I could turn simple materials into beautiful, lasting art. When I discovered I could capture actual fingerprints in silver, something clicked. It was more than jewelry, it was a way to preserve the unique touch of a loved one. In the early days, I used molds to capture prints, but I wasn’t satisfied with the quality. My passion pushed me to keep experimenting, and eventually, I developed a process using ink fingerprints turned into stamps. This allowed me to create deeper, clearer impressions and give every piece the level of quality it deserved. That’s when I knew: this wasn’t just a hobby. It was my calling.
A Personal Loss That Shaped My Mission
In 2005, I lost my brother unexpectedly to a heart attack at just 32 years old. It shook my close-knit family to its core. In my grief, I found myself searching through old photos, cards, and keepsakes...looking for anything that made me feel connected to him. I didn't have his fingerprints, but years later, I found his birth certificate and realized I could use his footprints to create a pendant. That moment gave life to my Footprints Collection. Soon after, I found a card with his handwriting, and that became the start of my Love Notes Collection. Creating these pieces brought comfort to me and my family. It was then I decided I had to offer this gift to others walking similar paths of grief, love, and remembrance.
A Lifetime of Capturing Memories
Looking back, it makes perfect sense that I would end up on this path. I’ve always been sentimental and a collector of memories. I started filling photo albums when I was just 11 years old. After my parents divorced, my dad gave me my first photo album so I could keep him close when we were miles apart. Shortly after that, I got my first camera, and from then on, I was that girl at the Kodak store, dropping off roll after roll of film.
In high school, I made scrapbooks filled with love letters and ticket stubs. By my late twenties, those albums grew to include both photos and mementos, little treasures that told the story of my life. Today, I have shelves lined with more than 40 albums. I may have traded scrapbooking for jewelry making, but the heart behind it is the same: preserving memories in a form you can hold and cherish.
What drives me now is hearing your stories...the mom who wears her newborn’s footprints close to her heart, the grandmother beaming at a bracelet engraved with her grandkids’ handwriting, the tears of someone feeling the touch of a loved one’s fingerprint again. Every story touches my heart as deeply as it touches yours.
At the heart of everything I create is this simple belief: the people and moments we cherish deserve to be remembered and held close — not just in our hearts, but in our hands.
I’d love to hear about the special memory or person you’d want to turn into a timeless keepsake. Feel free to share your story in the comments, or explore the collections I’ve created to help you keep your loved ones close:
Everlasting Prints - Fingerprint Collection
Love Notes - Handwriting Collection
Precious Pets - Pet Memorial Collection
Not sure what you're looking for? You can click here to see all of the collections.
Or, I would love to design something custom for you. Just fill out this Custom Order Request to get started.