I spent the summer slathering sunscreen on my kids at the public pool, but my wrists would have you thinking otherwise. Laden with bracelets, most of the homemade variety, it looks like I spent July roasting marshmallows and singing songs around a fire at summer camp. I’ve ditched the gold, and in the carefree spirit of summer, even shed my watch, in favor of jewelry (maybe a generous word choice) that is uncomplicated and unfussy.

To be honest, my “stack” started long before summer. Back in January, I went to celebrate a friends birthday in Mexico and to mark the occasion, we all got some souvenirs on the beach. You know, less permanent than a tattoo, but longer lasting than the suntan we’d come home with. Kind of like these:

This friendship bracelet was later joined by an evil eye courtesy of a superstitious friend and a slew of beaded, fringed kids bracelets from a local children’s designer. As summer wore on, my stack grew. We went to visit my parents, where I took a page out of my REAL camp memory book and made these telephone wire bracelets with my kids.  Yup, added some to my wrist and theirs too.

I’m anything but alone in this kitschy, colorful jewelry phenomena. Enviable stacks – all of which feel more crafty than Cartier – have been littering my social media feed for months. Unfortunately, those I love most come with price tags reminiscent of camp tuition rather than craft fees… especially since you can’t wear just one- with these baubles it’s definitely a case of more is more. Take a look at these goodies from Carolina Bucci...

or these from Roxanne Assoulin:

I ultimately settled for these from Shopbop, which cozied right up to the other inhabitants on my very crowded wrist. And just when I thought there wasn’t room for more:  I saw this sponsored Instagram post…

and immediately googled “how to make a straight row friendship bracelet.” I’m ten minutes into an eighteen minute You Tube video, with nothing to show for it but a big knotted mess . . . but . . . .

In the mean time, I like looking down at my wrist while I work or cook or drive and reminisce about what I’ve done and where I’ve been this year.  Kind of like, an artistic, somewhat fashionable timeline.