Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Beautiful Jewelry from Scrap Materials, Part 1



I've collected quite a bit of "stuff" over the years, as you can imagine.  One of these days I'll post a picture of my bead drawers...LOTS of beads!  And I've got stringing materials and bits of scrap wire and old vintage jewelry and all kinds of little bits and bobs that are waiting patiently to be made into something pretty.  This is the first in a planned series of posts about jewelry I've made using primarily scrap materials, with "scrap materials" being defined as anything I've had laying around for more than 2 years.

This necklace is made from fat faceted teardrop pink glass beads, which I got in a large collection of beads given to me by a friend who quit the business about 3 years ago.  They are strung on thin tigertail beading wire, which is so old it's lost its label so I can't be more specific, but I do know it drove with me from Albuquerque 25 years ago.  I handcrafted the chain links from bits of scrap wire in the bottom of my "scrap tray", which filled up over the past decade and which I've spent the last 2 or 3 years digging through to find just the right length of wire for the current project.  The only *new* things on this necklace are the jump rings and crimp beads that connect the bead part to the chain part, and the spring ring that closes it in the back, plus the earwires on the earrings.

FYI, it measures about 17" long and is for sale for $36.00 for the set!

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2 comments:

Catherine said...

It is amazing how old treasures are turned into new treasures. The necklace is beautiful. Thank you for your visits and kind comments. Blessings, Catherine xo

alf said...

hi.thanks for stopping by my site. yes, nj schools opened a bit late - the day after labor day.

you are have beautiful designs.

have a nice day.