Bargains! Opportunities to Create!

Do you find yourself drawn to thrift shops, second hand stores, recycle shops, antique shops and estate sales?  No matter how I try to avoid them, an invisible magnate pulls.  Why do I try to avoid them?  Well, there are so many possibilities for all the things I see.  And I tend to keep things until I’m inspired to use them.  That means there are boxes under beds, in closets, and stacked in corners waiting …waiting … waiting! 

One of my goals for this next year is to make a glorious piece of jewelry once a month that uses one of the treasures I’ve found; something that creates a story and connects the now with the past. 

Being in a new town, Prescott, with so many intriguing places to explore is similar to being in Wonderland.  Looking in, around and under the items encourages me to make up stories about who made something, what the owners lives were like, and inspires me to combine the old with the new.  I’m sharing a few of the pieces I’ve made and will share more in the future.

A friend took me to NOAH’s where I found a necklace with the most amazing butterfly.  I had to have it!  Later that week, I took the original necklace apart and kept the butterfly.  Several weeks later, I used it in this necklace.  The backing is copper sheet metal, cut and filed, with a sterling silver bezel, and brass filigree soldered on the edges.  A copy of an original painting is inside the bezel under a dome of ice resin.  I placed a green Swarovski crystal beside the word ‘LOVE’ and below it the words, ‘that is the secret’.  My butterfly hanging below brings special meaning to this pendant.

Several years ago I collected hat pins and have decided to sell them in my etsy store www.etsy.com/shop/brittdesign.  This lovely 1920’s black beaded hat pin was broken and could not be repaired to keep its value as a hatpin so I decided to remove the original wire pin, glue the pieces together, replace the wire and make an extraordinary necklace.  I combined it with crystals and it hangs on a black cord. The original beading is intact and I can just imagine where this hat pin was seen!

Unusual and vintage jewelry combined with today’s components is a wonderful way to appreciate our history and see its impact on our lives.