Sunday, October 9, 2016

Honk If You Love Car Parts!

Who doesn't love a good flea market?

Pasadena's Rose Bowl Flea Market, held once a month, is a treasure trove of goodies for jewelry makers. When I stroll through flea markets, thrift stores, collectibles shops, and so on, I keep an eye out for bargains that can be turned into nontraditional jewelry components.

This necklace is a fine example.

I scrounged a magnetic metal letter "P" from a bowl of auto bits and pieces at one dealer's booth a couple of years ago. Although I didn't have an immediate vision for it, I liked it and knew it held possibilities. One would have been a fridge magnet, for instance. Another would be holding important papers on the front of my file cabinet or as a gift tag on a wrapped present.

This necklace came about from upcycled parts: an old ball chain and the thrifted letter, joined by a simple (strong) jump ring. It's a fun nod to automotive interests and old-model cars and a unisex jewelry piece.

What do you have sitting around that would make an interesting piece of jewelry?




Thursday, October 6, 2016

Recycled Halloween?

My crafty crafter friends, if you have vinyl/vulcanite disk beads (from recycled record album material! How cool is that?), here's a fun bracelet to make for Halloween. :-) This idea is easy to adapt for any season or holiday, too. Just vary the vinyl disk color. (You can do this with sequins as well--stack them on memory wire. They appear almost translucent.) I buy these vinyl disk beads at happymangobeads.com.