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?

One Idea for Blown-Glass Beads

Not long ago, Goody Beads had a sale on several types of blown glass beads. I love these delicate glass bubbles and ordered. . . a lot. :-)

Because they're so pretty, I wanted them to take front and center in a design. After playing around with them for a while, I hit on the idea of making individual dangles of one blown-glass bead and other smaller beads and spacers. What fun it is to sort through my beads and come up with mates for these gorgeous baubles.

Here's one of the dangles I made yesterday. I've strung it on a sterling silver-plated Figaro chain, 18" long, which makes a very dainty necklace. I hope this inspires you in your own beading!