When it comes to art beads I am some what of a bead snob! I like to support the handmade artisans that put time and effort into their beautiful creations, But when it comes to what I class as secondary beads, the pearls and semi precious beads as long as they are of good quality I'm always on the look out for a good deal and surprisingly I seem to have hit the honey pot with my local charily/thrift shops.
Normally I would head straight to the book section with my youngest daughter as this has proved by far the cheapest way to fund her book addiction, but recently I have been paying more and more attention to what is in the jewellery cabinet.
More often then not there is a string of some kind of beads going at a really good price, todays cabinet has a lovely string of 5mm flourite beads, a mixed string of button pearls and 4mm goldstone beads or the really nice chunky Potato pearls with a lovely luster (that might possibly have come home with me). But also there is always a piece of jewellery that I think Wow, I could not make that for that price, which on this occasion lead me to buying these earrings....
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| My Local Charity Shops and the Jewellery Cabinet |
More often then not there is a string of some kind of beads going at a really good price, todays cabinet has a lovely string of 5mm flourite beads, a mixed string of button pearls and 4mm goldstone beads or the really nice chunky Potato pearls with a lovely luster (that might possibly have come home with me). But also there is always a piece of jewellery that I think Wow, I could not make that for that price, which on this occasion lead me to buying these earrings....
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| Thrift Shop Earrings |
While these are lovely, they are so not my style! For a start there are no art beads!
But, look at what there is.... 3 pairs of sterling silver set stones!
So, I know that the cost of those stones (the triangles and drops appear to be amethyst and the tiny stones look like iolite) would be way more then I paid for the earrings, then add in the cost of the silver and the time taken to set them and they are surly a steal at £6.99, so they had to come home with me!
Then came the challenge how to make them into some thing I could wear.
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| Broken into Part |
With a rummage around my bead hoard/stash/collection these parts were soon turned into some thing much more my style....
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| Glass Sparkles |
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| Amethyst Studs |
I don't normally make these kind of dangly stud earrings, but I really like this pair! Lamp work by Lesley Mclver and mushroom head pins by moi! Much shorted and with glass way more my style!
So my question to you, do you use thrift store finds in your jewellery or is there some where unconventional that you buy your beads from? I would love to know!
Recently on a trip to Savannah, Georgia, I went into some antique stores and bought mother of pearl buttons, a chain with a a silver angel charm on it for my jewelry.
ReplyDeleteWhoa - you found good stuff at the Thrift store. I love the earrings with the glass headpin drops!
ReplyDeleteI did like the original pair to begin with, but I adore the ones you made - esp the first one with the lampwork headpin - its gorgeous
ReplyDeleteThrift stores can have some great jewelry for repurposing! But, for your own financial sake, please do a little online research before taking old jewelry apart and reusing it. Vintage costume jewelry in can be worth *astonishing* amounts of money to collectors. Way more than it will be worth by taking it apart and repurposing the parts. Sell the good stuff as is, take the money and feed your bead addiction!
ReplyDeleteAs an example, I paid $11 for a pink and green silk cord necklace that had some nice art glass swirls. It was marked Miriam Haskell and the same necklace was for sale on line for $365! That was the asking price, so it might actual sell for less, but if I put my necklace up for sale at a deep discount it will probably sell very quickly. Lots of old jewelry is not worth much and great for repurposing; Niky's earrings don't look like they are especially old and probably not marked, so they are good candidates, but you may be losing out if you don't do a little research.
OMG, those are gorgeous! That was truly a fab find. Lucky you!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great find! My thrift stores are not that good.. Location, location, location... :) Love what you did with the parts!
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ReplyDeleteWhat a fab find and I love what you did with them!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post. So fun to see what you did with the earring pieces. I do shop at the thrift store sometimes for jewelry, but I get overwhelmed by the pieces and am not sure what is good to pick. I tend to pick up tins to cut up and repurpose. I do buy vintage necklaces online in destashes. They are easier to focus on one at a time!
ReplyDeleteA fantastic find on your part and you created Awesome pairings love them all.
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