Flea Market for Life!

I know I've talked before about all the fun places you can find beads.  Bead stores, craft stores, and bead shows are great and all...but what I really love is the thrill of the hunt.  Digging through a pile of somebody's broken cast off jewelry is one of main ways I find new beads.  Once a month, Nashville has a HUGE flea market at the fairgrounds.  Vendors inside and out, selling anything from shabby chic reclaimed furniture, to coins and collectibles, to any bit of household kitsch you could possibly imagine...and then some.  Last month I drug my PiB Kelly for an exhausting day of rummaging, hunting, scouring for beads.  Join our adventure!

A few of my favorite flea market views.

I always try to arrive early, because shopping the outdoor vendors is no fun with heat exhaustion.  Housed in the fairground animal barns, these vendors often have large bins or sections of the table marked at $1.00...I always dig through these because you never know if you'll find a piece of broken jewelry you can salvage for parts.

Kelly shopping - check out all those skeleton keys!

I always bring a bag full of food and drinks - nothing puts a crimp in flea market shopping like low blood sugar or dehydration.  This trip we decided to pack a small rolling bag to share the load - we took turns pulling it around, and poking our finds inside.

Me, shopping away...definitely going for comfort over fashion...

As soon as the day starts to heat up, it's time to cruise through the exhibit halls.  These are full of more established vendors, higher priced antiques, and ready made goods.  I like to make a pass through the antique vendors in particular...again, because they will often clear out broken jewelry for really low prices.  If you can see past the grime, plastic baggies, and costume jewelry, you will find vintage treasures waiting to be ingredients in your next project.

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Of course, it wouldn't be a trip to the flea market without spotting a few things you never thought you'd see.  A box of rusting springs, 5 for $1.00...somehow I managed to resist.  I'm still kind of sad the wood sculpture of a lion munching on an antelope was way outside of my budget...  See all those little baggies?  Those were half off the marked price...I found a broken strand of OLD coral in there, the real thing that can't be harvested from the Mediterranean any more...for $1.00.

Dismantling with our feline assistant.

After arriving home, we scrambled around to find grungy tools, empty baggies, and a piece of fabric, went out on to the porch (great way to keep shards of wire out of the carpet), and started taking everything apart.  Rotten threads, corroded wires, and grungy broken clasps go in the trash bag.  I like to sort everything by how difficult it is to take apart, then get to cutting the useful beads and components out.  Want to see the whole hoard?

My loot on the left, Kelly's on the right!

We both ended up with a TON of vintage glass beads to repurpose.  Kelly got some interesting metal pieces, and some fossils she had been hoping to find as well.  I ended up with quite a few partial strands of trade beads, and some loose wedding beads in really unusual patterns and textures.  

My non-bead finds...

I just can't leave the flea market without a few weird items.  This trip it was a small wood animal mask for the wall, a large bronze strike bell, two miniature pottery jugs, and a plaster doll bust.  Maybe she was a mold test in the past?  There's still clay embedded in the creases of her face...and I just love how the vendor tried to make her more appealing by giving her a hankie kerchief.

Even if you don't have a local flea market, there may be neighbor hood garage sales, charity rummage sales, thrift stores, or antique malls you haven't checked out lately.  I hope this inspires you to the possibility of finding beads in unexpected places.  Happy hunting!

A penny for your thoughts? Thoughts on coins...

Happy Boxing Day to our UK readers, team mates, and friends!

 (The exact etymology of the term "boxing day" is unclear. There are several competing theories, none of which is definitive. The European tradition, which has long included giving money and other gifts to those who were needy and in service positions, has been dated to the Middle Ages, but the exact origin is unknown. It is believed to be in reference to the Alms Box placed in places of worship to collect donations to the poor. Also, it may come from a custom in the late Roman/early Christian era, wherein metal boxes placed outside churches were used to collect special offerings tied to the Feast of Saint Stephen,which in the Western Church falls on the same day as Boxing Day.)

From Boxing Day to coins wasn't that far of a creative association if you think if the Medieval alms boxes. And It is most definitely coins that have inspired this post.

Examples of ancient coins, many of them Greek. 

I want to start with Niky Sayers of Silver Niknats - for she was the driving source of inspiration to me for this topic. We recently participated in the Beads of Courage Charm swap and Auction, which I know you heard about here. I received a coin "locket" made from a 40's era copper British farthing. (pictured below, canvas backdrop) It thrilled me no end. The bird is a wren - at times called "Jenny wren" and there are myriad folklore and tales associated with the bird... There is a garnet inside, a secret treasure. I love her use of coins, both her creative vision, and the recycling nature of the coins as material. And I admit to being an Anglophile - if you have seen any of my tiles and shrines you know they are inspired by myth and lore, mainly that of the UK, Ireland, etc. 

The six pence coin ( top left) pictures the four plants representing the UK: Tudor rose/England, thistle/Scotland, leek/Wales, Shamrock/N. Ireland.  Thanks to Niky for the use of her pix. 

So coins. Coins IN jewelry. Coins as material to make jewelry... not just a wonderful coin, prong set simply... on a chain. But more integrated... Here are my inspirations: 

Richard Salley. These older pieces of his show his mastery of mixing found objects, wire, metal. The union of quarter and a watch casing as the front of a hinged locket? Brilliant. Found washers, steel wire, visually compelling mechanisms that are simple and function flawlessly. 

Keith LoBue. Keith is a Stuffsmith, an artist working with all matter of materials and found objects to make wearable sculpture. This spinner ring of his showcases a three penny coin, and the patina of age  is gorgeous. 

Hairy Growler. Caroline, my fellow AJE member mentioned this UK artist to me... And his work is... well, just look! I am in love! His take on reworking older coins is beyond creative. I really appreciated the inclusion of the original coin in the images - to see King George and then the altered version really illustrates the amount of work carved/engraved into each piece. And of course - the moon hare is a favorite!!! 

Stacey Lee Webber. I had the good fortune to meet Stacey at the ACC Craft Show in Baltimore a year or so ago. It was so interesting to see these pieces in person! Taking a commonplace coin and elevating it, challenging our associations of a mundane object, given and used... now becoming a treasure, a work of art. Really interesting! 

I am inspired by these artists and more - coins are miniature works of art, designed and carved by artists whose names are not recorded for posterity... I find coins can be very evocative souvenirs of a place, a trip, a time. I plan a more hands on coin post in a few, when the new year has me back in my studio. 

I hope you are all enjoying the post holiday period! Have a merry holiday - wishing you all the best! 

Upcycling? Recycling? Which am I doing????

I'm not sure what the exact title of this post should be, because I'm not sure what I'm doing!  I am "re-using" some things in a different way so I suppose it's both.  I'll start at the beginning!  Below you see my work bench - excuse the mess.

 The last time I made glass beads (months ago), I noticed that the sheet metal that was applied to my wood table was coming up at the seam where hot glass generally flies.

 You can see that it's right under my torch, and was going to continue to happen.  I didn't want the table to get totally ruined because it has some sentimental value - it was my grandmother's kitchen table!  Also, I was concerned that at some point, a hot enough piece of glass might start the table on fire...

 So my boyfriend made me a table top out of wood, and he covered it with ceramic tile.

 Ever the professional, he couldn't let it go without adding a little finishing detail!  He's just like that!

 When he was finished with the edge, he had a few pieces of this small square tile left.  They were sitting on another table of mine, and I just couldn't help but think I could do something creative with them, other than mosaic.  I guess this is the upcycling part.

 That's when I thought about using them for a pendant.  I really like the color combination and even though they aren't using any of my own beads as the pendant, it would be my creation.  So, how to connect them?

 Since my boyfriend is a general contractor, when I am out on jobs with him and we are doing electrical work, I get all the leftover copper wire!  This is probably 14 gauge copper wire (I think) and I think this might be my answer.  So this would be the recycling part.

I'm going to try and flatten the wire, and use it on the back of the tiles to connect them.  I think I'll texture the wire, use E6000 to glue them together, and have a little bit of the wire showing between the tiles.  The bail will probably start out at the top of the piece of wire as a simple curve.  I hope it works.  I can see a necklace with this!

Stay tuned, my next post will be my progress and (hopefully) completion of this little project!

 Susan Kennedy
SueBeads Etsy
SueBeads Web Site

This Post is Brought to you by...

the letter "S"! For me the past month, it stood for "stressed"...today it stands for "sick". I have had a nasty head cold since Christmas Eve and all I want to do is sleep. See, that starts with "S" too! I decided today that I would recycle one of my most popular "Saturday Share" posts. I has definitely been one of my favorite techniques for 2013 and I'm sure I will be using it a lot in the coming year...maybe with some new twists!  Thanks to all that have pinned and re-pinned it on Pinterest! I hope it has been a helpful technique and will inspire someone new today, that perhaps didn't see it the 1st go round! I'd also like to say Happy New Year to all of you, our wonderfully supportive readers...I wish you the most creative, happy, productive, peaceful year ever!

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Happy Saturday, everyone!  For today's installment of Saturday Share, I decided to write up a quick and easy tutorial for the double headpins (for lack of a better name) that I use in connecting components, such as layered pieces or discs.  I have had several folks ask how certain pieces are connected and I thought this would be a good forum to share!

After struggling with balled headpins in connecting layered pieces and discs, I had a brainstorm one day.  What if, instead of balling up the end of 1 piece of wire, I somehow melted/fused 2 pieces so that I could use both "tails" to better stabilize my components to the base?  Imagine my surprise, that after twisting the wire together and sticking it in the torch, just like normal torched headpins, it worked!

Here is my method...start with a piece of copper wire.  I like 22 or 20 gauge.  Fold it in half, press together and twist until you have about an inch twisted.  Torch until you have the size ball you  want, quench, and untwist! Simple, huh!

It really is!  Things to watch for...make sure the wire is touching throughout your twist. Any segments that do not fully come into contact with the other wire will melt through, leaving you with a single pin, or worse, will cause the balled-end to fall off.  If you are using scrap wire, you don't have to loop at the end, just twist the 2 together, but make sure the very tips are touching. 

If you want to enamel the ball, do so as you would with regular torched pins, before you quench.

I thought this would only work with copper or fine silver, due to their fusing capabilities, but decided to try sterling silver and it works!  It also works with brass/bronze.

Layer your components in your desired configuration...thread double headpin through the holes and make sure you have a good fit.

With these 1-holed components, I wrapped the tails around my base form...usually in the opposite direction for a stronger and closer connection.

When I use a flat base to connect to, like these earrings, I like to punch 2 holes, like a button, and thread each tail through their respective holes, then on the back, flatten them and tightly coil them.  Since the ends are exposed with this method, you have to make sure any sharp edges or burs are filed.  I squeeze with my nylon-jawed pliers to work harden, then I usually tumble to strengthen as well.

There you have it!! I am sure that I am not the 1st one to figure this out!!  It is a really versatile technique and can be used in all sorts of ways!  I want to try fusing several strands together and do some wire weaving, but that's another day!

Thanks for stopping by...If you have any questions, let me know!

Melissa Meman
Melismatic Art Jewelry
Art. Life. Love