Re-visiting beading and jewellery making
It has been what seems like forever since I did any beading or jewellery making. I enjoyed searching out and repurposing old and broken jewellery and I'd mostly use bits and pieces of it to add to mosaic or mixed media projects using all sorts of other, arty techniques. . A chandelier here, a charm bracelet there, projects for magazines showing how textiles or stamping techniques could be integrated into jewellery making, the odd workshop and so forth.
Hoarding sparkly stuff
With one thing and another (that I won't bore you with) all my supplies and tools got packed away a good few years ago. Like most craftspeople, I'm a hoarder of things that are a) sparkly/pretty and b) could be used in the future...I just couldn't bring myself to part with them.
Discovering treasure
Sorting stuff over the weekend I re-discovered my stash and it was like finding long forgotten buried treasure! Firstly, I have to say there was a mountain of it. After sorting it all out I have a seriously big plastic stacker full (that I have now mounted on the type of heavy-duty castors you get for fridges and freezers due to its weight and size). I'm not sure whether to feel ashamed or ecstatic - but I do feel inspired and keen to make use of them!
Chilled procrastination
Sorting them out into complimentary colour families and deconstructing old jewellery that had been thrown in in haste was really cathartic but took up far too much time. Next time I need a serious de-stress I'll turn to re-sorting the beads for therapy but now I need to stop procrastinating and get on with making!
Hypoallergenic Halloween skull earrings
...Try saying that quickly!
My first jewellery project is underway and although it's getting a little bit late in the calendar to drop them in my Etsy shop, I'm making some Halloween earrings with a modern twist using some bright synthetic howlite skull charms I must have bought years ago.
Vintage beads with a modern twist
Moving away from the traditional Halloween colours is a lot of fun. Adding some of my vintage beads, I'm bringing the earrings bang up-to-date with colourful, quality niobium findings. While these are a little more expensive, not only are they gorgeous but they are also hypoallergenic, which makes them suitable for most people with sensitive skin or metal allergies.
If I can stop just rifling through and admiring my beads, I should have the earrings ready to photograph and upload to Etsy by the weekend. Keep an eye on my social media for updates.
Until soon x
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