I never spend much money on my jewelry. We’re talking $10 and under for most pieces. I like to change it up frequently, without guilt. I like to hold children, without worry over what havoc they may wreak. And yet when favorite pieces break I still feel a little sad. Certain pieces, such as a red glass-bead necklace I bought on my first trip to Chicago, have a story that makes them precious to me despite their not-even-semi-precious gemstone status. When my necklace’s cord broke, I put the beads in a bag in hopes of someday restringing them. But when inspiration struck, it urged me to make something new instead of recreating the old.
That started a frenzy of making “new” pieces from old beads I had lying around–and then I mentioned my jewelry-making to an aunt, who immediately sent me beads and supplies she was no longer using. Oh boy!
Over Christmas vacation my niece and nephews did some beading with me, and then I made a pair of earrings for my mother, who just got her ears pierced for the first time in her life! I won’t say how old she is but…older than me, obviously. I adored the vibrant blue of these teardrop beads, but I don’t wear much blue so I knew these beads would probably end up as a gift. They were great for earrings, and when I completed my project I realized its hue perfectly matched the post-sunset sky in the mountains. Simply lovely!
What do you do with old jewelry? Have you ever saved the pieces and transformed them into something new?
wellcrafted 