Confessions of a Crystal Hoarder Blog

We all have ‘em…and some of us have more than others. Holiday left-overs. You may have made it through yours by now…I still have one container in my freezer. My stockpile of beading left-overs is much bigger. And like my cranberry sauce, some of those unfinished items are in deep freeze, but others just need a few more hours to finish them off. I took the time to finish some items that were meant for past posts.

This necklace and ring set were from the very first box. You may recognize the green flowers. The chain has since sold out, but I think that Treasure Vintage Chain (item #20321) would work equally well! To affix the stacked vintage flowers I opened the link band and used my hole punch to, well, make a hole. I threaded a fancy headpin through my stack and made a tight wrapped loop on the inside of the link. I then closed the link back up, and there you go. I used the same principal to fasten the ring to the ring blank.

I used a wealth of frosted Vintage Lucite petals to make this necklace. I’ll admit that I augmented my supply by bullying someone into giving me theirs since the necklace wasn’t quite as full as I’d liked. But have no fear- refills are on the site, (item #20772) so no one will have to get mean again! It wasn’t the last time that it was a relief to find box contents posted on the site after Treasure Boxes were distributed.

The clasp is obscured by the wired flower element.

After making earrings with some teardrop shaped vintage filigree from my box, I wanted to tackle using it as a base for netting. Well, that and I was itching to convert a vintage cloisonné belt buckle into a pendent. The buckle part was damaged, so I used it like a cabochon on a synthetic suede substrate. I put a few of these filigree aside for some Renaissance-esque jewelry for many members of my family for a wedding this summer. In fact, I’ve been hoarding (of course) many of the smooth glass cabochons and filigree for this purpose.

But you’ll have to wait until after the wedding in July to see the results.

I started this bracelet for Sequins of Events, but just didn’t get it done in time. I only got as far as gluing down the various discs so that I’d remember their placement before the post needed to be ready. I was challenging myself to let some background show through my work. I really struggle with wanting to cover the entire surface with beads. Shortly after it was published, I ripped all of them off of the metallic crocodile embossed vinyl I was going to use, and instead stitched them onto ultrasuede, my go to for backing. I like my work to be quite soft, even floppy, so I usually sew onto suede, and back it with a second layer.

The turquoise brads didn’t fit the brickstitch theme for the December box, so even though the bracelet was ready to go, it just wasn’t a good fit. For this one I used stiffened felt, originally suggested to me as a substrate by Jeanne Barta Craine when I attended one of her classes. I thought the wolly texture would be a great foil for the brads, and felt has the strength to not buckle when I bent the prongs.

I like using brads and studs; they help projects zip along since there’s no need to bezel them. Suzanne and the girls uncovered a wealth of vintage brads in the hoard, so I’m sure you’ll see more creations using them in the future!

I hope you’ll get a chance to go back and tackle some of your unfinished creations this year.

In the meantime, there will be 12 months of mystery headed our