Bead on a Wire Blog

I have been busy creating in the past couple of months as I gear up for the annual Tea For All Reasons Open House. Sadly, this is the last TFAR Open House since my parents are moving away from this area sometime next spring. I know that my mother’s loyal customers are deeply disappointed to hear that news as much as I am.

Anyhow, I’ve been busy. Here are a few of the new items that have already sold in my Etsy shop:

The Agate and Jasper Necklace

… and matching earrings

Vintage Rhinestone Shoe Clips

Vintage Thai Princess Ring

Recycled Hand in Time 2 Necklace

There are other items sold, too. More than I remembered!

It’s been a pretty good fall for sales so far, considering the many months that I let things languish at the end of my pregnancy and soon after my daughter was born in late March.

My mother babysits my son on Wednesdays. So this morning when I dropped him off, I got a nice bonus - more vintage jewelry goodness. She had gone through her jewelry cabinet to pull out old pieces that she knew none of us would really want to keep or wear. There is a treasure trove of lovely stuff in a box in my car, waiting to be cleaned and poured over for recycling possibilities.

Of the stuff she has already given to me (listed in my Vintage and Recycled shop section), two pieces sold within hours of being listed - a cameo brooch/pendant and matching bracelet.

So far, I find that I prefer to keep most pieces as they are - as I research, I realize that they are more valuable intact, which is kind of cool. Other pieces, that are not hallmarked or the background isn’t really clear, I will probably take them apart to make new things.

There are quite a few things from 1950s Japan. There’s a bracelet from 1944 Australia that my mother thinks my great-grandfather bought for my great-grandmother when he was stationed there during WWII. And there are fun things from the 1970s - most of those may be what are taken apart eventually.

Fun, fun stuff and possibilities.

Taking the clip-on earring component from an old pair of earrings that were my grandmother’s, I came up with a lovely new pair of earrings.

I cut the clip from the silver piece and filed the rough edge left to smooth and rounded to avoid injuring the earring wearer. Then I wire-wrapped a freshwater pearl and attached the silver piece to the pearl. Simple French hooks in Sterling silver finish off the new earrings. I love the filigree detail in the flowers. So delicate and pretty. It made sense to add a pearl accent.

The original earrings were from 1950s Japan, where my grandparents (and mother) lived after World War II. My grandfather was a career Army officer. I’ve also got some cool Delft and silver jewelry from 1940-50s Holland (most likely) still to work on.

I have recently come into some really lovely vintage pieces of jewelry that I am going to sell. I have looked at all of their components to see if they were things I could take apart to make new pieces with, but I love them all as they are. So they shall remain as they are and after I get them cleaned and polished, I’ll list them in my shop.

There are some pieces that I’ll take a apart for the raw materials - mostly broken pearl necklaces. Now I just need inspiration on what to do with them. With the removal of my cell charm/zipper pull section, I’ve added a Vintage and Recycled section for just this purpose.