My favourite Charity Shop in Evesham always has a brilliant array of interesting necklaces and bracelets, and what I particularly like is the way they make up bundles of colour matching bracelets for between £1/£1.50 each and this week, when all spread out, I came back home with some very useful goodies.
It was the bracelet of facetted grey, aurora borealis beads that first caught my eye in the top bundle (£1)
There must be at least a hundred glass beads on it, all with a loop, which makes using them as a “dangly bit” on a project, perhaps a fringe on the bottom of a tag, so much easier.
I also noticed the bracelet of irregular blue gemstones and immediately thought of Marc, as they are just the sort of thing he uses in his jewellery/key ring making. In just these two pieces I felt I had had my monies worth. I think the bracelet with the abalone rectangular links will also be useful to Marc, but I think the dolphin and wooden bangle will put in my next bag to go to the charity shop nearest me.
The other bundle of bracelets (£1) also provided much useful fruit, all the beads on three of them are glass in various sizes. On the green bracelet, they are already put together in small drops of three/four beads, all I need to do is take them off the chain. The same can be done with the blue bracelet which also includes a few metal charms and a toggle fastener. I have already started some Christmas decorations/tags using children's wooden picture dominoes pieces and the drops are (hopefully) going to be perfect for them. I think the bangles will be donated back to the shop.
The above necklace, well it’s “stunning”, once upon a time I would have worn it, but now, perhaps not, but I am keeping it whole for a while at least, just in case, but if not, I can already see in rearranged and set in a rectangular memory frame I already have.
And now for my Mystery Buy of the Week, (again from the same shop), all suggestions welcome. They all have a pin and fastener on the back. There was nothing on the packaging to say what they were, but one possibility that came to mind was that they could be candle pins, to go round and decorate a large or several pillar candles???? Anyway for 50p ….. I could have some very posh candles if I wanted!
And finally …… this “stunning bracelet was from Oxfam, for 50p. When taken apart the clear glass pieces are going towards an oval jewelled mirror I am planning to make for my nephew and his girlfriend to put in their new house. The old mirror hung in my in-laws lounge for as long as I can remember, I thought by bejewelling it, it would breathe new life into something from his Granddads house without looking old fashioned and out of place.
Not a bad collection for just £3.50, in between going to the dentist and a coffee!
Following on from yesterday, I decided to see how the birdhouse card would look on a simple mat and layered background, using paper from my Craftwork Cards Country Charm mini paper pad, a white linen effect card and silver mirror card.
I used a brown pen to colour the eaves of the birdhouse, stuck on the bird (giving him an eye), and then added 3 layered, punched flowers with yellow flat back gem centres, before finally doing some faux stitching with a fine, black liner pen. Sorted.
