Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Beads ahoy



As artists we often chide ourselves (while completing checkout I'm sure) that we don't really need any more supplies, that we should really hold off for a while and make something with what we've got..blah blah blah. But when you specialise in things that are made with antique and vintage pieces, you can't really 'hold off'- most stuff that comes up is gone before you've had a chance to figure out what you'll do with it.


It's especially hard to abstain when these things are a bargain, and these recent acquisitions were.
They need a clean obviously, but for the price they were I'm happy to get the toothbrush out. The silver metal 'block' pendant charms were from an Ethiopian necklace of an undetermined age, the rest were a 'grab bag' from an eBay seller. These are actually only about 1/10th of the total bag, but there were a lot of coloured ones that I don't have a use for. I'll be putting them in my amazing kits when I do some up with tribal bohemian overtones. (This weekend, cross fingers!)

So ancient looking- I suspect all of these to be at least 100 years old, if not older.

But look at these! Could these be the tiniest beads in the world?

How about these ones?


So tiny! I really can't imagine what anyone could do with such microscopic creatures. Those last ones are carved lapiz lazuli from Afghanistan. I bought them to make hoops like these - but I'm really bad at measuring scale on the internet- I thought they'd be much bigger! Oh well.

9 comments:

Sidereal Day said...

Gorgeous collection of beads.
I love those lapis lazuli, fabulous color.

Gayle said...

Wow! what a great find for in a grab bag!!!

Pretty Things said...

Preaching to the choir, sister. Preaching to the choir.

:-)

Bone said...

Oooh, yes I understand even though I'm still a rookie.
Can I ask for any advice on jewellery making?

Penelope said...

@Alkyoni Pap. If you want to make something that means anything to you, make what you love. It's that simple, no matter how weird you think it is, even if you don't think anyone will buy it- they will! Seek out unique beads (the more unique the better) and handmade findings, don't use cheap materials, and make as much as you can. That's all there is to it, really.

stregata said...

What delicious looking loot!

Jackie said...

WOW!! What a nice haul, can't wait to see what you do with them.
...Jackie xo

fanciful devices said...

NOOO! Dont clean it! i mean, any more than a rinse....
Those block charms just made me cum all over myself.

Seth said...

Great selection. I can see why you couldn't resist.