Sunday, October 31, 2010

October Blog Carnival: How it Came to Be

I make jewelry out  of salvaged cabinet, electrical and plumbing fixtures.  People often wonder out loud when looking at the jewelry that I make out  found objects and vintage hardware.

Where do you find this stuff?
Why do you see jewelry in it?
How do you get your ideas?

May I show you?
My favorite shopping grounds are salvage yards, garage sales and friends junk drawers.

I love the intricate ornate designs in old brass and reuse them whenever I can in ways that showcase their beauty.

This often means cutting them apart into reasonably sized pieces.  The Dremel tool is a very handy accessory for this purpose.

This is what the  pieces look like before dismanteling.

Afterwards I just clean them with a wire brush and mild soap and water. Nothing too strong, preserve the old patina if at all possible.

These are a few of the finished products.




   
Free Flight made of vintage watch band and gears.

Hearts Amulet made from an old wrist watch case.

Fleur de Lis made from an antique door knob.
The topic "How it Came to Be" was chosen as the Starving Artists Team's Blog Carnival post for the month of October.  Read how other members felt about the subject.



5 comments:

  1. Bonnie, thanks for the peek into how you make your fabulous pieces. I really admire your vision - the ability to see how all the different and unusual parts can be turned into jewelry is not something all of us have.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, super pieces. Very unique. Love them.

    ReplyDelete
  3. WHen I try to do the reclaimed salvage jewellery it tends to look like a junk pile! I admire people who can do it though!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I too have asked the question on where do you get your awesome pieces from - now I know! Beautiful work Bonnie.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for sharing. I have to admit I have wondered as well ;-)

    ReplyDelete