August is Craft-With-What-You-Have month

Nothing I hate more than having to buy things to make things. When I was working on the books last summer, I felt that I was constantly hitting the store, looking for the perfect clasp or trim. Needless to say, my stash overfloweth my workspace, so it’s time to use things up! For the next month (and into the foreseeable future) I am going to hit the reserves for my materials, making things from what I have, and not falling for the siren song of the 40% off coupon.

I decided to make some earrings for my friend Nickie’s birthday. In the spirit of craft-with-what-you-have, I got out the jewelry supplies. The first thing I noticed was that my findings and accent beads are quite depleted, thanks to all that went into Mostly Metals. I settled on some lacquer-red shell pearls and decided to play with some wire wrapping. I always have trouble making symmetrical earrings, but hey – it’s the organic look that’s charming, isn’t it? I really wanted to use lever-back findings, but did I have any silver in my stash? No. I ended up making a pair of hooks, because I wanted the ear wire gauge to be the same as the earrings. At the last minute I added a 4mm black onyx bead to each wire. I love the results. And, I never would have ended up with this if I started my journey at the store. Here's a picture that's a little out of focus, but you'll get the idea.