What's Old Is New Again

Apparently I was fast out of the gate when I first put up pictures of my Artbeads Design Team piece. I was told I was actually the first to post...who says I procrastinate :)

Ha'Penny Farthing (pronounced hay-penny)

Anyway, here is the finished piece with it's Vintage woven chain, slider and beaded teardrop beads.  I confess to having not used much Vintaj but I am a total convert now.

As you may have read in my previous post I was excited that this was going to be a vintage type challenge because I LOVE creating vintage style. I had found some old English coins when going through my Dad's things after he died and had been wanting to do something with them so this gave me the perfect opportunity.

When I came across the Kabela Altar piece I knew what my design would look like and went in search for beads to match it. Swarovski's brass pearls are absolutely awesome and I can't understand why they weren't in my stash...you can bet they are now:)  For some depth I chose a dark bronze fire-polish bead which is one of my all time favorites.

I design a lot of vintage looking jewelry...I swear I got hooked on the vintage style as a child going through my grandmother's jewelry box. 

Tips I will share for creating old from new are :~

• use brass elements, if it's antiqued all the better
• bronze colors like Delica #322 give an instant vintage feel
• if you're using something like old coins, clean them but don't take all the age away
• research vintage jewelry so you know the look you're going for

My finished piece has been worn and got quite a bit of attention which is always wonderful.  I chose to use a slider for the piece as it allows me to wear it at choker length and then longer if I feel in the mood.

For me this was the best project yet, and I now have a family heirloom to pass down:)

DISCLAIMER:

Artbeads send me beads and things from time to time so I can play with them and give an honest opinion of the products. I am not reimbursed for this opinion.