08.20.2007 | Posted by Cathy Jakicic

Vintage finds

 

 

This weekend I took my annual trip to Spring Green, Wis. There is a theater company there called American Players Theater which does Shakespeare and other classic plays on a beautiful outdoor stage. The drawback is that when is storms, as it did on Saturday, they must cancel the production. The weekend wasn't a total loss. A friend introduced us to a yummy new cocktail at our (suddenly indoor) picnic. A French 75, a drink that was invented in WWI, is made with gin, lemon juice, superfine sugar, and champagne. It somewhat made up for missing "Timon of Athens." What really saved the weekend, however, were the pieces of antique costume jewelry I found at the Middleton Antique Mall. Visiting the mall is also an annual tradition. I bought two necklaces that I will probably end up dissecting for the beads. Though they'd look great on Rosalind Russell in an old screwball comedy, they're a bit much for me. The trick will be doing SOMETHING with them before they're are relegated to the limbo of good intentions. Any ideas on how to use these in a way that's wearable today but still respects their charm?

Comments

  • alohabc said:

    Aloha!  The blue & green stripey balls remind me of Christmas ornaments we would make with raffia on styrofoam.  I have those flat bicone spacers from a vintage Swarovski crystal choker I've also updated, and recycled the spacers into many pairs of earrings. How about doing wire wrapped loops on the large beads, alternating with large closed rings or ovals to make one long opera length strand?  I'd use the smaller beads to make earrings to match.  Save the stripey ones for a mini tree or holiday earrings?!?  I'm sure you could find a nice seed bead project to recycle that pretty double strand clasp, too.

    August 23, 2007 3:32 AM
  • homegirl said:

    I would not do a thing to them!  Especially the beads on the left (light blue?).  The design, the clasp, the colors are beautiful just the way they are.  I would wear them as is.  Whenever I wear my vintage beads, I get so many compliments.  Part of the charm of vintage beads is their design.  I'm not sure about the beads on the right.  Can't tell from the photo what they are.

    August 23, 2007 10:05 AM
  • charwen said:

    I think I would simply reassemble them into long strands with a simple chain or cord (maybe black for contrast) in between each bead.  With that many big beautiful beads you could do a double, triple or even quad strand piece with each current piece.  So many chouces with beads that striking.  Good Luck!

    August 23, 2007 10:59 AM
  • Cathy Jakicic said:

    I had the same thought on the stripey beads. I like your idea for an opera-length strand. I'll let you know how it turns out.

    Thanks,

    Cathy

    August 23, 2007 2:33 PM
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