Turquoise Ripped Silk Beachy Jewellery
by Tamara Robertson.
(Sarnia, Ontario, Canada)
I’ve been playing with a couple of new materials recently. One is some turquoise leather I scored in a thrift store. It was a fill-a-bag for 5.00 day.
I took my purchases up to cash. Everything I had fit into the bag except for the last item, which was a turquoise leather skirt that I wanted for the material (it wasn’t right for me to wear).
I was just thinking about whether I wanted to pay the 50% off price they would charge for the extra item when one of the ladies said “Look, it’s leather!” The other lady took the skirt and managed to push it down on top of the pile. “There! That’s definitely all now!” she smiled.
So I got my pretty leather material for basically nothing. Sometimes the stories of how we get the materials are as interesting as the jewellery we make, aren’t they? 😀
Anyway, I decided to use a bit of the leather to make bails for some of my light aqua beach glass pieces. I made two pendants and a small clip, but unfortunately one of the pendants fell on the tiled floor in my dining room and broke. 🙁
I also had an idea to use a turquoise and pale gold silk scarf I had in my drawer for jewellery purposes. I love the colours and material, but it really wasn’t the shape and size that I found myself wearing.
But it is perfect for my beachy jewellery. I decided to rip the scarf lengthwise. I also ripped off the side seams. I love the casual, boho feel of the ripped silk, and it is so lovely to work with! I think I’m in love with working with ripped silk. 🙂
I used one of the lengths of silk for my aqua glass pendant. Then I realized that one of these strips would be perfect for a pendant I made from a spoon that had been run over on the street.
I had the pendant on a gold-plated necklace (which I shared here at JMJ – Big Dipper Mixed Media Necklace), but shortly afterward, the necklace broke in a way that I can’t fix.
So my pendant has been sitting on my dresser, waiting for something else to hang it from. The silk turned out to be the perfect solution, and I think I like it even better now.
Some of the pretty teal crystals I’ve used on these projects came from a fancy blouse I bought a long time ago at a thrift store, for the purpose of using the crystals.
Recently I decided to cut off the cuffs of the blouse. They actually make really pretty cuff bracelets just as they are. I may do something to them, but I’m not sure yet, and if so what. Hmmm…
Tamara Robertson
Pink Pearls and Potpourri
