Vintage Inspirations Part 2 of 5
If you love the look of vintage brass and copper from yesterday's post, you can easily make your own using pre-patinaed findings or those you have antiqued yourself (see my past post on 8 ways to patina metal). Here are more inspirational ideas to get you going down this path.

1. Reforming and Enhancing Vintage Filigrees
One corner of one of my bronzite gemstone tiles was chipped off so I folded over a vintage brass filigree I had to hide that. I added some gold swirls to brighten it up and put it on a chain...for me!

If you're not too keen on wire work, another way to take care of undrilled nuggets or cabochons is to do some more metal origami! I took the same filigree and folded it even more. I used an autumn jasper nugget for this example but I think a beautiful rectangular cut crystal or a cabochon (which I don't have) will look even better.


The above designs were inspired by those in Debbi Simon's book called Crystal Chic. I have included pictures of a couple of projects from the preview pdf here. As you can see, she is a whiz at reforming and adding bedazzling crystals to vintage style findings.  You can purchase the book directly from Kalmbach Publishing or from Amazon.
.


2. Old Jewelry Mash ups
If you like haunting flea markets, secondhand stores, yard sales and auctions, then you will be able to pick up old jewelry and perform some mash up magic.  One of my favorite DIY fashionistas is Maegan and she recently posted her tutorial on how to make a multi-stranded vintage necklace. Hers is shown below. She says using a mannequin makes the task easier. Her inspiration came from multi-strand designs by Tom Binns.


You do need to collect a fair bit before you can mix and match.This video shows a treasure trove that is Lulu Frost, the shop where designer Lisa Salzer keeps her huge stash of all sorts of vintage material to make her signature jewelry line. The bracelet tutorial shown is simple - just a string of beads tied to a bit of chain.



3. Make a vintage pendant from polymer clay
In this video, xLausa shows you how to make a polymer clay pendant featuring a laminated paper pendant. She antiques the black clay project with silver paint.



4. How to make a vintage jewelry box
Now you've got some vintage style jewelry, perhaps you want to keep it in something that fits the theme. Heather from kafergraphics demonstrates how in this crafting video.


______________________________
Original Post by THE BEADING GEM
Jewelry Making Tips - Jewelry Business Tips