When I was a kid, my friends and I had a fine collection of popbeads in every color and size. What fun we had disassembling and reassembling them to wear with our adult-sized dress-up clothes as we had tea parties with our dolls on my front porch.
My mother and I used to bake marbles in the oven and immediately drop them into a pitcher of ice water and watch them crack inside, forming a colorful, sparkling assortment of a “poor woman’s diamonds.” Then we would attach a cheap, dime-store bead cap to them and make necklaces.
My mom used to sew a small tube from a piece of fabric. She would tie off one end and put a round bead in the tube, then thread a coordinating bead on the outside and push it tightly next to the inside one, then put one inside, then outside, until the length of fabric was completely beaded. She would tie the ends together and have herself a fancy new necklace that would match her outfit, which most likely was hot off her Singer sewing machine. She was creative and she was stylin’!
Those fashion fads are probably gone forever, but a girl just doesn’t know what’s going to come back around. I hope that the fashion gods have the sense not to repeat some of their craziness from years ago. What were they thinking when they came up with…
1) Hip-hugging, bellbottom pants with a 3″wide white belt that looked good on me when I weighed 110 pounds in high school. Imagine these in plaid. Yes. Really.
2) Those gawdy, loud-flower-print, strappy shoes with 4” heels and 2” soles in the front that were just begging for an accident to happen. They were cream-colored with large orange and green flowers. And they were heavy. I can’t believe I paid good money for those things, but everyone had to have a pair. With each step, we had to lift our feet like we had just stepped in gum, being especially careful to lift them high enough when getting into a car or climbing steps. Teenaged girls aren’t the most graceful creatures on earth in the first place.
3) Polyester double knit anything! Being an equal opportunity, self-proclaimed fashion critic, let’s not forget men’s polyester double knit leisure suits in bright fruity colors, meant to be worn with polyester double knit, brightly printed shirts, many of which featured pictures of fruit. My husband owned three of these gems, and I married him anyway.
4) This isn’t yesterday’s faux pas, but what about all these duct tape garments? I mean, ouch! Ouch in so many ways. First the physical pain, then the pain of looking at them. Did the duct tape people come up with this new use to beef up sales? What’s next? Shingle shoes? Plaster leggings? Pine-Sol perfume?
It seems like styles come back around about every 30 years or so, but they usually come back with a twist. Like the white go-go boots that were “made for walkin’” in song several years ago. Boots are “in” again, but they don’t resemble the ones that Nancy Sinatra wore. I firmly believe that cowboy boots will never go out of style. I own one pair and just bought another in a trendier short version.
Lovely rhinestone brooch that belonged to my mother-in-law
Jewelry is the same way. I am blessed to have all of the beautiful brooches belonging to my late mother-in-law. And quite an assortment she had! They’re in pristine condition – no rhinestones missing, no chips, no discoloration of the metal. She took good care of her jewelry. The old pins are so in-style now that they’re red-hot popular. My mother-in-law’s generation never would have worn a sparkly rhinestone pin with a casual denim jacket, but I do. She probably wouldn’t have pinned one to a shabby chic lacy scarf, but I do. She never would have attached it to a barrette and worn it in her hair, but I…have thought about it.
Going to antique shops was one of my favorite pasttimes, until I started spotting toys that I used to play with when I was six! After that it became a humbling experience. I still frequent antique shops and flea markets, albeit now with guarded enthusiasm. I love it when I find old rhinestone brooches that are in great shape. Retro beads are among my favorite finds because they can be unstrung and blended with new elements. I’ve used many of them in bracelets and necklaces.
A bead made from a vintage bottle cap and assorted beads, old and new, make up this fun bracelet.
People from one generation back would probably have a fit if they saw me breaking up strands of perfectly good old necklaces so that I can use the individual beads in one of my new necklaces. Take a look at my bottle cap bracelet that utilizes retro beads, Swarovski crystals, and a mishmash of other elements. I’ve got my plastic, my metal, my crystal, my Bakelite, my glass…all in one bracelet. What a conversation starter!
The same goes for old rhinestone earrings. With my trusty, heavy-duty pliers, I pry off the back and incorporate the earring into one of my collage pins with antique buttons and other vintage finds.
I’m all over small found objects…old Scrabble squares, jigsaw puzzle pieces, old keys, watch faces and their inner workings, antique typewriter keys, to name just a few. I will clean the pieces as much as I dare without ruining them.
Buttons of a more rustic nature combine with an antique typewriter key and a modern button to make this interesting brooch.
With the typewriter keys, the discolorations and scratches make them even more interesting. I have always typed for a living, and a wave of nostalgia comes over me as I remember the movie “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” featuring Julie Andrews pounding on the keys and heartily hurling the carriage return on one of these vintage curiosities.
Collage pin made from vintage buttons and a hand-dyed silk flower.
Years ago ladies used to adorn their garments with beautiful buttons in place of jewelry, which was considered to be an expensive indulgence. One only has to look at these treasures to see that a lot of work must have gone into their fabrication. Metal buttons with intricate designs are my favorites. Birds, vines, and flowers were common features. Sometimes a mirror would be in the background with an overlay of tedious metal embellishment. It’s sad to think of them hidden in a jar or box somewhere. They are meant to be worn, and using them in a brooch is the perfect way to spotlight them.
As you might guess, studio organization is hard for me because I have so much stuff of varying sizes and shapes that I can’t really categorize. I’d never be bad enough to make it on “American Hoarders,” but sometimes I can empathize.
Briar Lane Studio 