More Old Going New

This is my second post to show a little bit of Artbeads.com goodness with a project of turning oldness into newness.  

What's old here?  Tin.  I've been enamored with all the tin bead caps going on around here in blog world (Donna & Lorelei are just two who are using them lots lately) so while on a recent road trip I convinced Curt to stop at a couple of antique shops so I could look for some interesting tins to repurpose.  Then I was on the hunt for a disk cutter and as luck would have it, Jeanette's shop, Fundametals, had the primo Swanstrom cutter on sale.  It was still expensive but I'm taking credit for it as a birthday contribution (albeit a month or so early.)  So, that little yellow circle there in the middle was cut by my own two hands (and a few cool tools and a big hammer).  It came from a little Rich's Canton Ginger tin.

The Artbeads.com piece comes in with the silver-plated charm.  It has a nice smooth finish and was easy to punch a whole into so I could add my little yellow bit. I used a little tiny screw and nut to connect the disk to the pendant and included a little flower...just because.  Then I went with my new fave design and made up a memory wire loop to create a little frame that's highlighted with some Swarovski crystals, pearls, and some metal beads.

This piece is now listed for sale in my Etsy shop. 

Another thing I worked on this project is the clasp that I made especially for this piece.  The other day I was wandering around Lori's newly organized Pretty Things blog and came across a DIY project from Cindy Wimmer about creating spiral clasps.  Cindy's wirework is phenomenal so I was excited to try this special little bit for this piece.  It only took a couple of tries to get it to work...thank goodness for cheap steel wire!  I know it looks like the wire is too thin for a clasp, but it's steel and hardened up nicely.  You can see more of Cindy's work at her Sweet Bead Studio blog.

Disclosure:  I received the following product free of charge from Artbeads and I am honestly reviewing them:  Nunn silver-plated charm pendant.  I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received.   The post above represents only my personal opinion.