Some good Renn finds at Michaels craft/art store

[CenturiesSewing]

My tiny horde




Filigree bead caps in 3 different finishes, they also had the wider shorter bead cap types. Good if you need a few to finish off a project. Some acrylic paint can fix any color issues.

The round filigree piece is for a pomander, it is hollow inside so it should be easy to wire it to the end of a girdle and add some scented silk inside. The other more Victorian one is a locket. I might use it as a base and add some fake enamel work to it.

There was a ton more stuff, lots of it good for steampunk and other assorted bits.

[gem]

Oooh, fun! That pomander piece is a real score.

[Auryn]

Ohhh thats a total score
I havent seen any of those pieces at my Michaels and I'm there once every 10 days at least.
now I will have to go look this weekend

nice

[gem]

I think we just need Centuries to go shopping with us!

(I've noticed that I find the best pieces when I'm NOT looking for anything.  )

[Lady Rebecca]

You are such an enabler! I think I may have to make my way to Michaels tomorrow...

[Rowan MacD]

  I have never been able to find aglets at Micheals around here. 
  I see they call them 'bead caps'?  Maybe if I look in that section a bit more...

[gem]

That's where I found mine--in the bead section. I don't see them all the time, but if they have them, that's where they'll be.

[amy]

by the term "fake enamel work"... do you mean like I do?   Fancy new nail polishes make AMAZING fake enamel work!..  They now come in super fine point brushes for making pretty little nail designs..but wow is it easy to dress up your jewelry or fix a broken bit with this stuff.   You can find it at the dollar store or Wal*Mart too.     Really cool finds!  Oh and they come in crazy colors too.. like black, green, purple and white!

[gem]

Amy!!  Must. See. Pictures!!  I actually have a whole slew of ridiculous nail polish colors I could experiment with, and a bunch of random jewelry pieces I've picked up over the years. I'd love more information about how you do this!

[CenturiesSewing]

Amy that is exactly what I mean. =D They used good quality nail polish on Arwen's wedding crown in the LotR movies, so if it worked for them why not us?


Gem, one way that comes to mind is take some costume jewelry, the kind that has horrible fake pearls and pop those out. Then fill the settings with the nail polish. Or paint over bits of chain and findings to give them a new look which would look like some of the necklaces from the Cheapside horde.

http://www.elizabethancostume.net/jewelry/index.html

*edit*

a few more examples:

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/search_object_image.aspx?objectId=71486&partId=1&searchText=cheapside+hoard&fromADBC=ad&toADBC=ad&orig=%2fresearch%2fsearch_the_collection_database.aspx&numPages=10&currentPage=1&asset_id=238929

Most of it is displayed here:

http://www.museumoflondonimages.com/viewCollection.php?collectionId=319

[operafantomet]

Nail polish is also perfect for changing the colour of "gems". Like, making clear plastic crystals into "emeralds" and "rubys". I did that for a lot of the gems and beads I used for a grand theatrical costume. For example, I bought some ornamental golden earrings with a clear "crystal" in the middle. These were painted red and green with nail polish, and it worked like a dream. It maintains the "sparkle", it merely changes the colour.

[Adriana Rose]

that is a great tip for painting the gems.

Ok another question, what is the Cheapside Horde? I cant get the link on the web page to work.

[CenturiesSewing]

Adriana which link isn't working? I might have mistyped some of the code....

Cheapside Horde is a cache of late 16th/early 17th century jewelry that workman found under a floor in 1912. Most of it is gold with enamel work or semi precious stones and is generally thought to represent what the middling sort would have worn.

Bit more about it and some nice close up photos:

http://www.hollywest.com/blog/2010/02/cheapside-hoard.html 

[Adriana Rose]

Thank you! Its strange to me that the amathysts are more of a pinkish color opposed to the purples and lavenders that I am used to.
The link on the website that said it went to something about the Cheapside Horde went to a very wierd site.

[Rowan MacD]

by the term "fake enamel work"... do you mean like I do?   Fancy new nail polishes make AMAZING fake enamel work!..  They now come in super fine point brushes for making pretty little nail designs..but wow is it easy to dress up your jewelry or fix a broken bit with this stuff.   You can find it at the dollar store or Wal*Mart too.     Really cool finds!  Oh and they come in crazy colors too.. like black, green, purple and white!

Genius!