So, at Wal-Mart the other day, and stumbled across the last of the post-Halloween sale. Yes, I know it's Thanksgiving this week - it was the very last of the post-Halloween stuff (so, the 90% off bin) and it was just the few things left in the jewelry department. Mostly earrings, really. Which suited my purpose perfectly!
Looking at what was there in the sale basket, I saw that the earrings were beaded, and in such a way that I could dismantle them! So, cute Halloween beads and charms for $0.75 for 6, not $3 for 6! Score!
I found the beads (I mean, earrings) last week as I was running errands, but didn't get a chance to play with them til this week. Here are all the supplies, ready to go. I'm using a slightly larger jump ring this time (10 mm). This isn't an already soldered jump ring, like the ones I usually use, but was a little bigger than the ones I usually use too, which I felt balanced the larger charms well. I've also got the pins and some faceted beads for accents (and some extra pretty), so I'm ready to go!
As you can see, yes, they really were earrings! The strings of pumpkin charms are held together by small jump rings, and attached to the earring hook by just a simple wire loop at the base of the hook. To take apart that style of loop is very simple - it's just the reverse of attaching anything with a jump loop. Open the ring slightly using the fine-nose pliers, slide the charm/bead/chain on or off of the ring (in this case off), close the ring again with the pliers. You can see in the picture on the right a better view of the chain o'pumpkins once they are detached from the earrings.
Here's the first one done! A little blurry, I know. My old camera's not always great on the super-zoom :\ Still, you can get the idea.
The charm is hung on a one-inch pin with a loop at the base. Thread a faceted bead (or two) on the pin, then wrap the pin around the jump ring, as you would a "normal" stitch marker. Add the charm to the pin by opening the loop on the end, sliding on the charm, and closing it up. Like I said, the opposite of taking apart the earrings to start with :) I found it was easiest to add the beads to the pin and attach it to the jump ring first, and then add the charm. Less chance of bending the charm unintentionally as I was attaching the marker to the jump ring.
You can also see I've added a little orange bead on the ring itself. That isn't there just for decoration. I actually got the idea from one of the stitch marker groups in Ravelry that I am a member of. With jump rings that aren't already soldered, the rings are closed using pliers, but it is very hard to get them totally shut, to create a smooth, snag-less loop. That is alright with a lot of yarns, but if you're using a particularly fine one (lace weight, or light fingering weight) or if you have a very fuzzy yarn, you run the risk of snagging in the jump ring. That's the same reason I'm so careful with making sure the ends of the pin are totally pressed down into place, to leave as little as possible that the yarn could catch on.
Anyway, the purpose of the little bead is to cover the opening of the jump ring. It's the same method as I used to create some simple stitch markers when I first started playing with these.
The charm is hung on a one-inch pin with a loop at the base. Thread a faceted bead (or two) on the pin, then wrap the pin around the jump ring, as you would a "normal" stitch marker. Add the charm to the pin by opening the loop on the end, sliding on the charm, and closing it up. Like I said, the opposite of taking apart the earrings to start with :) I found it was easiest to add the beads to the pin and attach it to the jump ring first, and then add the charm. Less chance of bending the charm unintentionally as I was attaching the marker to the jump ring.
You can also see I've added a little orange bead on the ring itself. That isn't there just for decoration. I actually got the idea from one of the stitch marker groups in Ravelry that I am a member of. With jump rings that aren't already soldered, the rings are closed using pliers, but it is very hard to get them totally shut, to create a smooth, snag-less loop. That is alright with a lot of yarns, but if you're using a particularly fine one (lace weight, or light fingering weight) or if you have a very fuzzy yarn, you run the risk of snagging in the jump ring. That's the same reason I'm so careful with making sure the ends of the pin are totally pressed down into place, to leave as little as possible that the yarn could catch on.
Anyway, the purpose of the little bead is to cover the opening of the jump ring. It's the same method as I used to create some simple stitch markers when I first started playing with these.
And here's the new set! Ta-da, six cute, cheap, easy, re-purposed pumpkins!
I feel so very clever because I hadn't played around much with repurposed charms yet (repurposed in that they were once earrings and are now stitch markers). It totally opens up sources of cheap charms and beads! Post-holiday sales and old earrings at thrift stores would both be great sources of cheap earrings. As you can see, the earrings were $0.75 from Wal-Mart, and I was able to make 6 stitch markers from the set - only about 12 cents a bead. Compare that to any regularly-priced bead shop! Even Oriental Trading Company beads are usually about $8 for 24 beads, coming in at about 30 cents a bead. Granted their sale beads bring that down a good bit, but it's still nice to have other options, you know? You can bet I'll be keeping an eye out at the post Christmas and Easter and 4th of July sales too! At this particular post-holiday sale, I was able to find the pumpkins used here, as well as earrings with bats, candy corn and ghosts, all drop earrings with enough beads to make a full set of stitch markers, so plenty of options for seasonal beads, and all only $0.75 on sale. There was even a set of absolutely adorable little metal spiders, not scary or gruesome at all, but all I could think was how much my yarn would catch on their little legs. Oh well... Still, am very happy with my pumpkins!
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