Reusing...

A celluloid flower clip on earring given new life with
 flat plates of jasper gleamed from an old stretch bracelet.

I make a lot of my jewelry from things I find; things that are broken, tossed aside, hidden somewhere, unloved. It didn't start off as a way to recycle or be eco-friendly, although that's a huge bonus for me. No, It started out as a way for me to express myself and work within a modest budget. This quest for me started when I was a child tagging along to flea markets and yard sales or  when my elders would let me have a massively tangled bundle of forgotten treasures. On the really good days of hunting, I would snatch up a box lot of "junk" for pennies. It started with me having a love for the past, for things that no longer function in the modern world but still had value. I love anything vintage, antique, old whatever you want to call it.
I couldn't wait to get home and start figuring out exactly what I had. I  would find all sorts of really cool stuff. A bunch of sterling bangles, a rhinestone paste necklace, a large glass teardrop from a chandelier long since gone, old clip on earrings, beggar beads by the ton. I prob still have remnants of my earliest found treasures in my stash to this day. I still make trips to flea markets and been gifted many broken pieces and even find a few lost treasures on ebay. I have let many pieces over the years go to good homes and now they live on again, being reused and loved. And that makes me happy. I hope that you find value in things that maybe don't seem valuable on their surface. I believe that a lot of things can be reused and hope you take a second look at something you are ready to throw away and maybe find a new purpose for it. On my website there is a page of my portfolio items if you want to take a look at what I have made in the past.
http://denalistondesigns.com/portfoliocustom-design