Re-purposing Vintage Crystals

A favorite shopping excursion for my husband and me is to check out the local antique shops where ever we travel.  A recent find in Naples Maine was boxes full of old crystals from chandlers.  My mind immediately began racing and before I knew it, I had purchased literally a bucket full of potential projects.  After carefully removing the old wires, I soaked the crystals in ammonia and water.  As I laid them out on my dining room table to dry, I sorted them by shapes and sizes, and ideas began to form.  I could envision beaded bands around the various shapes using netting, peyote and Ndebele stitches.  Several of the crystals had small chips, so I knew I would have to conspicuously place bead work to cover those spots.  Still other crystals had unique shapes that would lend themselves to beaded bands, bales, etc.  My husband pointed out that this was an excellent opportunity to also re-purpose some of my bountiful supply of surplus beads.  At this point I see no limit to the variety of combinations that can be created.  Below are a couple examples of ornaments using several different sizes of crystals, embellished with Delica beads and SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS.