On Saturday I shared my Butterfly Dreams assemblage necklace with you, made from a recent Yard Sale Treasure. Well, today I want to share some of the Yard Sale Treasures we found Saturday morning with you.
We stopped at a house and I never would have guessed I would find these beauties inside, neatly placed in plastic baggies, ready to come home with me. You know how you can’t judge a book by its cover? Well that’s the way this yard sale was. In fact, Keith said he would wait in the car while I looked but after I was gone so long inside the house, he came to see what I had found. And since I really enjoy recycling and repurposing vintage jewelry, I was really tickled with what I scored.
There were tons of baggies, loaded with jewelry and I was hoping to find some vintage costume jewelry. This Miracle Viking Shield Brooch was the first piece to catch my eye in the endless baggies of necklaces and bracelets. It had another piece in the bag with it but I knew instantly this bag was coming home with me.
I have come across other pieces by this company before and they are very well made. They make great pendants for necklaces and this one had a Topaz glass crystal center, which is my birthstone. The Miracle Jewellry Company is still in business today, starting in the UK in 1946. They make a lot of Celtic and Scottish pieces and many feature the Thistle Flower, a symbol of Scotland.
This brooch is rather large at 2 inches across and even though the crystal is a little scratched, I know it will make a lovely pendant.
Another nice thing about vintage Miracle brooches, they often have a hook (like the one on top) so that you can wear them as a pendant. On pieces like this I will usually leave the hardware in tact so that the new owner can wear as a pin some day if they want.
The other piece in the baggie with the Viking Shield Brooch was this unique piece! In the darkness of the house, I wasn’t sure what it was, at first glance I assumed it might be a butterfly. It wasn’t until I got home and looked it up that I realized that little baggie held such a huge score – on two counts!
This brooch is actually a Weiss piece of Mourning Jewelry. His company was known for these types of special pins – they are enameled in black (a process called “japanned”) and the black glass crystals are called Black Diamonds. These pieces are some of the most sought after pieces of vintage Weiss Costume Jewelry. This one is in pretty good condition, most of the enameling is in tact and all of the Black Diamonds are there. And, it is not a butterfly, but a Pansy Flower! It needs to be cleaned, it is very dusty, but I think I may end up selling this piece on eBay as is and let the new owner worry about cleaning and preserving.
The mark on the back made it easy to identify. It definitely is an interesting piece, although not one that I would ever have given a second thought to had it not been paired with the Viking Shield brooch.
One of the other little baggies had this pair of earrings. I don’t think they are very old, but they are well made and I knew they would make great pendants for necklaces. I have made necklaces with earrings before and they are very fun to wear, giving new life to something no one wants anymore.
Plus, black and gold are classic and go with everything!
So yes, they were the first thing I repurposed. Here is Maud showing off one of those earrings and I love how it turned out! I’ll be adding it to my Etsy Shop soon.
The last little baggie I purchased had these fabulous Peacock Feather Earrings! I love, love, love these!
They are antique brass with faux marcasite details and black glass crystals. Hmmm…I am sensing a theme here today. Which was not intentional, these just happened to be the items that I purchased.
These will also be repurposed into pendants for necklaces. They are a little too heavy for my ears and are also very long for me – they make a 3.5 inch drop with the ear wire. I cannot wait to make something with these. The antique brass might work with some Vintaj elements that I have in my stash.
The final item in the baggies that I will be keeping is this little Bow Brooch. It’s not a real Marcasite piece, but has black enameling on sections that give it a little flair. It was in the bag with the Peacock Feather Earrings.
It will also be easy to repurpose, so it will go into the brooch stash that I am accumulating. It seems I have plenty of pieces to keep my busy for quite a while.
And you want to know the best part? All of these Treasures were under $5. I love when I can find bargains and give them new life!
Leave a Reply