Where are all the octo-pies?

 OK, its been years.  Let me introduce myself again.  My name is Clel Parsnip, and I make jewelry out of jewelry.  I have recently reopened my Etsy shop with a ton of new stuff.  Why?  Good question.  I've been doing this craft business for more than a decade, and frankly, I'm never going to get rich.  At this point, I figure it doesn't matter.  Clel Parsnip creates compulsively.  I end up with too much merchandise for my friends and family to absorb.  Your turn.

Think of me as a recycler of jewelry.  Or an upcycler, which is how the market view it currently.  How does this work?  Well, go on Ebay and type in 'junk jewelry lot'.  You can find bags of funky old jewelry at second hand stores and antique stores sometimes, too.  What I do is get a bag of manky old stuff, separate it, clean it, then go to work.  Earrings get detached, beads get unstrung, brooches get the backs clipped off.  Then I start grinding.  All the sharp bits have to be ground off.  Charms that are going to be mounted instead of dangled have to have the loops cut and ground down.  Missing rhinestones have to be replaced - sometimes with matching stones, sometimes deliberately not.  Soon, I'm left with a pile of elements waiting to be used.  

I keep them in a file drawer.  At least, all of them that aren't scattered over the top of my desk.

Lately, I've been making barrettes.  Sometimes I make pretty.  

I've been experimenting with painted metal flowers.  I use metal paint and metal patinas on these, as well as harvested jewelry parts. 

Sometimes I cant't resist doing steampunk:  Gears, watch parts, bugs, etc.  Add the recycled bits of junk jewelry, and voila! 

 Stuff.  Stuff to sell.  Stuff to wear.  Stuff to photograph.  Hundreds of things to photograph.   Anyway, that's what I do, in case you wondered.  If you're into eclectica, steampunk, OOAK, altered art, upcycled, vintage or just plain unique, I'm your girl.