Did you spend the day after Thanksgiving shopping for holiday gifts? I did. But when I shopped, I didn’t worry about finding the perfect gifts for female friends and family. I planned to make them instead. So on the busiest shopping day of the year, I headed for the jewelry department and looked for the super-markdown necklaces and bracelets. It didn’t matter what the piece of jewelry looked like in the store. By the time I’m done with it, it will look entirely different.

What attracts me to bargain-jewelry shopping are the components I can salvage from these pieces – interesting chain, flashy beads or charms, and reuseable clasps and jump rings. The fun is finding the least-expensive pieces that I can turn into something that looks like I spent a fortune. My friends know I do this, and every year they look forward to receiving a one-of-a-kind, original necklace or bracelet.

So the next time you’re in the jewelry department, check out the bargain tables and see what might inspire you to make something glamorous for your next holiday gift.

Happy beading!

Lynne Soto