Thank heaven for a frugal hobby! Spending my last week of freedom making something out of almost nothing (school starts next week and I go back to work during the day).

Low Cost Stone Pendants
Collect rocks for polishing, especially if they are in a Rock Hounding guide and known to shine well. We went on a road trip for summer vacation and made a point of stopping at rock collecting sites which we knew were nearby!

Give the tumbler a whirl. OK, I happen to have one, including a supply of grit. This part of the hobby is not without cost but is fairly reasonable. Naturally I plan to polish stones for a number of years.

Let time pass. Check stone conditions and change grits as needed. These took a few weeks total.

Now for the hard part. Experiment with wire wrapping into pendants. It takes practice but wire is cheap!

Alternatively, glue fold-over bails on the flatter ones. If you get really ambitious, make your own bails and glue on smaller pieces. (I'll do this for some pairs that might make good earrings).

Voila!

Fan Fare

Shell pattern in midnight blue wire over bluesy-green agate. Hung on double blue-black string accented with sodalite and silvertone beads.

Upward Spiral

Marble-look agate in tan, greys and white held in double spiralled wire.

Copper Cage

Zig Zags everywhere over red agate. Copper wire and black leather strand.

Hands Across the Rocker

Free form fun in simple silvertone wire around black speckled agate.

Your feedback welcome (especially on that wild copper one!)