Welcome Cassandra!
I am a jewelry fanatic -- and I''ve also taken to crafting more and more these days. Lately, my passion is ribbon watches. Fabric/ribbbon for watch bands is something I try to get cheaply. Have you seen the bead and jewelry section at Joanne''s and Michael''s where they sell the watch faces? They also sell all sorts of supplies that you can use to restring or repair older pieces. If I see a pendant I like and the chain is broken -- I buy it and string it on a ribbon.
This year, for most of my girl friend''s birthdays, I''m going to buy a watch face (of course, waiting for them to be on sale). Since the bands I sew don''t require a whole lot of fabric, I am keeping my eye out for cool shirts, pants, skirts, etc. that I can cut up. My particular patterns of interest these days are toiles and madras. Both can be quite pricey in fabric and craft stores -- but cheap at the thrifts. I also make hair ties and head bands with this stuff.
As it is, I have found some very inexpensive D-ring belts that I can actually cut down for this purpose. I''m also looking at ties to use too.
It''s a wierd hobby, but one that I can cheaply feed through thrifting. I guess it feeds my triple obsession with jewelry/watches, crafting and thrifting.
Thriftily,
Alexandra
www.livingwithoutmoney.blogspot.com