Brandy

I won a couple of eBay auctions a while ago.  I paid an average of about $3 for each auction, which featured 300 pieces of genuine swarovski crystals ranging from 3mm to 15 mm in size.  The colors were completely random.  It was a mystery bag.

A lot of people would say that a mystery bag is a bad investment, that you'll only get small beads or even that you'll only get ugly colors... but some of my best pieces have come out of mystery piles and destashes.  If you've ever bought swarovski for a project before, you KNOW how easily you can end up spending $1 per bead.   $3 for a swarovski mystery mix is NOTHING.  You can pull a definitely pull some decent pieces from grab bags.

You don't believe me?  Well, look at this commission I made from mostly items I got from my grab bags.

BAM!

It's a full 20 inch necklace.  Not a half-beads, half chain number either.  Here it is from a less flattering angle.

I was even able to squeeze a bracelet out of it.  The bracelet looks pretty durn good too, if I might say so myself.

Oh.  And I got some earrings out of it as well.  Grab bags are only a bad investment if you don't know how to wield your powers as a designer.   Put your creativity to work.  Think outside the box and remember that even if you get 'ugly' colors, you can make them spectacular with the right additions.