Stitch Markers

Thought I'd try my hand at making crochet-friendly stitch markers this holiday season. My LYS stocked a new brand of commercial markers recently and they were awful. Pretty colors - which is why we all bought them - but soooo dull and difficult to use. Which got me thinking about why crocheters couldn't have pretty, functional stitch markers like the knitters do.
 
So, I did a bit of research and bought several colors of pretty, metal, sharp, coil-less safety pins.
  
I added some beaded trinkets from my ever growing jewelry-making stash (enhanced by a visit to French General just the day before . . . ), attached them to seasonal gift cards and voila - 
 
holiday presents for my students and pals*. And maybe one or two just for me. 

* Sorry for the dull pictures - trust me, these sparkle in real life.