Jewelry making; getting started, brainstorming and trying new things.

 This ring was made with a pin/button

... a cloth flower and a pearl

 a miniature pitcher set

 various button rings

 the owl is from 3-d scrapbooking stickers

 hummingbird is a thin laser-cut piece of wood

 bird is 3-d scrapbooking sticker

miniature dried seahorse encased in resin

When I very first began making *any jewelry (many years ago), it began with the traditional sort of materials like plastic beads, cord, found 'pendants' and even Shrinky Dink material. 
Now that I am creating jewelry, in an attempt to turn a profit :), I have found that several items and materials are beneficial - and having a wider variety helps me figure out which I am best at creating and which customers prefer. 
For instance, I have saved all of my broken pieces of costume jewelry or single earrings (when I lost the other). These pieces have come in handy as embellishments on other pieces I have constructed. A few example photos of these are posted. 
Other materials which are popular are buttons; plastic,  metal, and especially the vintage type. 
Cloth and ribbon have also proved to be useful; you can wrap strips of patterned cloth around a plastic bangle or use ribbon (such as organza) for the 'chain' part of a necklace. I have also recently found some new uses for ribbon and cloth in creating rings and necklaces by cutting concentric circles, 'burning' the edges to make it curl, and sewing one onto another. Adding a few crystals in the middle really dresses it up.
I have even tried stickers, which have worked even better than expected. With the wide variety available, and the highly decorative and layered type used for scrapbooking, you can make a very unique piece using a thick resin or acrylic sealer over the top.
Wooden cut-outs, as used for embellishing crafts, can be painted and used as pendants or earrings.
Miniatures have become popular as well, much like those traditionally used for dollhouses. The Japanese term "Kawaii", meaning "cute", used in a search on the internet, will yield a wealth of examples including pieces of jewelry using miniatures.
My best piece of advice would be, then, DON'T THROW IT AWAY! Even broken chains can go on to become portions of "chandelier" earrings or to help suspend parts of the main pendant or necklace feature. Try new things; look around - bottle caps, nuts, bolts, paper clips wrapped in colored paper, rolled paper beads..... the possibilities are endless and inspiration is everywhere!