Recycling Jewelry

Artsy Fartsy part 13! [or 12a if you’re a triskadecaphobiac]

For my last two, I went for subtle… and not very subtle.

1. Semi-patriotic red, white, and blue fun danglers. On gunmetal clips, of course


2. Demure red pins with glass bugle beads. I broke like four of those little suckers before I figured out how to handle them properly

That’s it until I can lay my hands on six more clip-on finings. I am SO close to being

Artsy Fartsy part 12!

These were my last clips (currently) so I had to do something special. Which includes a DIY chain tassel tutorial!

The Photos:

1. Each tassel contains two rings of seven chains


2. For the earrings, cut two even lengths of wire. Better to cut longer than you expect to use than have to pull it apart because it was too short


3. Stick a neat little U-bend in one side


4. Just add tassel rings


5. Close the wire up and thread any

Artsy Fartsy part 11!

I was so busy whilst the internet was down that I ran out of clips. I NEED SIX MORE TO FINISH I’M SO CLOSE AAAAAARRGH!

The Photos:

1. I had all these irridescent beads and a need to make something black


2. I had all these non-irredescent beads and a need to make something black


3. This pair of earrings is made almost exclusively from single pairs of things found in grab-bags


4. I’ll be using some of

Artsty Fartsy part 10!

The Photos:

1. Never let an opportunity to do something funky pass you by. One shown in pre-assembly so you get an idea of the process


2. You remember these feathers, right?


3. Well it’s time for them to join their gem stud pals. The glue was mostly dry and it was past time to transfer them


4. Of course, the blue and black pairs were still too tacky and needed more drying time


5. In anticipation of the last pair

Artsy Fartsy part 9!

I ended this session with a literal pain in the neck and I might not be doing any more tonight, but aah, what works of wonder…

The Photos!

1. Blurry, out-of-focus picture of my special non-slip nylon knot. You do your regular granny knot, and then you wind the short end around and through the loop a few times. When it pulls tight, it makes a kink that won’t undo.


2. Slide your bead on


3. Put your

Artsy Fartsy part 8!

I’ve been shopping! And scrabbling through both my culch and MeMum’s for little bits and bobs.

The Photos:

1. I’ve had these pearl teardrops since the 80’s, but hadn’t done anything with them because the one on the left had a blocked hole. We finally drilled that sucker and now it’s going to a good home!


2. Three baggies of found culch. One bunch of assorted gold beads

Artsy Fartsy part 7!

This will be my last photoset on the theme for a little while, but I am FAR from finished.

The Photos:

1. The mandatory plain pearls for impressing staid business types or pretending that one is an adult


2. Interesting chain clusters for punk days


3. Simple pendants for hypnotising the staid business types who weren’t impressed by the pearls


4. I realised I didn’t have a true black-and-white earring for the collection so I went and made

Artsy Fartsy part 6!

What a difference a night of sleep makes! I had ideas, but executing them kind-of failed a little bit…

The Photos:

1. I was ready to sign off on these as they were because it was late and I was tired and I was also about a million percent DONE


2. But in the morning, I realised they needed some fixing. Fortunately, more black beads and some pins fixed that


3. All I had to do was remove the pins

Artsy Fartsy part 5!

After I finished the silver tassels, I thought it was time to do some designing again, but as it was getting a little late, I think my efforts may be lacklustre. I don’t know.

The Photos:

1. The finished silver tassels in all their glory


2. A relatively simple build, I just took those three pin-beads off the necklace as they were


3. These ones requires a little more disassembly to reconfigure


4. And these chain links came off the

Artsy Fartsy part 4!

Whenever I do something ambitious like the wind chimes, I unwind by doing a bunch of simple transfers. It helps my morale immensely and increases the earring count.

The Photos:

1. The finished wind chime earring at long last. Those nicely-arranged chains took about five goes each to hang right.


2. The finished pair has symmetry because I find symmetry satisfying


3. Swapped pendant earrings are almost imperceptible from the originals


4. The process goes thus: pick your bits to match, where

Artsy Fartsy part 3!

Making things is sometimes a learning process. I learned a lot, today.

The Photos:

1. The silhouettes I got were not reversable and they did not match the finings quite right


2. I had to use two rings to get them to hang properly


3. I really prefer not to mess with the loops of these finings as they are often super-breakable. It’s easier to mess with the rings, as they’re made for that nonsense


4. The beginnings

Artsy Fartsy part 2!

Disassembly and reassembly. You’d be surprised to learn that the first thing you need to know about making jewellery is how to take it apart. Especially if you’re as cheap as me and don’t like paying more than $15 a gram for beads.

Getting them pre-assembled at the shops is WAY cheaper. The most I paid for any one set of bling was $15.

The Photos:

1. It’s amazing how nasty

I’m doing artsy fartsy stuff!

Namely, making a whole bunch of clip-on earrings for someone I admire greatly. Said someone doesn’t like the idea of pierced ears and I want to show her that holes are unnecessary for wearing cool dangly accessories.

The photos:

1) The tools. I bought the jeweller’s anvil some decades back as a joke and now it’s proved useful because dollar shop jewellery posts are bent as all get-out

2)