Making jewelry from salvaged materials
Saturday night, a friend of mine came over with some bug necklaces that she had bought on Ebay. They were really cool but she didn’t know what she was going to do with them. Each bug was suspended in acrylic and then strung on a cord. I bought one of them from her and on Sunday I made a bug necklace.
Half of my creative process is having interesting materials at hand. So I shop at surplus shops for interesting pieces of metals and I check out thrift stores for cool old necklaces I can take apart. This bug necklace was new, but it was still easy enough to snip through the cord it was strung on.
I used a metal T-pin, the kind with a ring on top, to create a bale by which my bug bead could be strung. I used little metal jump rings to connect it to an old C-ring that I had in my art box. The C-ring framed the bug bead and the colors of the bug really popped against the dull steel. I knew I was on the right track.
Metal necklace chain is easily found at almost any craft supply store. I use Blue Moon products. They have a gunmetal grey chain that I LOVE. But when I put this necklace on a chain, it just didn’t work. The chain didn’t have the right look. I had a little spool of waxed leather left in my art box, so I gave that a try. It worked out perfectly, I think.
Never be afraid to take things apart and reuse the pieces. Save the rest – you never know when inspiration will strike.
