MAKE JEWELRY FROM FOUND MATERIALS

Call it altered art if you want! Use pottery shards, 

safety pins, rubber tubing, aluminum soda cans, 

and so much more to create unique jewelry. 

Make it from recycled materials and save money!

Glass beads strung on a diaper pin!

If you have jewelry findings and a few beads, you can assemble a brooch with a large, simple pin. See above.

It's easy to make a lovely cuff from safety pins.

Here's how to assemble a bracelet with safety pins, 

tiny e-beads, and elastic cord: String a pin with beads, close it, and use needle nose pliers to crimp the head to keep it closed permanently.  

Make at least fifty pins this way for a bracelet, & 

string them on beading elastic.

Cut metal, punch hole, add earring findings.

Aluminum soda pop cans are colorful 

and easy to cut. And talk about light-weight! 

File down edges so the earrings don't scratch.

I used a leather cord with this necklace.

Pendant made of a piece of a broken china plate. 

Here's my instruction:
Find a pretty plate (in porcelain, stoneware, or earthenware ceramic) for pennies at a thrift shop. Cover with a thick towel and tap with a hammer. Select a piece you like and dress the sharp, raw edges by smoothing them with a handheld ceramic tile file. Finish the edges with a permanent marker in metallic gold or silver. Glue a jewelry finding to the back.

A charming vial necklace.

A minute bottle with seashells corked inside serves as a pendant, above. Try a tiny, perfect feather sealed in a vial or a stoppered bottle, too.

Tips:

• Spread a large piece of velvet, velveteen, or felt on your work space to keep small parts from rolling off.
• Collect old jewelry chains (inexpensive at thrift shops) so you'll have them when inspiration strikes!