Recycling Jewelry

I look a class this weekend called "Going Green with Jewelry" which I found pretty inspiring.  The description requested that you bring any broken or unworn jewelry to the class at which time we would discuss ways to create them into something new.  Although it does sound relatively straightforward and simple, it was great to see all the ideas and interesting ways people have re purposed their old pieces into something completely different looking (the instructor had a lot of photographs). 

I decided to take some old beaded necklaces I never wear, cut them up and make a bracelet using the beads as well as a shark tooth charm off of another old necklace.  I strung the beads on wire and then twisted the wire together and this is what I ended up with..

I think the best part was successfully figuring out how to manipulate the wire with pliers to make loops in order to attach the new clasps. 

My First Big DIY

I decided to bite the bullet and create my first blog.  Actually that is a huge lie since I'm quite sure out there in cyberspace is the remnants of livejournals and miscellaneous other sites of days passed.  But I digress...

Lately I have been very inspired to take on a more DIY attitude on life, and it is clear from all the other blogs out there in the world that many of you have chosen to do the same.  Need a new piece of furniture? Why not buy something used from a flea market or garage sale and give it a new coat of paint! Have a pair of old jeans you never wear?  Why not make them into an awesome new pair of shorts!  You get the idea.  Although I am certainly not the first nor will not be the last blog dedicated to all the wonderful things out there that a person can do herself, I still thought it would be a great forum to connect with others who feel the same.

With that being said, much of the origins of my DIY inspiration came from the fact that I do love obsessively decorating and designing the way my teeny tiny apartment looks, and need to do so on a budget.  This piece was what I consider the First Step:

Found this sad little guy as-is at the flea market.  Not too terrible looking but I like things with a lot of detail and I knew this would be a great first time experiment.  The seller wanted $20 for it but he seemed like the kind of guy who is at the flea market every weekend selling any junk he can get his hands on, so I offered $10 and he instantly accepted. 

After a nice sanding, a paint job (Holiday Dress was the name of the paint color, how cute is that?), some stencils and new handles from Anthropology and you get...

I was quite proud of myself, not going to lie.  I know that this type of furniture flip (if you will) is getting more and more popular but it felt SO GOOD to be able to say I did it myself and I had complete creative control over how the final product turned out.  Why stress over not having the right furniture that fits the vision for your home or not being able to afford it!

This total project cost about $40.