Up-Cycled Jewelry
The Dilemma
In the Works:
The Original Necklace
(image above)
I bought this necklace at an artisans market while visiting family in Accra, Ghana. It was strung with thread, and the beads seem to be a hard plastic or acrylic. When I first saw this necklace, I was drawn to its colors, and the hoop bead at its center. I liked its variety of shapes in beads.
The First Up-Cycled
Necklace
(image below)
​
The Culprit: Theo
Yes, the pig ate my necklace, and no, he was not wearing it. (The necklace fell from my work desk.) After prying the jewelry from Theo, cleaning the beads, and making sure I had all the pieces, I was able to starting planning to fix this mess.
I had to decide what to do with the broken hoop bead. I thought about wrapping the two smaller pieces in wire and have them supend from the larger piece. In the end, I settled on drilling through the smaller pieces and make them beads themselves. This was not necessary for the third larger piece because there was one out of the two holes still intact. By wedging beads into the open middle of the largest piece, I was able to stabilize the bead, and keep it as the centerpiece of the necklace.
Have jewelry you want up-cycled? Want to get rid of jewelry and beads taking up space? I'll buy those from you, contact me!