The Big Jewellery Tidy-Up Ep.2

My collection of ‘costume’ jewellery is a lot like my wardrobe. There are a few pieces (my debutante dress) that I don’t can’t wear but keep for sentimental reasons. There are a few items that are seasonal (not much point wearing bracelets in winter). There are some things I once liked but don’t really wear any more, or really don’t suit me, or aren’t comfortable. And there are favourites – some of which I’ve worn out. Just as with clothing, I’ve got some jewellery I picked up at charity shops, and some I made by refashioning charity shop buys. Or remade out of pieces that I got tired of, or a jewellery project that didn’t quite work.

So after sorting and culling I took out my jewellery-making box and brought together the pieces that needed mending or I could pull apart and reuse bits of, and spent a couple of evenings working on it all in front of the tv.

In the jewellery-making box were some projects that had been waiting for time or materials, and some of the fixes and refashions required some jewellery findings, so after a fruitless trip to the local Riot Art – which was half empty thanks to stocktake sales – I jumped online and two days later a little package arrived stuffed full of findings. Then, of course there was the Quilt & Craft Fair mad dash, and then a few days ago I found some findings on sale at Lincraft.

So here’s some of the results of all that mad jewellery-making:

I was never completely satisfied with the nail-polish bead necklace, so I simplified it:

I used the leftover leather to make a plaited bracelet. With it is a bracelet I made a few months ago:

This was going to be a necklace, but when I realised I had a LOT of necklaces and not many bracelets I decided to do the latter. I think it suits the beads better this way:

The jade was originally on a ring and silver chain. Later I put it onto a strip of leather. This time I’ve added a pendant bail and chain, and a fish charm:

This pendant was originally a stitch marker:

Back when I was playing with making books into things I made several paper beads. This was the only ellipse one:

I simply strung it onto some tiger tail with some silver beads. I wore this the day of the Fair and it was commented on by people there, and later at drawing class:

Hat pins! The online store had the pins, and they came with a ‘clutch’ or without. I had no idea what that was for so I bought both kinds. The clutch keeps the beads in place more effectively than the bead I used for the other:

Some years ago I made this necklace using a loom weaving technique I learned as a child. The thread had begun to wear through, so I remade it on the inkle loom:

Then I got all inspired and made this one, which took several hours:

Unfortunately some of the loops are all twisty, so I’ve put it aside until I’ve got over my disappointment enough to pull it apart and do it again.

There are still some pieces to fix or refashion and new pieces to make, and Japanese beading to try, when the knitting machine and looms aren’t calling me.

One thought on “The Big Jewellery Tidy-Up Ep.2

  1. Nice re-fashioning job! I finally finished one of the bracelets I was working on. It’s a bit heavy for my skinny wrists but I may wear it yet. I’ve been taking some of my seldom worn necklaces and wrapping them around my wrist to form bracelets and I’m really liking them better that way. I may post pics in my blog post tomorrow… stay tuned.

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