Wire Wrapped Glass Chip Necklace

 I've got way to many materials to recycle, including all the bottles from the kitchen renovation. I finally used some to make a wire wrapped necklace. I had my husband slice the rim of a beer bottle off and I filed down the edge of a chip from the same bottle for this creation.

Wire Wrapped Upcycled Jar Vase

 This is what I made my mom for Mother's Day. Years ago I had torn from a catalog a picture of something similar . The photo was very small, so I couldn't really see the detail of how it was made and I think they were smaller. 
Well to make mine, I went out & got some glass beads (blue and clear) some 16 gauge blue craft wire (two 7 foot packs) and some silver wire from the hardware dept (it was cheaper than the craft wire, but will probably tarnish quicker). I had a neat jar from maple syrup that I was thinking of using, but it seemed a bit big. I then looked in the fridge & found an old jar of McCormick cocktail sauce that I don't even remember ever buying. I emptied it out (it's color was off) washed it out & then used some blue glass stain on it for color. 
I then slid a few beads onto the wire and started twisting the ends into curls and following the shape of the bottle. I wrapped more wire around the top & bottom of the bottle and looped the side pieces through them. At this point I got frustrated because the side pieces were just flopping from side to side. Obviously I didn't quite get the construction right. I used the silver wire strung with beads to attach the separate swirl pieces at the bottom and for additional decoration. To get the sides to stay in place I attached some more silver wire with beads & just wrapped it all around the two pieces to get them to stay in place. 
Now I'm just hoping that the weight the vase once a little water & flowers are put in won't cause it to come apart.

Miniature Handbag Earrings

Silk mini handbag earrings silver, a photo by b-a-boop on Flickr.

Dangle earrings in the shape of miniature purses, perfect for holiday or New Year’s Eve parties. In beautiful midnight blue silk or ultra-suede, each handbag is hand sewn and the chain handles are made from upcycled jewelry. Each pair is uniquely embellished with different kinds of beads. Some have silver findings, some gold. I hope to get more varieties made in the near future. Also great for gift giving.

Tribal Earrings

While working on ideas for the hoop earrings a few posts below, I started stringing together various beads from my collection. There was one set which I was quite happy with; in which I used some turquoise beads, red glass beads and various upcycled bali beads and bead caps. I had to put them to good use. I grabbed some silver hoop findings and hung them from the bottom of the hoops. I then had to string together one more dangle for the center of the hoop. So in no time flat, a birthday project also resulted in a new item for my ReFORMAtory Etsy Shop.

Hoop Earrings in Silver Copper and Khaki Metallic

My husband asked me to make a pair of earrings for his friend's birthday. She lives very far away from us in Russia, they became friends on flickr; both admiring each others great photography.

He knew from her photostream that she wore hoop earrings. It just so happened that we came across a pair of hoops a few weeks later. The hoops were silver with a ball chain wrapped around them. They had many little silver drops dangling between the balls which I removed. I tried a few combinations of dangles from my existing beads, but Bob wasn't really happy with them, so I took him shopping and he picked out a great match (doesn't he have good taste). After they were finished, it took a few weeks for them to arrive, we were anxious to hear what she thought. Here's a lovely photo she posted on flickr of her wearing her new present.

Mini Purse Earrings

My latest creation, a birthday gift for a great friend. Took some small scraps of ultra suede and made tiny pouches, gathered the top & crimped on a ribbon end. Then attached some recycle bits of chain for handles. I originally picked out a lighter beige faceted bead for the top, but the shape was too flat, didn’t like it. I needed a more oblong bead. Spent forever trying to locate 2 matching beads the right shape & color, the hazards of working with recycled materials - and of course, I just have tooo much crap!


Possibly planning another pair in blue silk with chains that have some crystal beads on them, they’ll be a bit more dressy.


Just a small sampling of my hordes to sort through



Handmade Earrings for Mom

I made these sweet little copper and beaded earrings for my mom for her birthday. She wore them right away & they looked great on her. I’ll try and make a pair for the shop soon, think they are a nice simple design.

Earrings Upcycled into Pendants

I turned some old earrings into pendants. My friend gave me a big bag full of old jewelry she no longer wanted & I was inspired to turn some post earrings into pendants. I made the 1st one for her for her birthday, also incorporating some beads from other earrings in the bag. Then I made a second for my shop. The other 2 are still to come, don’t have enough of all the beads to repeat these two.