10 Places to Find Items to Repurpose into Jewelry
- jamiejlanier
- Nov 27, 2015
- 6 min read
1. Hardware store…
[endif]--Some of my favorite things to repurpose into jewelry is found at the hardware store. Metal nuts, c clamps, washers, sheet metal, black steel wire, hinges, locks, keys – it can all be refashioned into stunning modern necklaces, earrings and bracelets. A few beads, wire and alcohol ink for coloring can make a unique and striking piece of repurposed jewelry. The possibilities are endless and your imagination is your best resource. When you’re grazing through the hardware store try and look at everything with an artist’s eye. Don’t look at it for its original intended purpose. Imagine adding beads, small crystals or some color. Combine your hardware store finds with a find or two from the other places on this list and you have yourself an original work of repurposed jewelry art. ![endif]--![endif]--
2. Antique Store
The antique store is where you can find beautiful vintage and antique pieces of jewelry like old brooch’s and earrings that can be refashioned and combined with other pieces and made into one of a kind magnificent jewelry. Sometimes vendors at antique marketplaces will put several pounds of perfectly usable jewelry into large bags or jars and sell it all together. Those are my absolutely favorite buys. You can take all that jewelry apart and reuse the beads, clasps, chains, jump rings and charms. The antique store is also the place to find old cookie tin’s that can be made into necklaces, vintage worn belts that can be cut into fashionable cuffs and vintage silverware that can be cut and bent and worn as necklaces and bracelets. The possibilities are endless here. Look for unique vintage small trinkets and charms also that can be put together into an eye catching junk necklace.
3. Own Jewelry Box cellspacing="0" width="100%"
Dig around in your own jewelry box and pull out all of the pieces of jewelry you haven’t worn in months. I couldn’t believe the jewelry I found sitting in the bottom of my jewelry box that I had completely forgot about. It was like completely free shopping. When you find pieces you want to repurpose, take them apart and now you have the supplies to start recombining and making new refashioned pieces. When you take your old pieces apart don’t forget to save the chains, jump rings and necklace clasps to repurpose back into your new creations. Combine some of these pieces with a hardware store trinket you picked up and you will be surprised what you come up with.
4. Mother or Grandmother’s Jewelry Box
This is similar to the antique store but these pieces are special. Always make sure that whoever’s jewelry box you are raiding doesn’t mind that you take the pieces and that they especially don’t mind that you are taking them apart. Take care in getting the history of these pieces as you don’t want to repurpose a brooch that was your great grandmother’s and that your mother cherishes. This can also be a really fun venture. I have had many families hand over their family’s old jewelry and ask me to repurpose the pieces into something special for a family member. Those are my favorite pieces to make. Instead of a pile of pretty costume jewelry sitting in the bottom of a drawer or in a box in the attic they can be refashioned into something more modern and wearable. Sometimes when a family member passes away someone inherits all of their costume jewelry but you never know what to do with it. Refashion it and give it away as gifts to family members or save it and give it to your own children. Or sell it and donate to a favorite charity. Whatever you end up doing with it make it great and have fun doing it.
5. Trash/Recycle Bin
What in the world must you be thinking when I tell you to pull something out of the trash and wear it as jewelry? I’m not as off base as you would think. You won’t believe the amazing and perfectly usable pieces of trash that can be refashioned into jewelry. The world loves when something is recycled or reused especially these days when saving the earth is as important and in as it is. So what can you pull out of the trash to repurpose into jewelry? My favorite is cutting bottles and using the plastic to create stunning necklaces and earrings. When you apply heat to the plastic it can create a modern shape that is not only stable but also is a wonderful conversation piece. And before you throw away those wine corks think about adding a charm, an eye hook and a chain and wearing it as a necklace. Layers of bubble wrap can be melted down into an interesting material that can be reused in jewelry and metal beer and soda bottle caps are also popular to repurpose into jewelry. I wouldn’t recommend hanging a banana peel around your neck but look at your trash as materials instead of just trash and you will be surprised what your mind will come up with.
6. Garage
When I first started making jewelry I didn’t have the money to buy expensive materials. So I started raiding my dad’s metal shop, garage and wood working area. I scavenged up shards of metal with red and orange natural patina, rusted hardware store washers and nuts, old keys, small perfectly shaped pieces of wood. It was and still is my favorite place to look for materials. When I combine these pieces with some of my repurposed trash I have created some incredibly fashionable and striking necklaces and bracelets.
7. Thrift Store
The thrift store is another honey hole for repurposed jewelry materials. I’ve found great modern and vintage jewelry that I reuse for the charms, beads and findings. Cookie tins that I cut up and make into necklaces. Beautiful elaborate dishes that I break and sand to make into necklaces. Old belts that can be cut into cuff bracelets. Games that have fun pieces to them that can be made into unique one of a kind jewelry. A lot of the older board games come with sturdy metal game pieces that can be added with other charms or other game pieces to make a fun necklace or bracelet. I also use old Rummikub game pieces and dominoes and paint the back and hang them on chains. These funky jewelry styles are very popular right now. And the pieces to create them are all incredibly easy to find at your local thrift store. Another thing to keep your eye open for here is just straight up craft supplies. My local thrift stores all have a crafting section and sometimes you can find bags of beads, findings, chains or tools so don’t skip that section.
8. Junk Drawer
The junk drawer necklaces that I create are some of my more popular pieces. Don’t let your imagination limit you. Open your junk drawer and see what you have that can be refashioned into jewelry. We tend to drop stuff into those drawers that don’t have a home otherwise so you never know what you will find that’s fun and funky and can be refashioned. This can include keys, old watches, washers, tiny jars, little toy figures, game pieces, old pins and random puzzle pieces. I like using a central focal piece and building a balanced necklace around it. It creates a pretty piece for someone to wear over a sweater or with a U neck shirt.
9. Craft Store
The craft store is the obvious place to buy jewelry making supplies anyway. What could we possibly buy there that can be repurposed into jewelry? Have you visited the dollhouse section lately? It is just a plethora of amazing tiny fun things that can be repurposed into unique jewelry. Tiny tea cups, rotary telephones and tiny books that can be used in your jewelry making adventures. You can also find cheap plastic pony beads that can be melted down into flat colorful disks that can be reused as adorable earrings. Take a look around. There are tons of things you can repurpose into jewelry that wasn’t meant to be worn as jewelry.
10. Kids Toy Box
Cleaning out my kid’s toy room one day I found myself with a pile of small random charms, tiny soldier accessories and gum ball machine toys that I was just going to toss. Instead of tossing them I repurposed them into a necklace that I sold only days later. Partly trash to treasure I use this as a method to motivate myself to clean my boys’ toy room.
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