Upcycled Fabric Necklaces

A few weeks ago I made necklaces out of beads covered with old clothing.  I made two.  One covered with an old colorful scrub top and another with a pair of Gap pajama pants, both I got at a thrift store.  I cut them up and pulled out my sewing machine.  Here are the results of my experiments. 

I used chain around the back of the necklace because the beads are a bit bulky and it takes a lot of fabric.  Over my break in May, I'm going to make a few more with left over fabric from previous sewing projects.  I want to be able to make custom jewelry using fabric from meaningful objects- special event dresses, baby blankets, anything really!  I'll keep you posted on the results!

Side note- one of my rings is included in a BNR on Etsy.  Click here to take a look.  There are some beautiful unique pieces!

Biking

With the end of the school year quickly approaching, I haven't been able to make anything.  But today I went on a bike ride and I felt so inspired!  It was great to pedal through rural roads and admire God's beautiful creation.  I can't wait until finals are over so I can pull out all my beads and create again!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter!  I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and was able to celebrate with loved ones.  I did, and it was wonderful!  I did not do any beading or wire working, but I did get a little creative.  Egg dying was fun, but my eggs were not very attractive.  I'm not going to tell you which were mine!  At least they taste delicious.

Bouquet Ring

The past few weeks I have been practically obsessed with making these bouquet rings.  I've made several and love to combine different colors, shapes, and sizes of beads to see how they play off each other.  Here are a few of my favorites.

A little sparkly.

 This was a custom order inspired by the ring in the first picture.

 A day by the seashore anyone?

This was the first one I made.

Hot pink & raspberry

In late February, my mom and I spent a wonderful afternoon in the bead store making a necklace out of hot pink, raspberry colored beads she picked out almost a year before.  After lots of deliberation, we finally settled on clear and black beads and made a very pretty necklace.  There were extra though, and Mom asked me to make another necklace with them.

This past weekend, Matt was out of town and I was full of inspiration from the bead show, so I decided to see what I could do with those beads.  The color is like a ripe bowl of freshly washed raspberries, but they are much bigger- more like a strawberry.  Between the bold color and large size, I was having trouble designing something that Mom would love to wear.

Aren't they beautiful??

After 2 hours I still just had a pile of beads, but after some experimenting, this is what I created.  I love how the chain balances out the bulk of the large beads and the flower adds some extra color.  There were still extra beads so I made Mom a sparkly bracelet to wear dancing and a replica necklace for myself.  I can't wait to wear it!

More Beads!

Whoa- not only do I have new bead show treasures, but I received an order I placed online as well.  It might be April, but I'm planning for Christmas already.  I bought supplies to make snow flake ornaments!

 As I opened the box...

 The huge pile of goodies that were jammed inside

A close up of the beads that I'll be using

I got three sizes of snowflakes so that there will be the perfect amount of sparkle and color on your tree when the Christmas season rolls around.  I'm not rushing though- I'm still waiting for long sunny days and warm nights!

beads beads BEADS!

I can't believe I haven't bust from excitement yet!  This weekend is the bead show in King of Prussia (click if you'd like to see their web page).  I have been waiting for this since the previous show in August.

I had a terrible drive to the show- I left my wallet at home, got lost driving home to get it, got stuck at the train tracks, got stuck behind the school bus pick-up line- but I finally made it to the show and got lots of treasures!  

 I got some sparkly new beads in all sorts of colors.

 Also, some new charms!  I think these will be perfect for rosary bracelets- Confirmation gifts with a dove charm, anyone?

 And lastly some new pewter clasps, my favorite metal.  I don't usually like hearts, but these heart toggles caught my eye today.  I think they would be perfect for bridal jewelry or birthstone/name bracelets.

 There was inspiration all over the show and I couldn't wait to start creating.  As soon as I got home, I made this red rose ring.  See the listing here on my Etsy. 

Opening Day!

I'm celebrating the start of my blog as the Phillies are starting their (winning) season.  I made these bracelets to cheer them on to a win.  The opener wasn't looking so hopeful at first, but they won!  And I'm pretty sure my bracelets made them win.

Maybe my bracelets had nothing to do with the amazing come back during the 9th inning, but I do love making them!  Little red hearts sandwich the team name and the rest of the bracelet has red and white round beads.  And since I used stretchy string, the bracelets are a perfect fit.

I hope that with some dedication and hard work, my upstart jewelry business can be a winning success too!  Check out my Etsy and let me know what you think!