Recycled Rings

As promised, today I'm going to take you through one of my processes.

Recycled Rings are part of a somewhat ongoing collection featuring the things that I come across in my bag of donated jewellery. It's fun project. I take interesting looking buttons or more than likely - clip on earrings from the bag. Then I take it apart until I'm left with just the cabochon. Next it's gently cleaned with bicarb paste and an old toothbrush and then enjoys a bath in my ultrasonic cleaner. Once it's been dried and polished it's either carefully glued onto a ring shank or secured in a seed beaded setting. Once the glue has dried or the thread has been snipped - it's finally ready to be worn as a beautiful ring and sold on Etsy, or snuck by my Mom into her jewellery box. You'd be amazed at how many things disappear in there! ;)
The next time I make one, I'll photograph the process and add them to this post. Meanwhile click "read more" to see some of my finished Recycled Rings...

Dorothy Ring

I've been dipping into my donation bag again and I've been making some really cool rings with the some of the things I've found in there.  This ring used to be a clip-on earring, I believe.

By using the earring like a cabochon, I beaded around it using tubular peyote stitch with ceylon yellow and brown iris coloured seed beads.

The band that I stitched for the ring reminded me of the yellow-brick road - hence the name Dorothy.

I've done quite a few of these as they are fun to do and it's nice watching old jewellery transform into something new.

=:x

I Heart...Water Necklace

A new addition to the I Heart...Collection this week. The I Heart...Water Necklace.

I Heart...Sweetness Necklace

Sorry this is late, I've got a bit behind this weekend thanks to some kind of stomach bug, so the posts this week might be  bit scattered.
Today's item from the I Heart...Collection is the ...Sweetness Necklace.  So-called because it reminds me of strawberries and cream.

I Heart...Prosperity Necklace

Next up in the I Heart...Collection is the ...Prosperity Necklace.

Recycled Beads Ring

Another tutorial on Ruby's Beadwork caught my eye, and I thought it would be a nice way to use up some of the old beads I have lying around in my recycled bags.  I don't actually have that many beads in there to play around with though, as most of the stuff is earrings and brooches.
I've been trying to find uses for these milky glass beads that I have - which I think were glass pearls whose coating came off.  I've used them before (On A Sunny Day In England, Sweet Tooth Competition Prize and My Beating Heart) and this seemed like the perfect project to use up the rest of them

Waste Knot Ring

Before I post the Metallics Collection, I have a few odds and sods that I'd like to show you first.  I made these just before I moved house, so I wasn't able to post them right away.

I've been making a few button and earring rings lately, first is this exquisite ring, made from a pair of vintage clip-on earrings.

 

It measures about 28mm across. The ring unadjusted is about a size L 1/2 (U.K.) or size 6 (U.S.)
Presented in a magnetic closure box. 

There are only two so get them while you can.

£18.00 (ex. shipping)
Buy now on Etsy!

Strawberries & Cream Set

Disclaimer:  No copyright infringement is intended.  These are my own interpretations of various sweets and candy using various beads.  Nothing in the Sweet Tooth collection is edible.  Please try to refrain from eating!

Strawberries are my favourite fruit and there is something quite British about a bowl of strawberries and cream in summer.  This set is going to be like the Jelly Bean Set, each one will be different because it's a mixed bag of beads. :)

Strawberries and Cream Set

The necklace is a mixture of glass beads in shades of red, white and pink, with white pearlised seed beads spaced between them.  The seed beads are donated from a beaded bag belonging to my mom.  The "pendant" was a clip-on earring and the ribbon ties were from candles from my friend Maryann at the One Stop Pamper Shop.

Ribbons

The earrings are a mixture of shapes, diminishing in size.  The earwires are nickel free.

Strawberries and Cream Earrings

For the bracelet I decided to try a charm bracelet style.  I'll probably need wrist measurements, so it doesn't end up falling off your wrist! :)

Strawberries and Cream Bracelet

The ring is another bling ring style so it matches the charm bracelet.

Strawberries and Cream Ring

Strawberries and Cream Ring - worn

If you would be interested in this set or would like me to make you something similar, please feel free to contact me at: kymberligee@gmail.com with "Strawberries & Cream Set" in the subject line.

Turkish Delight Set

Disclaimer:  No copyright infringement is intended.  These are my own interpretations of various sweets and candy using various beads.  Nothing in the Sweet Tooth collection is edible.  Please try to refrain from eating!

This is a one-of-a-kind set, because I've used a lot of recycled materials and I don't know where I get them again.

Turkish Delight Set

 The pendant on the necklace used to be a clip on earring that was donated to me.

Clip-on earring transformed into Turkish Delight Pendant

  I used glass cubes, coloured sparkling amber - for the chocolate - and transparent yellow - for the lemon Turkish Delight.  On either side of the glass beads are amethyst coloured glass rondelles and copper spacer beads.

Turkish Delight Necklace

The earrings are also no problem.  Please note the the earwires are copper plated and are not suitable for those with nickel allergies. (Tip: If you do have a nickel allergy and still want these earrings, try coating the earwires with clear nail varnish.)

Turkish Delight Earrings

Apart from the clasp, everything on the bracelet is recycled.  The focal is the other clip-on earring and two buttons that I've sewn onto organza ribbons.  I think we can agree that despite it being made from recycled bits and bobs (including the thread I used) it's a stunning bracelet:

Turkish Delight Bracelet

 The ring was a chipped glass stone, which I sanded and polished.  It has an AB (Aurora Borealis) coating, which reflects many different colours when held up to the light.  I think it also might have been a clip-on earring, but I'm not sure.  The ring is adjustable, so should fit most fingers.

Turkish Delight Ring - worn

If you would be interested in this set or would like me to make you something similar, please feel free to contact me at: kymberligee@gmail.com with "Turkish Delight Set" in the subject line.

Sweet Tooth Competition [CLOSED]

To celebrate the launch of my very first collection, I'm giving away a one-of-a-kind set that will never be made by me again.  It's a mixture of new and upcycled, semi-precious and non-precious beads. It's called the Milk and Honey Set:

Milk and Honey Set

Milk and Honey Necklace

Let's start with the earrings;

Milk and Honey Earrings

 Hung from gold plated earwires are white diamond twisted glass beads and glass "honeycomb" beads.

Pendant

The necklace features a beautiful glass pendant that I received in a mix bag of beads.  There are oval and round transparent amber coloured glass beads.  On either side of those are small milky coloured glass beads that were donated to me.  They used to be glass pearls whose coating had badly chipped.  There are also 6 flat oval mother-of-pearl beads.

Hanging from either side are 2 lines of topaz seed beads and between them a line of mixed white beads that I also received in the mix bag.  Leading up to the gold plated curb chain are donated acrylic pearls (the same ones used on the Serenity Necklace) and spaced between them are more topaz seed beads.

 

Disclaimer:  No copyright infringement is intended.  These are my own interpretations of various sweets and candy using various beads.  Nothing in the Sweet Tooth collection is edible.  Please try to refrain from eating!

Butterfly Garden Set

Despite hating pink and "girly" things, every once in a while, I do surprise those around me by liking something girly.

My American supplier had a gorgeous pendant with a butterfly embossed on it and some beautiful two colour beads (Rose & Peridot).  I had no idea that by combining the two, I'd end up with something this...well, girly: 

Butterfly Garden Necklace

 All of the beads are glass and you may recognise the silver flower spacers from the Calypso necklace.  As you can see, I'm still having fun with wire.  I threaded the wire through the holes in the pendant and wrapped them into spirals of varying size, which I think makes an intresting focal.  

Hanging from a line of small crystal glass beads is the fringe, which I made from turquoise, light green and lilac beads.  The colors are supposed to represent the gradual change of the colour of the sky throughout the day, with crystal clouds on top of course!

Next I alternated the rose and peridot rice beads with the crystal beads, which to me is the dusky pink of the evening sky in the butterfly garden, slowly turning into night. (I'm a writer, I'm allowed to have imagination!)

Round crystal beads with Rose & peridot beads

Finally, to tie it all together I decided to use ribbon, but I didn't want it too wide.  Fortunately, a friend of mine makes the most amazing candles and soaps (please check out her site - One Stop Pamper), and her candles are tied with tiny white ribbons!  So guess where I got these from? ;)

Candle ribbons

One of those, I'm not sure if it's the left or the right is from her Butterfly Meadows votive candle, so it actually smells like a butterfly garden too!

The Earrings took a little more thought.  I'd run out of the rose and peridot beads and I was fast running out of the crystal beads too.  So I decided to carry on the fringe effect from the necklace.  None of the butterfly charms I had, matched the feel of the necklace, so I used these dragonfly charms instead, which are equally as good.  I hung them from the hoop I made from some left over wire.

Butterfly Garden Earrings

Girls 'n' Pearls Set

I bought some beautiful vintage style findings, cabochons and cameos from America and I've been dying to use them in something.  I mixed them with my great-grandmothers pearls (fake), which gives it this really elegant look.  Although not when I'm using my hot wheat pack to show how it hangs!  I really must invest in some displays!

Girls 'n' Pearls Necklace

Girl with Nightingale cameo on Oxidized Brass setting

Earrings

I've plenty more of these antique/vintage style findings (I went a bit mad!) and I love making this style of jewellery.  You can be sure that there will be more like this, actually for sale soon.

If you would like me to make you something similar to this, please feel free to contact me at: kymberligee@gmail.com with "Girls 'n' Pearls" in the subject line.

Peacock Set

I've had this peacock feather (bought when I was a kid) lying around, and it's always getting lost.  So I thought, why not make something out of it that won't be so easily lost, so I made this for myself.

 

First I cut the feather as close to the plumage as I could, but I didn't throw the other bit away.  I'll show you what I did with that later.  I wrapped copper wire around the top and around a copper jump ring several times for security. 

 

I used the many different coloured semi-precious stones I had to emulate the graduating colours of the feather itself.  I started with Goldstone flecked Bluestone chips on either side of the feather pendant.

I didn't have any purple beads that matched the shade I wanted, so I went for turquoise instead.  This is "S" shaped Blue (dyed) Lemon Turquoise.

 I then threaded different sized Antique Bronze metal beads onto pins and bent them into a marquise shape and hung these pear shaped - Turquoise (dyed) Picasso Jasper beads from them.

 There's two thin lines of brown either side of a bright green before it fades into the beautiful dark green colour on the feather.  So to emulate this, I got to use my new brown acrylic beads and lime silver lined seed beads.

 Finally I ended with one of my favourite semi-precious stones - Malachite.

 And it's all connected with an antique bronze barrel clasp.

 So what did I do with the rest of the feather?  I stripped it and made earrings!

 A couple more malachite chips and Capri blue beads for distinction...

 

and voila! Peacock earrings.

 

I have no idea what the price is as I was just having fun.  I can't replicate this design at all, it's just something I made for myself.  I do plan to do more work with feathers though, so keep checking back!