A few weeks ago, I inherited a 10-pound bag of costume jewelry. At first, I didn't know what to make of it. I peeked inside to find a huge, tangled mess of mismatched pieces.

Once I took a closer look, I realized it was a treasure- trove of opportunity. I'm talking a major pirate's booty score! With my first scoop I lifted out a handful of shiny, sparkling goodies: several decades' worth of rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, brooches and rings. I cleared off my worktable, whipped out my needle-nose pliers and went to work on major jewelry reconstruction. I turned old pins into mod-looking necklaces, small pendants into earrings, boring necklaces into charm bracelets and so on. The best part? I didn't need to buy a lot of supplies, just a bag of assorted jump rings to connect the pieces.

I highly suggest giving this project a try. It's easy to execute and you'll end up with a variety of one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces. To start, visit your local thrift store or flea market and buy all of the vintage costume jewelry you can. (Look for the discounted, tangled stuff.) Once you are home and have a pile of it in front of you, disassemble everything and find new ways to put it back together. I've decided that for my next round of designing, I'll incorporate contemporary elements along with glass beads and charms. This idea also works great for a girls' night out. Ask your friends to bring a sandwich-size baggie from their personal jewelry graveyard. When you meet, dump all of the pieces in the center of a table and have everyone dig in. At the end, everyone swaps pieces. Not only will it make for a fun activity, you'll also have new jewelry to show off.
Reconstructed Jewelry
Supplies
• Assorted pieces of vintage or contemporary costume jewelry
• Needle-nose pliers
• Assorted chains, cording, ribbons
• Jump rings in assorted sizes
• Jewelry findings: clasps, fishhook earrings, ring blanks
• Industrial Strength Adhesive
• Assorted glass beads and eye pins (optional)

Directions: Lay out all of the jewelry pieces and choose the ones that will make nice pendants, charms or earrings. Match chains, cording and ribbons with the jewelry pieces.

To turn brooches into necklaces, add two jump rings to the pin and then add a strand of chain to each side. Add a clasp at the top. To turn an old earring into a charm, add a jump ring to the top hole. Some pieces may not have a hole. In that case, use extra-strength adhesive to adhere a jump ring to the jewelry. Let dry for an hour before connecting to a chain. Follow similar steps to make earrings and charm bracelets. To make rings, use the industrial-strength adhesive to attach a jewelry piece to the top of a ring blank.

Variations: If you find pieces made of wood, use a drill to make holes to connect them to a chain. If you like, use eye pins to add beads to your necklace, charm bracelets or earrings. If you need chain, check out a bead shop or craft store to find different grades. You also can use old jewelry pieces to brighten up a picture frame or other home décor items.


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* All content/photos copyright, Kathy Cano Murillo, 2006. Photos property and courtesy of Arizona Republic and AzCentral.com. For more artsy goodness, check out CraftyChica.com *

Labels: jewelry, wearable art