A New Necklace Made with Recycled Charms

I just finished this new beaded necklace, featuring some handmade charms made from recycled pet id tags.

I had made a few of these charms with images of birds on them, to make up a bracelet.  The tutorial for making these charms from various recycled materials is on my Hubpages.  Unfortunately, I'm not much  of a bracelet wearer, so my charm bracelet got very little use.

So instead, I chose a few of my favorite charms and strung them with some beads to make a new necklace.  It may not be everyone's style, but I really love how it came out.  I used a mix of my random beads, and tied them together by repeating black beads throughout the pattern.  I think the colors look great with my charms.

{Craft Tutorial} Matryoshka-Inspired Polymer Clay Doll

I've always loved Matryoshka dolls (sometimes known as Russian nesting dolls).  I also love using recycled items in my craft projects.  So I couldn't resist using a pull tab from a recycled can to create a polymer clay Matryoshka-inspired doll to use as a jewelry charm.

These doll charms are easily to make and a lot of fun to decorate with colorful flowers and details.  I've posted a full tutorial on my Hubpages.

Once you have a few dolls made, you can use them to make a necklace, charm bracelet, brooch or key chain.  Check out more photos and directions here.

Free Jewelry-Making Tutorials: A Collection of Pins, Bracelets, Necklaces & More

I've been very diligent recently and pulled together all my favorite free jewelry craft tutorials in one place.  On my Hubpages, I've put photos, links, and descriptions to some of my favorite tutorials for pins, brooches, bracelets, necklaces and even some jewelry display projects.  These tutorials use a variety of materials - beads, buttons, scrap fabric, polymer clay, and more - and are great for a variety of skill levels. 

Check it out and share it with your friends!

"Charm-ing" Recycled Jewelry Charms: A Tutorial

I've been on a bit of a bird kick lately.  I love collecting bird images and bird crafts on one of my Pinterest boards and I think I've gone a little bird crazy.

So, when my Mom offered me some old pet ID tags, I couldn't resist using them to create a bird-inspired charm bracelet.

I made a bunch of these charms, with different images on them.  I've posted directions on the entire process on my Hubpages.  I also used these handmade charms to create a few different items, like a necklace and a beaded bracelet.

These jewelry pieces are easy and a lot of fun to make.  I used just a bunch of paper and things I had around the house to create my charms.   And I'm having a lot of fun wearing them, too.  I hope you try making your own charms!