Green Options » jewelry

New Life for Old CDs

Becky H — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 21:18:31 +0000

This is a guest post by Becky Haas, who is an amateur crafter/environmentalist who also tries to make a living as a professional musician. You can also find her at the craft blog Sew and So.

I have a confession to make…I’m addicted to music. I guess it comes naturally, since that’s what I spend a lot of my time doing. So I always love it when I stumble across a craft project that uses music-related materials, like Kelly Rand’s recent article on things to do with old cassette tapes.

By this point, I don’t have too many old tapes lying around, but what I do have is a lot of CDs–most of which I still listen to. But we all have those CDs that are too scratched up to play properly, or came free in the mail with unwanted software, or have those songs that seriously tempt you to throw the disc out the window if you hear them just one more time, if it wouldn’t be considered littering. So here’s a couple of ideas for things to do with them.

My first thought was jewelry, and it turns out that it’s pretty easy to transform an old CD into that. Here’s what you need for a very basic set of earrings and a necklace:

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Carnival of Green Crafts #3: Trash Into Treasure

Skye Kilaen — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:31:52 +0000

Welcome to the Third Carnival of Green Crafts!

Before we begin, let me just thank all of the crafters who participated in this month’s carnival for taking a weight off my mind. After reading all of these posts, I now have NO worries at all about landfill space anywhere in America. Seriously, y’all, crafters are obviously the solution to the trash problem. Go us!

Before we begin, a few administrative notes: We’re pleased as punch to announce that the fourth Carnival will be September 4th at Whip Up. Send in your posts via the carnival submission form today! For background information about the Carnival, please see the Carnival of Green Crafts home page. And in case you missed the previous editions, here are the first Carnival, here at Crafting A Green World, and the second Carnival, at BlogHer.

Thanks so much to all the crafters who shared their posts with us for this edition of the Carnival. Let’s dig in!

Eco-Friendly Materials

Tiny Decor gathered a list of the Top 10 Modern and Eco-friendly Fabric Sources on Etsy. You HAVE to see what she’s collected, there are some real knockouts.

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Can Your Jewelry Save the Earth? Ours Can! Part III

Talancia Shelvin — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 05:00:41 +0000

Whenever you combine two of girls’ favorite treats, chocolate and jewelry, it’s bound to be a successful fundraiser. With this in mind, Relief Beads and Compartes Chocolatier have partnered to raise awareness and money to aid refugees in Darfur. Relief Beads, a grassroots campaign, is selling handcrafted bracelets made from sand in Ghana, Africa. Each purchase helps to fund Relief International’s medical clinics for women and children, educational programs for students and counseling for victims of violent acts.

But to make this good cause even better, Compartes Chocolatier has created an African Collection of chocolates to pair with each Relief Beads bracelet. The collection is made up of authentic African ingredients like cardamom, coconut, Grains of Paradise, caramelized plantains and so much more. You can buy a 5 piece set for $20 or 10 piece set for $30. I know this is more than what we usually pay for chocolate treats, but each purchase can give one child food for a week or life-giving heat on cold nights. Get your special Compartes gift packages online or at their boutique in Los Angeles!

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Tagua Ivory Nut Facts & Options

Delia Montgomery — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 23:52:07 +0000

Whether a farmer, designer, or shopper, tagua nuts are gems from nature to treasure. Especially crafts people would love to enhance their creativity with tagua. My previous blog focused on buttons, but other fab results are jewelry, carvings and utilitarian objets d’art.

Additional popular items are wine corks, key chains, dice, dominoes, and chess pieces. Look further to find cane and umbrella handles, pipes, tiles, and sewing needle cases. Most pieces are results from the fine art of scrimshaw.

The green and reasonably soft nut from the hard casing has the consistency of Jell-O. Once the nut is ripened, it becomes very hard, so this is the time to shape tagua into different molds.

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Beach Trips Make Good Sea Glass Pendants

Kelly Rand — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:30:52 +0000

One of my favorite things about summer, hands down, is the beach. I grew up very close by so my summers were always very beach filled. I’ve also been very lucky that throughout my adult life, I’ve had the same privilege. I might not be as close as when I was in school, but through a little bit of coaxing I can usually get a friend with a car to take the drive to the shore.

The beach is such a wonderful place. The waves, the sand, the sun, the wind and the veritable treasures that the ocean provides is a wonderful sensory smorgasbord! I love tide pools and the small vignettes of life found within. I love picking up and looking over beautiful pebbles, shells and sea glass.

I usually don’t take any of the small treasures that I find, often admiring them then giving them back to the waves. But one time, I found this amazing piece of sea glass. It is small and rounded and it is tinted this great soft green. I’ve kept hold of it for a good long time in my jewelry box thinking that one day I’ll do something with it.

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To Dine is Divine

Kelly Rand — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:28:20 +0000

I’m a big sucker for silver jewelry. I don’t often wear very much of it, but every once in a while I come across a piece that I absolutely love and must have. In a store, that I found this past week, was a basket full of rings. Not just any rings, but rings made from old cutlery; rings made from the ends of spoons and the tines of forks.

I know spoon wear has been around for a while, but it’s one of those things that I always forget about until confronted with it. It is a very clever craft that recycles the ordinary and turns it into the extraordinary. Thinking that these rings are the cat’s meow I purchased a fork ring which now sits comfortably on my hand.

Want one of your own? A quick trip through Etsy brought up a couple of designers that specialize in this area and are doing a fantastic job of it.

LT Creates Jewelry makes many wonderful items out of cutlery. Rings, bracelets and even watches made from spoons and forks can be found in their shop.

Dank Artistry also makes spoon jewelry. Check out the rings, bracelets, earrings and even bell pendants made from the end of a spoon and given a clapper. I can hear the small ting, ting that it would make.

Have a piece of cutlery you wear? Tell us about it in the comments.

Image credit: LTCreatesJewelry

Conflict Free Diamonds and Recycled Gold are a Girl’s Best Friend

Courtney Carlisle — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:22:39 +0000

The search for the perfect wedding ring (or special piece of jewelry for that matter!) can be a harried and overwhelming process, but the designers at Brilliant Earth have an eye for high style and elegant design that will leave the most fashionable eco-chick swooning.

Men - take note - not only are these gorgeous pieces, but they are also guilt-free: as in, the designers source conflict-free stones and recycled gold material when possible. Not to mention the company supports local communities in Africa that are usually affected by poor mining conditions and where most conflict diamonds are a source of funds for civil war. Not exactly the image that you want to conjure when you are admiring your custom designed ring glistening on your finger.

Recycled Elements: Traditional Jewelry Gets an Eco-Friendly Makeover

Reenita Malhotra — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 06:29:17 +0000

Looking for alternative ways to recycle your beer bottles? I have good news.

The colorful piece of glass, once destined for a dump, can actually be incorporated into handcrafted designer jewelry. San Francisco based designer, Stefanie Wolf has decided to give traditional jewelery an eco-friendly makeover. Frustrated by the limited availability of gemstones that are guaranteed as ethically sourced, she recently turned her attention to a completely renewable resource: recycled glass.

Stefanie Wolf started her jewelry company as a good excuse for some healthy creative expression. Today, Stefanie Wolf Designs is a small, socially conscious jewelry company, which produces eye-catching jewelery from recycled materials. Her Recycled Elements line is made from recycled glass and reclaimed sterling silver from old jewelry that has been melted down, and from chemical processes such as film developing that leaves a silver byproduct. Stefanie is now working on new lines utilizing fair trade silver, vintage trade beads and locally mined and cut stones. Talk about being resourceful!

A healer by nature, Stefanie believes that since the beginning of recorded time, men and women have worn gemstones for their beauty, power and sheer endurance rather than just for pure adornment. Her commitment to healing extends beyond her personal needs to those of the planet. Stefanie’s business practices are all all about conservation and giving back to the community.

Check out Recycled Elements at multiple San Francisco weekend events. The out-of-towners can even purchase her jewelry online at www.stefaniewolfdesigns.com.

Eco-Chic Beaded Necklaces Make Sustainable Stylish

Deb Hiett — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:12:47 +0000

Cornstarch-Based Resin Never Looked So Hip

EverybodyGreen.com expands their celebrity-favorite “go! Green” line of eco-chic accessories with the addition of the highly anticipated new summer style: the SeedBead Necklace.

The necklaces are each three strands of beads made from cornstarch-based resin, and feature two 41 inch rows and one 36 inch row of 4mm “GreenBeads.” Each necklace sells for $18.00, and comes in a choice of five rich color combinations.

“We trust that our go! Green collection will demonstrate to consumers that it is fun and fashionable to choose green. It is imperative that people start to see every choice as an opportunity to help the environment, by choosing eco-friendly, fair trade, and sustainable,” comments Keith Berman, Director. “We are thankful that our green accessories have been so successful in raising awareness of eco-friendly alternatives and green practices.”

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Cork, Not Just For Wine!

Juliet Ames — Mon, 05 May 2008 14:53:58 +0000

Cork is just one of those materials that I never give much thought to. It just keeps my wine fresh and makes a great organizational board. Lately, however, I have seen cork popping up more and more on Etsy and discovered that it is actually a great environmentally friendly product. Here is what I learned:

Cork is harvested from the outer layer of bark of the Cork Oak tree found mostly in the Mediterranean. The bark is harvested every ten years, with each harvest producing a softer batch of cork. By keeping these trees in production, they provide homes to wildlife in about 1800 acres of cork forests and provides many jobs to the people of who harvest the cork by hand. Cork is also 100% recyclable! Of course they can be used for these cool crafts, but companies like Yemm & Hart also collect donated wine corks to make products like tile flooring. This sustainability and ability to recycle make cork an environmentally conscious crafting choice!

These images are just a few cork crafts I discovered on Etsy! Check out their shops for even more!

Classic Chair Cork Coasters from Annacote
Cork Beehive Brooch from Ottoman
The UN-DIamond Cork Ring from Uncorked

Tell me about your cork crafts in a comment!

Wedding Bands That Won’t Break The Bank

Emma Henderson — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:33:36 +0000

Wedding bells are in the air at Green Options. Deb over at our sister blog Feelgood Style is getting married next week, and she recently wrote a fascinating article on greening your wedding.

I have a little longer left to plan fortunately and I’m feeling very inspired by an article I found at Portovert on making your own wedding rings, specifically making them from old silver coins. These DIY wedding bands could even be made from coins manufactured in the year of your - or each others birth, what a lovely touch.

This wikiHow article gives detailed instructions on making the rings as well as explanations of what can go wrong and why - always useful. But even if it does take a couple of attempts to perfect, at $3 a shot your hardly going to break the bank.

Accessorize Like a Green Egyptian

Autumn Wiggins — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:05:34 +0000

It’s no longer a hazy shade of winter for most of us. When spring rears her beautiful head, I get the urge to clean and shop. Shedding the long sleeves reminds me that I have wrists, and should put something pretty on them too.

Luckily, some clever crafters on Etsy are using widely discarded materials to make unique bangles!…

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Crafty Convo: Chatting with Jeweler Ashley Hilton

Victoria Everman — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 18:31:57 +0000

The media has a new indie jewelry favorite - Ashley Hilton. Featured in press outlets around the world in just the past 6 months, Ashley’s creations embody a seamless mix of eco-appreciation and modern style.

“I try to reflect both the human and natural environment in my work by using symbols and materials that have meaning to me and represent where I come from. From street signs to native trees, my jewelery has always been a pretty literal representation of my surroundings,” he says.

Along with the natural theme of his creations, Ashley uses small scale mined metals from his home base in New Zealand. “I found that most of the gold from my suppliers in New Zealand is mined or recycled here and in Australia. Both these countries have a relatively good track record with regards to mining practices but the idea of using a local resource and streamlining the path of the metal from the ground to the customer really appealed to me,” he says.

It was my pleasure to chat with Ashley recently about his education of the art of make jewelry, sustainable metal mining, creative inspirations and more. Read on for our full conversation and all its “hand made” details.

What first got you interested in making jewelry? When did you decide to turn it into a career?

I was at a loose end really. I’d spent a few years traveling and working overseas as a chef and knew that that lifestyle wasn’t for me anymore. I did a weekend jewelery course and loved it, It just made perfect sense to me so I bought some tools and started experimenting. Originally I never thought it would be a career. It was never really a conscious decision, it just grew and grew until in about 3 years It was all I did.

Have you even gotten flack for being a straight guy in the jewelry biz?

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Jewelry for the Skate Betty

Autumn Wiggins — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:17:24 +0000

Back in high school, while other girls were shopping at the mall, I was waxing curbs and flippin’ ollies. So, it’s no surprise that today I’m drooling over 2ReVert’s recycled skateboard jewelry!

This husband and wife team from Nova Scotia craft amazing earrings, pendants, bracelets, and rings from 100% post consumer decks. That begs the question: Where has your jewelry been?

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Wearable Cork Cuff

Tara Hogan — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 21:16:36 +0000

Cork is a great jewelry material. It is 100% recycled and recyclable, flexible, and water repellent.

Each piece is individually cut from a single block used for storage and display. Will fit men and women.

Sold by STUDIO 1 a.m. for $48

Designed & Made by Donna Piacenza

Recycled Jewelry: Where Has Your Jewelry Been?

Juliet Ames — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 15:29:03 +0000

At the heart of the green crafting movement are artists using bizarre materials to make their crafts. I absolutely love making and wearing jewelry made out of unexpected materials. When has a gold heart necklace from the mall ever sparked a conversation in the way that a necklace made out of used car parts or broken plates has? You are sure to start some interesting dialog when wearing something from these three artists.

This ring is hand carved from a used number 11 pool ball…yes, a pool ball! How cool! Eleanor Salazar of PoolBallRings is an artist from Maine who can hand carve any color or number ball you like, in your size, and have it to you in two weeks. She even makes earrings. What a great gift for the pool shark in your life!

The 2ReVert shop asks, “Where has your Jewelry Been?” Being that these earring are made from used skateboards, one never knows what kind of trouble they got into in their last life. That is the best part about jewelry made from repurposed objects, the back-story (or perceived back-story) adds so much interest and personality to a piece.

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Recycled Bottle Cap Necklaces

Skye Kilaen — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 22:16:13 +0000

Via shopping blog Great Green Goods, I found these cute necklaces made from reused bottle caps.

Syncopation Company was founded by two women who found that staying at home with their kids meant reevaluating their consumption patterns. The challenge of balancing budgets led to the realization that often, things we would otherwise throw away could become the raw materials for creativity.

In addition to the bottlecap necklaces, Syncopation has jewelry made from watch faces, watch gears, spoons, mah jong tiles, hardware, rulers, bottle openers, rain gutters, vintage tape measures, marbles, phone buttons, and much, much more.

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Have a Green Valentine’s Day!

Juliet Ames — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 19:00:51 +0000

Valentine’s Day has become more of a headache then heartfelt for most. Poor men are inundated with commercials claiming that if they don’t go to a mall jewelry store, their lover’s family and friends will be completely disappointed in them. That little jewelry box must also be accompanied by chocolates, flowers and a card. And, don’t forget the reservations, guys! No wonder men are not much into this dreaded day. Is this really what women want? Here’s a suggestion for this year: avoid the commercialized, boring routine and have a green Valentine’s Day!

No worries if you don’t know the first thing about making gifts - it is easier then ever to find cool, recycled, handmade gifts online. Online boutique Zanisa is a great place to find all sorts of recycled, organic and sustainable gifts like this necklace from designer Liana Kabel, made from recycled Tupperware! And of course, Etsy is the fantastic place to find original handmade gifts. Check out the daily Valentine’s Showcase for ideas.

Even if you are not a crafter, this recycled heart project from A Little Hut, is totally achievable. All you need is a paper egg carton, some red paint, background card-stock and a box frame to create something that your lover won’t soon forget.

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Junk Mail Love - Part II

Juliet Ames — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 16:45:12 +0000

So, the kidlets are home from school today, bugging you for something to do, and you are hiding on the computer, catching up on blogs? Why not turn the computer off (after reading this, of course) and work on a junk mail craft together?

Paper bead making is a great craft for your little fashionista and is pretty simple to do. Using only junk mail, a toothpick and glue, this project is an easy way to get in a casual lesson on green living.

First, scour your junk mail pile and old magazines for colorful shiny paper to create your beads. The shiny varnished paper is pretty strong, brightly colored, and somewhat water proof. It is also more expensive to recycle, making it perfect for a project like this. Once your paper is selected, simply follow the following easy steps from HGTV:

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So Much Plastic, So Little Time!

Juliet Ames — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 15:45:45 +0000

According to The Environmental Literacy Council, plastics make up 25% of all waste in landfills when buried. It is a good thing that crafters are finding ways to appropriate this versitale and plentiful material into their creations.

Take, for example, these adorable bird coin purses from Etsy seller Bird Versus Bird which are made from vinyl scraps from a sign shop. Imagine how many vinyl banners from State Fair corndog stands are filling up landfills? Yuck. This seller also uses repurposed and recyclable materials for packaging in order to reduce waste.

This “Beer-merang” necklace earned its name from the boomerang shape and the fact that it was made using the plastic rings from a 6 pack of PBR beer. Saving critters lives, recycling, and looking cool, that is what it is all about! Check out Muse Glass for more styles.

If you have ever visited the record section of a thrift store, you will know that they have more discarded vinyl there then anyone knows what to do with. How many Kenny Rogers records does one store need? Nature Vs. Machine brings us this stunning vinyl record and sterling silver lotus necklace. Kenny Rogers never looked so good!

We all have some records laying around, don’t we? Instead of adding to a landfill or the thrift store collection, why not make some funky chip bowls like this one? Check out these instructions from Instructables to find out just how easy it is. (Just make sure that your record is not valuable collector’s first!) I think I know what to do with my old Alvin and the Chipmunks album!

There are so many ways to use recycled plastics in crafting - I could go on all day! Feel free to share your plastic crafts in a comment!

[Images courtesy of Bird versus Bird, Muse Glass, Nature vs. Machine, and Instructables.]