OLD into NEW

Hello everyone!

I went to a local thrift store last week and snatched up this necklace:

I was looking down into the jewelry cases while waiting in line not really expecting to find anything. This piece caught my eye right away. I mean look at how sparkly--it wasn't anything I would personally wear, but it was too pretty to pass up.

I got super excited when I saw the clear dangles on either side were charms. That's when it hit me.

I could take it apart and use the components for earrings. I have a history of purchasing F21 necklaces for their chains, but thrift/vintage necklaces is a first for me.

Great quality, good weight, good color. I used pliers and opened all the jump rings holding the charms on.

I ended up with 28 clear dangles.

Super bling, haha. I could have kept the choker as is, but my neck was too thick for it, lol. If you look closely, you can see the loops where the dangles were connected. I used wire cutters to snip the rhinestones so I could have some extra charms.

So now I had two new components to work with!

1. Clear dangles
2. Rhinestone charms

I was so inspired.

I was also a mess, don't work like me, haha.

I started laying out different earrings ideas, placing things down, taking them away, etc. After a few colorful pairs I started using the same color palate of gold/white/black, which is matches my personal style more.

I haven't made this many earrings in one sitting for awhile. You'll see that each pair either has a clear dangle, rhinestone charm or both.

Also, my friend commented that all the earrings I make are gold... which is a good observation and a correct one.

What it comes down to is that all the chain I have is gold... if the two-toned white/black chains were in silver I would gladly use silver, until then, I have to stick with gold haha.

01

white seed beads, turquoise drops, rhinestone charms

02

pink round beads, clear charms, clear crystals

03

brass cuff, clear charm

04

blue round beads, pearl leaves, coral beads, rhinestone charms

05

spikes, rhinestone charms, clear charms, pyrite nuggets

06

rose beads, pearl birds, clear dangles, pearl leaves

07

chevron beads, white discs, pearls, rhinestone charms

08

white discs, clear dangles, rhinestone charms

09

clear dangles, pearl stars, rhinestone charms

10

pearl birds, clear dangles, crystals

11

pearl birds, chevron beads, clear dangles, rhinestone charms

12 & 13

gold spacer beads, clear dangles, rhinestone charms

14

chevron beads, white seed beads, clear dangles, rhinestone charms

the end!

One necklace helped make 14 new pieces of jewelry.

Which one is your favorite? Do you upcycle your thrifted jewelry?

- A