Side note: Did you notice I changed a lot of picture sizes? I'm sorry if it completely kills your dial-up, but I figured the larger size would make viewing easier and keep everyone from having to crouch over their computers like I do.
I figure that, while we wait on my lovely swap package to get here, it's time for the first of many I <3 Recycling posts. And I really really do. What's not to love about making something beautiful, thought provoking, or inspired out of something that would otherwise end up out with the trash? Not to mention, anything made from junk usually costs little to make, giving you a great profit margin... ^.^ Some people complain that never throwing away junk leads to that disease, packratitis, but I don't mind being guilty as charged. Want some ideas?
When you're knitting or crocheting, keep your yarn scraps and use them as stuffing (like for amigurumi and their ilk).
Get on Ebay and buy a bulk pack of earring hooks (you get several hundred for super cheap). You can refashion them into stitch markers (for knitting or crocheting), loops for pendants (clay pendants are the easiest), clasps, or something like a more interesting jump ring. If you aren't using the tiny little beads and springs that frequently come on hooks, keep them for something else. And of course, have fun playing with different styles of earrings. God knows you don't need to worry about wasting them...
Cut out interesting or appealing stamps and ModPodge them onto a domino or scrabble tile or glue them into a bottle cap. Add some decoration for some more interest.
- Find something interesting, like say a small tile (see below), make a pendant. Use some wire to add decoration and clear nail polish to seal.
- Recon small things, like pushpins or buttons into cute earrings. Warning: Pushpins can be extremely hard to bend with just pliers. I learned this one the hard way...
Yarn scraps are my favorite. You can give them to the birds, use them to embroider details, tie similar weight yarn together and make Berroco's Celestine Crochet (there's knitted version too, but that sounds like a lot of knot tying to me...) or wrap longer scraps around washers or plastic rings for lovely eclectic earrings or a pendant (the patterns in variegated yarns can be played with a bit to produce some nice effects). Want to see a gallery?
And you can see the earring-turned-clasp in the hemp necklace. Yes, I made the ridiculous reconned jean purse that everyone's done. I just wanted to see if I could do it! Do you think the constant newspaper background looks a bit blah? I like it, and by camera handles it well, but too much is too much, I think.
Good luck!
-Cristy
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