Repurpose your jewelry and save

Austin is a very eco-conscious city and what better way to protect the environment than to recycle? Repurposing your old or broken jewelry can be a great way to reuse existing materials and gemstones to create new styles that you’ll want to wear right now.

One way to recreate designs that are in stores right now is to combine older elements like lace or crystal with newer trends like ribbon or feathers. The necklace pictured is a new piece that is on display at the Austin boutique Blue Elephant located in the North Lamar Central Market shopping center.

Another idea is to use old beads and findings from a single piece and rearrange them on a new chain to give the piece a fresh look. The best thing about reusing old elements is all that money you’ll be saving!

If you are not sure of your ability to design something new, don’t fret, you have options. There are lots of local Austin jewelers that love to take on custom work. If you’re not sure what your options are, you can contact Austin based companies like Creative Chick Designs to find out what your options are. With a free consultation, you’ve got nothing to lose. Some companies will even offer to buy the materials that are unused from your new designs.

Whatever you decide to do with your pieces, you can’t lose by repurposing pieces that are just collecting dust in the bottom of your jewelry box!

Thursday Thoughts - Jewelry Display Ideas

After YEARS of selling at craft fairs and festivals, I think I have finally come up with a display that I not only am proud to say is mine....but is also fairly simple to setup and take down.  For those of you who vend at shows, you know that the beginning and the end of shows are the hardest and most physically taxing. 

My mom always said, try...and if it doesn't work, try again.  So after lots of trying, I'd like to share what I have come up with along with some notions on why I made that particular decision.  My next post will have some tips, tricks, and a checklist for vending at indoor AND outdoor shows.

Here are some photos from my most recent show (sorry about the bad photography).

This display is actually a display case that I purchased from Ikea and then modified.  This case is supposed to be mounted on a wall so there are no feet...which makes it easy to lay on a table.  I bought a few old shoe risers so the case sits at an angle on the table.  I took some regular velvet display pads and cut them to 12" high.  They now fit PERFECTLY inside the little frame in front of the glass.  You can see more pictures of this display here.  My necklaces are pinned to the velvet pads.

I also bought some trays and stands from the new West Elm that just opened here in Austin.  These make great display pieces because they can fit in a tight space AND you can fill them with whatever you desire and then cover them with saran wrap and they are easy to move!

I filled mine with black turtle beans and then set my display on top of those. I used silver and white display pieces and the contrast was gorgeous.  Just remember to saran wrap the handle openings when you are moving them or the beans will spill everywhere!  There are lots more pictures on what I did with the beans and trays here.  I used the beans on several other display tables as well in different ways.  I filled white plastic plates, cups, etc. Use your imagination!

Holy Moly...Amy Butler Rugs!

I've been searching for a rug for my living room for quite some time now. I came across these Amy Butler rugs and think they're amazingly perfect. I have a very modern condo with one turquoise wall and with brown, black, white, and gold accents.

I haven't decided which one is coming home with me yet, but here are some of my faves:

 

Decisions, decisions!  I love them all!