Repairs

I’m trying to not buy things, but my magpie nature still wants me to feed it new things. So I’m diving deep into my upcycling stash.

A couple of months ago I found a leather bound copy of the poems of Sir Walter Scott on the sidewalk. It had been left out in a torrential downpour and the pages were pretty much ruined. Still I picked it up and vowed to do something with it, maybe make a bangle covered with the book’s hide. I also had this faux Gucci bracelet that had been upholstered with cheap papery fabric. I took it apart to see how it was constructed and it turns out it’s simply double-sided weather stripping tape and fabric.

So I cut up the cover, wrapped the leather around the two-sided tape and then glued that onto the bangle. This is a prototype. I want to save the gilded WS monogram until I become more skilled at this technique. The end result looks just okay.

A smaller but more successful story is this gorgeous rhinestone choker. It was missing one of the navettes. Because this piece uses prong settings it’s a pretty easy fix, but finding a stone that fit was trickier. But I found a single earring that had its match and now this necklace is once again wearable. Maybe I’ll take it for a spin at a film festival party.