Arm Candy

I enjoy making new things out of old things. I’ve got all kinds of broken jewelry, found objects and unused findings lying around, waiting to be remade. Sometimes it takes me awhile to figure out which pieces go with what. Sometimes I have a concept but I procrastinate about making the dream a reality.

Yesterday and today, however, I finally got around to actualizing these two bracelets.

One is made from two faceted pieces of amber from a broken necklace. I had kept them in hopes of remaking the necklace but when I came across them recently whilst going through my amber stash I suddenly had a vision of them as finials on a bracelet. I just so happens to have some thick copper wire that fit into the holes perfectly (after being secured with some Kraft Glue). I still need to sand some nicks out of the copper before I can call it finished.

I was so happy with the way it turned out that I decided to complete another long deferred bracelet project this afternoon—an Alexander Calder inspired bangle. I’ve had this broken hinged bracelet for ages and have been looking for a frontpiece to complete it (it’s happened before). Recently I was looking at Calder’s hand hammered jewelry pieces an saw a monogrammed belt buckle and thought that I could create something similar for a bracelet. I have a bunch of brass wire and I shaped it into an “R” within a circle and then went outside and began hammering away. I expect it will get caught in things but I am pleased with the result. I especially like the mix of silver tone bracelet and yellow metal design.