Love to Spare

“I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare.”

C.S. Lewis

****ONE ONLY****

****NEVER GET CAUGHT WEARING THE SAME THING AS SOMEONE ELSE****

Got some Love to Spare? Or maybe wearing your heart on your sleeve has become a bit tiresome? This 5x5x2 cm heart is the PERFECT solution then!

Simple and edgy but elegant on its own or a feature piece layered with simpler chains, Love to Spare is strung on leather from the infamous Sacred Heart Op Shop biker pants and chain from an upcycled dog choker chain. Hanging about 45 cms long, this piece is a definite one off due to the pendant itself being a bit of a find!

$45
(plus postage if necessary)

Only available on Made It (pick up available for locals!)

From Darkness to Light

... without darkness
Nothing comes to birth,
As without light
Nothing flowers.

May Sarton

Now, I must confess that I really, really wanted to call this piece "She has Big Kahoonas". Alas, I didn't have the Kahoonas!!

Continuing with the lava stone obsession, I wanted to contrast the natural, rough and organic texture of this stone with something ordered and structured like the crystal.

With the plains and jewel tones of this season, it works perfectly.

For the feminine warrior, explorer, fashionista... who am I to tell you what part of you this bracelet will express!

Perfect and simple on its own or layered with other black & silver bracelets, this single stranded bracelet with clasp features 3 large 20mm lava stone balls decorated with Swarovski flatback crystals.

Available on Etsy & MadeIt

Don't Cross Me

"Don't mess with me fellas. This ain't my first time at the rodeo!"

— Joan Crawford

Inspired by a combination for the penchant I have for all things Rock Chick that still need to work with the rest of my wardrobe (ok, so maybe my slightly more feminine take on Rock Chick), the eternally upcycled Sacred Heart leather pants and these Jet and Crystal Swarovski pendants I saw on a lava stone hunt, Don't Cross Me was born.

Simple yet edgy, this 48 cm necklace is so versatile. Wear with denim, woolens, plains and stripes depending on the look you want to create.

Strung on chain, lava stone and upcycled leather (from the fames Sacred Heart leather pants), the 38 mm Swarovski crystal cross, contrasted with jet, catches light in the most amazing way without being too overwhelming.

Hand created, this unique piece is a great addition to any outfit.

Available at Etsy and MadeIt (for those wanting $AUD)

One Person's Trash is Another Person's Bling

Introduction

This is my main thing right now: creating pieces from materials found in the strangest of places. As I stated in the last post, this is fairly evident in any of the things I create, but it's a new exploration in the realm of jewellery.

I use old dynabolt casings for tubes, evening dresses that I'd normally bin for fabric, even curtain rings.


My current fetish is the old leather pants purchased from the op shop in my area run by the Sacred Heart Mission who every day assist hundreds of people who are homeless or living in poverty to find shelter, food, care and support. Anything I would normally send to landfill or, in the case of Sacred Heart, has a positive social connotation, is fair game.

There's an element of upcycling in each piece that I create.

And I am not alone! A recent call out on the DUST (Down Under Street Team) forum, a group of Australian creative geniuses who sell on Etsy resulted in some very interesting replies!

Lekker

Pendant by Lekker

Three guesses what Rachel at Lekker makes these fun and fabulous pendants out of..... Smarties?..... Skittles?... No... a stash of old knitting needles!

The item description for this piece makes everything clear:

Ever wondered what happened to Nanna's old coloured Knitting needles? I did.

This pendant has been made from my ever so secret stash of knitting needles that I have been left by the many Nanna's of the world.

While the art of knitting may be lost to the younger generation, encased in an aluminium frame made from pipe offcuts and embedded in resin, this pendant may be a sign of things to come for the fate of the knitting needle!

Having studied printmaking for years, Lekker is run out of Melbourne, Australia.

Incalesco

Recycled Copper Fringe Earrings

Incalesco means glow in Latin. And I have nothing but glowing reviews for this metalsmith! Another Melbourne based artist, Erika works mainly in silver but often uses other metals & stones to giver her pieces that extra bit of colour. Her pieces are delicate yet contemporary, intricate yet versatile.

Not long before I started hunting for fellow upcyclers, Erika of Incalesco was given a pile of scrap metal by her father.


And I think you would agree that there's a big difference between the pile above and what has emerged so far:



Spoonerz



Now, I'm just going to put it out there... I'm not a huge fan of spoon & fork upcycling. There's a guy at the local market who started a trend around here and then everyone was doing it... but they were all a bit... plain for my taste.

This morning I logged on to Etsy however, and saw this utensil upcycler on the front page...

A Mum of 4, SpoonerZ takes the bits and pieces of utensils and remakes them, rejuvenates them and redefines them.



Other bits and pieces

This article could go on forever. There are a bunch of people out there doing great stuff! Here's a few more...

Sea glass pendant by Epheriell

Steam Punk Cuff Links from Nouveaumotley
Cufflinks from mobile phone copper & photographic silver by Ben at Biome

Circuit board earrings from Upcycled Jewellery



Next: Trash bag to Handbag

The Biker Pants Live On

 

Did you know it takes approximately 208 gallons of crude oil to raise one feedlot steer? And that's just raising the cow, not to mention the amount of energy that goes into creating the hide.

By upcycling materials, this 7cm wide by 13 cm long cuff, created from the pocket of an old pair of leather pants - (probably, given the opshop they came from, once the pride and joy of a bikie)- would be saving at least 2.6 gallons of crude oil in the raising of the cow alone....

Not to mention, the materials were purchased from the op-shop run by the Sacred Heart Mission in St Kilda, Melbourne.

Who would have thought reducing your carbon footprint could look so good?

Fully adjustable via the lace up chain system at the back, this cuff is edgy yet feminine.

Made from the to of the pocket of that infamous pair of leather pants, this is a narrower cuff with antique gold findings & fittings.  The chain on the front is sewn on with copper wire.

Both available at Etsy and soon at MadeIt for Australian buyers.

New at Kreated - Pocket Rock Upcycled Leather Cuff

Artists do it, Greenies do it, now even Rock Chick's can do it... Upcycling.

Express the edgier side of your personality with this upcycled leather cuff made from the pocket of a rather large and loved pair of leather pants found at the local Sacred Heart op shop.

Perfect to go with this season's rock/military look or even when you want to give that casual t-shirt & jeans a bit of a pop, this cuff is adjustable courtesy of the chain fastening system.

The cuff can be worn plain, or with ribbon threaded through the front eyelets for a more feminine touch (see images).

The preworn nature of this leather has ensured the cuff is beautifully supple and soft.

There are obviously only two pockets in pants so there is only one of this design available (the other pocket wanted to be made into something else!)

**All upcycled materials have been cleaned before use**

Buy me at Etsy (USD) or Made It (AUD)

Inspirations

There is so much to get inspired by in the everyday world, from the way the light hits a window in the evening to the patterns created on the wall as the light filters through the trees; from the tactile nature of this seasons richly coloured silks to the chunky textures of winter knits. Even the smell of my coffee in the morning somehow manages to inspire jewellery designs for me.

So here are some of the things I'm inspired by right now....

Coffee in the morning (the colour and texture of the creme, the shape of the glass, the smell... oh that smell!)

The creamy texture and colour of milk

Miss sixty chunky eggplant knitMiss Sixty mesmerizingly coloured dress in a heavy silk (this photo does the colour NO justice)!

This gorgeous scarf in my favourite colour combo (with a dark royal purple/eggplant/plum) from baboom on Etsy


This satiny coffee cup holder from gabriellamistral on Etsy.

I could just keep going and going with this post!

New at Kreated

I'm a little obsessed with recycled materials and antique bronze at the moment. The antique bronze works really well with this season's colours and who can't do with a spare heart if you're like me and wear yours on your sleeve!

Each piece is available at Kreated on Etsy or MadeIt

“ Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree ”

~ Emily Bronte

A wearable depiction of the bronze-golden hues of Autumn and the oncoming silver light of Winter, this 36 cm long chain with a 14 cm drop piece is perfect for layering with both shorter and longer necklaces.

The silver leaves are patterned on one side and quite light like leaves that you would see fluttering in the wind.

“Some people wear their heart up on their sleeve. I wear mine underneath my right pant leg, strapped to my boot.”
~ Ani Difranco

For those of you who love to fall in love and wear your heart on your sleeve, here's a spare one or two for when it doesn't go quite to plan.

The crystal is a recycled piece from an old necklace while the hearts are cast metal.

The Wicked Witch of the East enchanted his axe to prevent him from marrying the girl that he loved. The enchanted axe chopped off his limbs, one by one. Each time he lost a limb, Nick Chopper replaced it with a prosthetic limb made of tin. Finally, nothing was left of him but tin. However, Ku-Klip, the tinsmith who helped him, neglected to replace his heart. Once Nick Chopper was made entirely of tin, he was no longer able to love the girl he had fallen for.

Wicked Witch of the East or the love of Tin Man's life, wear his shiny new heart around your neck.

The chandelier crystal is recycled, old school lead crystal found when I was packing up my Dad's house (so there's a little bit of my heart in there for you too!)... I suspect it came from the chandelier in a house we had about 20 years ago.