recycled beads

Oh my I can think of all kinds of things to recycle for jewelry. Old aluminum foil, cut it into 1 inch squares, roll into a ball then dip them in clear acrylic floor wax or glue. Grommets off of old tennis shoes make great spacers. Tabs off of soda cans can be folded over or wrapped in ribbon or thread to make beads. Just about any old household wiring can be stripped and wrapped around various items to make wire beads. Decorative buttons off coats or jackets can make great beads. Thread can be wrapped around wire or even something like macaroni to make colorful beads. Old household electric cords can be used for thick necklace cording. You can cut the tips off of pen caps to make end caps for beads. Here's my favorite recycled item. Take the metal tins out of old makeup containers. You can mix glue with your favorite glitter and fill the tins. Or soak soft white bread with glue, press it into the tin, wait a while until the surface is just tacky then make an impression with a cool button or just press in your own design with a knife, then rub or sprinkle a little metallic eyeshadow over the surface. When it's completely dry dip it in clear acrylic floor wax. Makes a very cool pendant. The white pull caps off of water bottles or dish soap caps are great for beads. Any cool closure or buckle off a coat or boots make great pendants. Ok I'm done, hope that gets your creative juices flowing!

well the hippy's used to made what they called love beads were made out of beans and seeds, I used to wear them all the time, they were so popular in the 60's and i think they are still very populat at markets...