Make It: DIY upcycled junk jewelry

I’ve gone through many phases of creating my own jewelry, buying current trends and inheriting hand-me-downs.  This is just a recipe for jewelry box disaster.

Instead of tossing everything and starting fresh, why not make something new out of the old?

Grab the spray paint, scissors and a few odds and ends and you’ve got the tools for making some modern handmade statement pieces.

What you’ll need:

• Old jewelry, beads, necklaces (yours or found at thrift stores or garage sales, even)
• Scissors
• Spray paint (a few complementary hues that go together)
• Clasps (just recycle the ones on the old jewelry)
• Thread, monofilament or beading wire for threading beads
• Painter’s or masking tape
• Ribbon scraps

For restringing tired, old jewelry, take all the necklaces you’d like to use to create a new project and neatly trim the beads off from the clasps.

Set clasps aside.

Select the beads or baubles you’d like to restring and determine a pattern.

You can create different lengths and have a new necklace with two, three or even four strands.

Reattach your clasp and you are done.

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For a super cool ombre look, take some faux pearl strands in different lengths. For the easiest method, try to use strands that are all large enough to fit over your head.

Attach the strands together with some monofilament or decorative ribbon to make multiple strands one statement piece.

Place the strands flat onto newspaper and lightly spray with spray paint, a really light at first, then heavier as you move down the necklaces. Blend and layer different hues together to create the ombre look.

Try a bright neon base color then add some darker color at the bottom for a really eye-popping design.

Let the paint dry and it’s ready to wear!

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Twinkle VanWinkle was born in a small town in Mississippi. A life-long lover of music, media and food, she grew up following those three things along her path. She has almost 20 years of professional cooking under her apron strings, feeding thousands of friends, family and other folks while working in restaurants and bakeries in Oxford, Miss. She baked 300 apple pies for the “Oprah Winfrey Show” and appeared on “The Best Of...” in the same year. Along with producing dynamic entertainment content for LIN Media, she is a mother, musician and social media fanatic.

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