Mix It Up

As jewelry makers, we seem to have an endless abundance of materials available to satisfy our artistic urges: beads, wire, metal, clay, glass, wood, shell, crystal, just to name a few. But, why stop there? While you can make gorgeous jewelry using traditional materials, you can also work outside of your jewelry box and try to stretch your imagination by using unconventional materials: computer parts, paper, found objects, photographs, plastic. Again, this list can go on and on because there is no limit to what you can do.

Just as an example to perhaps inspire you, is my Mini-Book Pendant. I made this using old business cards and an assortment of decorative papers and other materials that I collaged to cover the cards. I used a straight pin to punch holes in the middle of the cards, and then sewed them together using gold-colored Beadalon wire. I used crimp beads to finish the wire, and included a loop at the top so that the wearer could add the pendant to a chain or maybe a pin back. As an added adornment, I included two crystal dangles. This piece was inspired by my favorite poet, Emily Dickinson. Inside is the line “There is no Frigate like a Book.”

This was a fun project because I was able to combine my love of books, poetry, paper crafts, and jewelry making. What could be better than that? So, have I inspired you? I hope I have and I’m interested in seeing some of your own mixed media jewelry creations. If you have some interesting “out of the jewelry box” designs, consider submitting them for one of our galleries. Maybe you’ll inspire some else to try something new.