Recycle and Reuse

OK, in these tough times, been thinking about how I could economize. I have been cannibalizing my own jewelry to make stuff, and I have been convinced that if I just thought long and hard enough I could even figure out how to make valuable stuff out of trash (stay tuned for my revolutionary egg shell and coffee grounds bracelets). I don't do any kind of sophisticated metal working yet (like, no soldering or casting or anything like that, no torches), so I've been thinking about pre-made, hefty metal forms I could use for pendants and the like. EUREKA!! Belt buckles, I thought. Brass ones or steel ones. They have cool shapes, they're hefty, and they might just look cool hanging around your neck. So I went to the Salvation Army and scrounged through the belts--what a motley collection of ugly-as-sin-circa 1984 accessories, but the buckles!! Ugly webbing belt, nifty buckle! Paper-made-to-look-like-leather belt with a cool buckle! Plastic-made-to-look-like-leather belt with...a nicely antiqued brass buckle! Bought about 15 of them and took them home and took them apart. And the pendant you see above is the first result. That was the coolest buckle in the bunch.

Finally managed to overcome most of my engineering difficulties with my hardware stash (hammered the crap out of a bunch of stuff--fun!!)--now I need Uncle Bob and his tools to help me with the last one. Have a couple designs laid out, just need to put them together. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe in the car. While I'm driving. Just kidding.