Making your own jewelry is one of the most popular forms of craft projects. Craft stores are filled with all sorts of beads and findings for your jewelry-making needs. But for really unique and one-of-a-kind pieces, upcycling is your best bet. And these repurposed jewelry ideas are just the tip of the iceberg. When it comes to making jewelry with upcycled items, the sky is truly the limit of possibility.
Braided Handkerchief Bracelets
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Why should kids and teens have all the fun with friendship bracelets? These chic and romantic versions are made from vintage handkerchiefs– but any lightweight vintage fabric with a delicate print would be perfect! Plus, they’re super easy to create- which comes in handy if you want to make them for a bunch of your friends.
Repurposed Jewelry with Vintage Tennis Rackets
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
The inside of a tennis racket is quite a lovely surprise. Thin layers of different wood are pressed together to create them, and when sliced like this, the cross section becomes a gorgeous necklace pendant.
From Stuffy to Stunning
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Have a string of pearls that’s about to snap or just isn’t your style anymore? It may be just the piece to reimagine into a breezier, more contemporary piece of jewelry, like this bracelet. Not so stuffy anymore, eh?
Tweed Jacket Pins
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Making a statement pin for your jacket or coat like this requires three things: a wood medallion, feathers, and a tweed sport coat! Such a perfect craft for a tweed blazer that the moths have gotten to, right?
Vintage Button Charm Bracelet
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Vintage rhinestone buttons are stunning, and deserve to live a showy life outside the button tin. But if you don’t want to use them on a cardigan sweater, here’s a great alternative: a button charm bracelet. Particularly well-suited for shank buttons, this DIY bracelet is incredibly easy to make and looks absolutely stunning in person.
Repurposed Jewelry from Leather Belts
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Find an embellished leather belt at the thrift store or have one you adore but can no longer wear? DIY leather cuffs from belts is such a fabulous way to extend their life in a new, stylish way. Easy to make with a few leather crafting tools, you can showcase the prettiest parts of the belt and custom-make them to size.
Years and years ago when I still had an Etsy shop, I used to make these regularly- but I never published a tutorial on my blog. Would that be something that interested you?
Chunky Beaded Necklace
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Silk scarves are beautiful and delicate, but often prone to tears, pin holes, and unfortunate collisions with food or drink. But if enough material is salvageable, it can be re-imagined as a chunky, contemporary necklace with this repurposed jewelry idea.
Reimagined Broken Watch
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
A broken watch, especially one from a dainty bracelet, is the perfect thing to reimagine as a pendant necklace. And with this unique upcycle idea, the watch face is attached to a miniature pulley for a truly unique piece of repurposed jewelry.
Fabric Flower Pins
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
These pretty flower pins are a wonderful scrap-busting sewing project that are ideal for your smallest pieces of leftover fabric. Using scraps of vintage fabric (using old flour sacks in this example), they come together in no time at all. And they add such a fun pop of whimsy to your sweater, jacket, tote bag, or hat.
Repurposed Jewelry with Silver-Plated Spoons
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Silver-plated silverware is easy to bend, flatten, and manipulate into various jewelry projects. In this case, silver-plated spoons are the perfect base to show off some colorful vintage cameos.
Assemblage Bracelet
Image credit: Little Vintage Cottage.
This incredibly unique idea for a boho bracelet brings together several upcycled elements into one piece of repurposed jewelry. From the shirt sleeve cuff to the upcycled zipper, it’s like wearing a little piece of mixed media art on your wrist.
Mini Book Necklace
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
For the true book lover, this mini book necklace is about as cute as it gets. And it uses real book pages from a book that was falling apart and no longer readable. What a great way to repurpose it for a bibliophile!
Matching Necklaces for Best Friends or Mothers/Daughters
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A pair of vintage clip-on earrings might not be something you ever plan on wearing again. But they’re often easy and fun to upcycle into a pair of one-of-a-kind necklaces that you can share with someone special– your best friend, daughter, sister, etc.
Repurposed Jewelry from Vintage Metal Buttons
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Vintage metal buttons are often found by the jar load at antiques shops and even thrift stores. They just don’t draw the eye quite like colorful buttons in interesting shapes. But they are ideal for transforming into “coins” like these to make eclectic, globally-inspired jewelry crafts such as bracelets and necklaces.
Skeleton Keys as Charms
Image credit: House of Hawthornes.
Whenever I see a skeleton key, I think of dark romances, mystery novels, and slightly spooky old Victorian houses. And while some of that may may or may not be accurate, this part definitely is- they’re absolutely perfect for upcycling into jewelry! The small ones are ready-made to become pendants for a repurposed necklace that has all sorts of character and charm.
Fabric Bangles
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Ugly bracelets and bangles (or just plain ones) are ideal for wrapping in fabric to create new pieces tailored to your style. And these thrift store bangles were wrapped with hand-torn strips of bed sheet fabric. Aren’t they so sweet and delicately pretty now?
Seasonal Jewelry
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
A vintage curtain tie back is really just an oversized thumbtack, when you think about it. But if your windows have blinds instead of curtains or drapes, then those old tie backs are ripe for repurposing. In this case, the pin was safely removed so that the pretty flower could be reimagined as a statement necklace. And with green beads, it definitely has Christmas vibes without being too hokey.
Upcycled and Repurposed Jewelry Ideas
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
See what I mean? There are a TON of ideas and inspiration out there when it comes to making repurposed jewelry. From buttons to spoons, to old books and leather belts, there are seemingly endless ways to create beautiful and unique pieces of jewelry that make a statement. I hope this collection of ideas revved your creative engine to make something yourself. And if you do so, please let me know what you make!
Craft on!
S
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Sarah Ramberg is the owner of Sadie Seasongoods, a website that celebrates all things secondhand. From upcycling ideas and thrifted decor to vintage-centric travel itineraries, Sadie Seasongoods is a one-stop shop for anyone who loves thrifting and approachable repurposing ideas. Sarah is also the author of “Crafting with Flannel” and has been featured in numerous media outlets and magazines.
Have a question or like what you see? Please let me know!