Women in America are buying more of their own jewelry, with jewelry ranking high in terms of yearly fashion expenditure. Fine jewelry can be out of the question for those saving for a home, car, or other big expense. If you want to be the most fashionable person at the party without breaking your budget, why not make your own pieces, taking inspiration from creative online designers and sourcing affordable materials online?
Repurposing existing pieces
If you have a simple yellow, rose, or white gold chain, you can instantly have a variety of necklaces that you can change as the days go by. Repurpose old fashion jewelry without destroying it. One perfect piece with which to do so is the charm bracelet, so popular in past decades and featuring everything from keys to coins, tiny watches, or heart-shaped charms. Carefully remove the charm from the bracelet and use it as a pendant. Use more than one for a funky, youthful piece that will capture your friends’ attention. If your charms are large, consider a longer length for your necklace. Varying chain lengths can be easily achieved with necklace extenders, which can be bought in various colors of gold for under $5.
Friendship bracelets with style
Simple leather chords can be used to make a variety of friendship-style bracelets in the same color as your watch or designer bracelet. Visit a charm shop and look for charms with hooks on either side. Think elongated pieces like infinity shapes or astrological charms and make a small knot on either side of the charm with your colored leather, using a friendship bracelet knot to adapt the piece to your wrist size. Once you get confident, you can get a bit more creative, foregoing ready-made charms and using items such as tiny hexagonal nuts from hardware stores, which can be woven into braided bracelets and which add an urban touch when worn alongside more expensive items such as designer bracelets and watches.
Baking jewelry
Polymer clay, also called Sculpey, comes in a wide range of colors. Although it is often used to make miniature sculptures, it makes a great material for necklaces and bracelets since once baked, it actually withstands quite a bit of wear and tear. If you have molds for fondant in your kitchen in star or flower shapes, use them to create necklaces with these shapes, punching holes through your shapes with a toothpick prior to baking. Make sure the holes are wide enough so that waxed cord can easily fit through them. Sculpey can also be used to make bracelets and rings.
Soft wire for stacked rings
One of the biggest jewelry trends of the season is stacked rings and midi rings in ultra tiny, minimalist styles. It is so easy to make these rings using nothing more than soft wire (choose yellow gold to be in line with the season’s look) and pliers. Just cut a small piece of the wire and bend the two ends into a pretty knot. Display the knot or turn it inwards for a simple minimalist band.
We have mentioned just a few ways that you can don fashionable jewelry at a great price. Repurposing treasured items is one way to sport unique pieces. Another is to use free hours to make unique pieces with materials as affordable as polymer clay or metal wire. Take your inspiration from existing pieces, giving them your own unique spin with materials you can buy from sewing or thrift shops.