Belt It Out!

I am participating in a upcycled art show in February.  A friend gave me an old belt of her husband's, that I might use as a base for a bracelet, for the show.  But in the meantime, I decided to do a little warm-up practice and make a pair of earrings with a section of the belt.

On the left, you can see that the belt was in really bad shape.  The woven pieces were so worn out, that they were useless.  So I decided to see what would happen if I removed them.  To my surprise, there was the underlying structure you see on the right, above.  All those holes!  Oooo!  I knew I could use those.  Each of my earrings today, consist of a strip of belt, containing two small holes and one larger hole.

I attached my ceramic ovals to the upper small hole.  The glaze I used on the ovals turns green and blue in random places during firing, so each piece is always unique. Then, I created dark green tassels to dangle from the lower hole. I finished them off with handmade brass ear wires.

On a different note - Washington and Oregon were blessed with rain today after several dry months and terrible wildfires.  The fires are not only devastatingly destructive, but the smoke has caused lung and eye problems as well.  My heart goes out to everyone who has experienced the opposite problem, with torrential rains and tornadoes.  Stay safe friends.

Linda Landig Jewelry

Thrift Store Treasure

On Sunday, I was in a thrift store and saw this pair of earrings on offer for $1.00.  The tarnish on the silver metal told me that it was probably Sterling silver.  The style looks like it was from the transitional period between Art Nouveau and Art Deco. One of my favorite periods of art!  Let me tell you, I grabbed those $1.00 babies so fast it would make your head spin!  I knew I'd found a treasure.

I polished the silver and deconstructed the earrings.  There were a few small nicks in the silver, so I turned the silver pieces over to their best sides.

I added diamond shapes of Peruvian Opal and tiny Thai silver cubes.  I adore how they turned out.

These are keepers.  I don't think they will ever show up in my shop.  I'm wearing them now as I type this and I imagine they will make frequent appearances in my outfits.

Linda Landig Jewelry