Eco Friendly Jewelry

When I think of the oil spill in the Gulf, I think of how much more precious our environment should have become to us after this tragedy. I decided to use the search term: eco friendly and see what I could find.

The first item I found was this set of, get this, paper beads.

They don't look like paper to me, but if you read the description of how the artist makes her beads, you will see that they are paper, and they take a lot of physical labor to make them!
Check out: Artspell. She's even got a bagel that looks like you could eat it, and it's paper! This is amazing work!




How about some, get this, Recycled Guitar String Earrings!
Now how clever is that? I found these earrings at Cheap Date Jewelry! Can you image? What a clever idea. Be sure to check out her store for more creative pieces of jewelry!

























How about this Soda Can set? If you can't recycle your aluminum, how about turning the cans into jewelry? How clever is that? Funky Recycling is full of soda can fun!













Here's a felt heart brooch embellished with a brass zipper!
I am continually impressed with the creativity of the eco friendly artists out there! This comes from Wooly Fabulous on Etsy.




Aren't these amazing finds? Do you have eco friendly items in your Etsy store or on your website? Let us know.

Going Green with Glass

No, this isn't a blog about green glass. I have nothing against green glass. I love green glass! No, this is a blog about my attempt to go green when selling my glass products.







This afternoon, I spent some time cutting up old magazines. I decided that I needed some cards for my products. I took each full sized magazine page, and I cut it in half. I trimmed the ends. Then, I folded the half page in half until it reached the size I liked. I punched a hole or holes in it, and the result was like this......


















I have a fairly sturdy card, made from recycled or upcycled materials, on which to display my glass goodies.

Now, how are you recycling?

This Is a True Story

One day, I had a repairman in my kitchen to work on my dishwasher. I noticed he kept looking up at the sink. He had a puzzled look on his face. I noticed that he would glance at the sink, then look at me.
After the repairman left, I was loading the dishes into my newly repaired dishwasher, I happened to look at what was next to my sink. I started to laugh. I had, approximately, a dozen empty wine bottles sitting there waiting to be soaked so that the labels could be removed. I can only imagine what the repairman was thinking as he looked at all of those empty wine bottles. On top of that, he had come into the kitchen through the garage where I store my extra wine bottles, and they were easily seen by anyone who walks through this entry into my house. When I realized what he had seen, and most likely though, I had to sit on the floor I was laughing so hard.
I only wish he had asked. I use the empty wine bottles that friends save for me. I use them to make glass beads. I put the bottles into a plastic bag. I drop them on the concrete floor of my basement. I take the chunks and use them to make glass beads. They are wonderful! I love making beads this way! Not only am I following the credo of: reduce, reuse, recycle, I am making some beautiful beads.