ReVamp!
Makeovers…who doesn’t love them? Our culture is obsessed…and so is Metalchik! I love to take something old and make it new. It’s like keeping the old soul and adding a cool new body.
While everyone likes a beautiful piece of antique jewelry, some old jewelry is just plain yucky. For those of you MY age (not telling!), the most dreaded piece of jewelry might be the stickpin. Wow, what DO you do with that? Well, while I’m still puzzling over that one, I’ll share my thought about other neat-o revamps you can do:
Adam and I showed how you can take an enameled flower pin and rob it of its leaves to make hanging earrings. It’s so easy, I don’t think I even need to comment on it here! Please send an email to victoria@metalchik.com if you have questions.
This technique works well with any piece of jewelry that has multiple similar elements, like an icky pearl cluster pin, a charm bracelet, or vintage wood and amber beads to mix up. I think it’s nice to take pieces and redo them in terms of reorganizing the shape, like hang the beads on a chain from for earrings like we did, or make a necklace with bead dangles or make key-chains our of the charms. You can even do all these things with old buttons!
Another project I love is a lariat necklace made from old earrings or a pin. Here’s a shot of one I made that has a very modern feel – like the ones you get at you-know-where. .
Even though natural forms like feathers are in, these feather earrings are just too “grandma” on their own. But as ends – or as we jewelers call them, terminations – they look cool. All you need are the earrings, jumprings, a drill and a chain. Just saw or cut off the earring backs (make sure they are smooth and if not, file it a bit). Then drill or punch a hole at the top of each earring, and use a jumpring to attach them to a chain. I used an antique sterling silver one I found with an interesting pattern that played off the texture of the feathers. Make sure the chain is nice and long, at least 24”. Voila, you are done. And check it out: you can also use a pin like this one. Just cut apart the leaves, drill holes, and use a gold-tone chain!
I had one last idea before I go…sometimes revamping an old piece is just using it differently. I like an old brooch as a pendant, like this scrolled pearl pin. .
