Handmade Recycled Bead Bracelet

I love recycling, and I don’t just mean running my recycling bin to the end of the driveway each week. I love taking old things and turning them into art. This bracelet is a great, fun craft that combines the fun of recycling and the art of jewelry making. You can make it just as I have, or you can change it up however you wish. You can use a rainbow of colors or a single color, add seedbeads or add a charm to it! The possibilities for unique jewelry are endless! What you need: 1. Old plastic tubs or lids in great colors 2. Hole punch 3. Jewelry clasp and ring 4. Heavy duty thread 5. Sturdy needle 6. Seed beads (optional) 7. And some imagination! Directions: Begin by using the hole punch to punch holes in the plastic tubs or lids to create your homemade “beads”. To fit my adult sized wrist, I used approximately 100 homemade beads and approximately 30 seed beads. But how many you need will vary, depending on the size of your wrist. Once you have punched out all of your “beads”, cut a piece of thread about 8″ long. Tie one end to the clasp, and thread the other end through the needle. Begin stringing your beads, by poking the needle through the center of the bead. You don’t need to be in the exact center, just somewhere near the middle. Create whatever pattern you wish to see on your jewelry or just string beads in no pattern at all, it’s completely up to you how you create your work of art! Once you have a strand long enough to go comfortably around your wrist, attach the other end of the clasp, to the open end of the strand and tie tightly. Clip off any extra thread, and you are ready to wear your recycled work of art! This project can also be done as a necklace, so don’t stop at the bracelet if you have extra homemade “beads” leftover. Make a matching necklace using the same steps, just making the strand longer! Who knew recycling could be so much fun!