Up-cycling is one one of my honest favorite methods of crafting. Because I feel like the more restraint you are (trying to work with the limited resources), the more you have to break the rules and think out of the box.
For this particular project, my dad brought home a number of grey blocks with holes in the two corners (pictured avove) from his workplace because they had extra supplies shipped in. (Shoutout to my ma and pops for always saving useless things particularly for my sister and me because they know our love for crafting!!) Call us hoarders, but I thought it had real potential to be some pretty charms. Anyways, these were the products:
Prototype #1:
The first one. This one took the absolute longest to make -- I think the longest out of all my craft jewelry frankly. This one was one I really put much thought into the design of it and just what I wanted (instead of just finding inspiration from other stores' jewelry pieces or Pinterest). I've always wanted a fun accessory that represented my personality (back in 2017 that is... I'm kind of lousy now) and was personally mine (not just like a monogrammed pendant). So I actually sat down and sketched out the product idea (which I like never do 'cause I kinda just yeet it when I do stuff usually lol).
The main components I knew I just had to add in were pom poms to make it fun, GLITTER (because why tf not??), and of course my lucky number!!! (I originally wanted to do the Sagittarius constellation, but that was too complicated and wouldn't fit with the bottom half dipped in glitter hahah.) Then, the rest really was a "yeet it" 'cause I just found the crystal hearts, bunny charm, and pastel rainbow tassel to be a charming addition.
Mainly, it just took a long time because of all the hooking-onto-the-chain and stabbing fish-eyes into the pom poms. Plus, the pendant itself already took a long time to create -- from the layers of paint (since the block was originally glossed so the paint wouldn't adhere) to glitter. But, I announce confidently, it was worth it.
Prototype #2:
The BTS charm. This was made as a Galentines gift for my gals. If you've read the article, you would know it was unofficially BTS-themed, hehe. I'm particularly proud of this one just because I think it turned out the cleanest out of all of them. One of my favorite detail of it is the gold bead to hold the tassel in place -- I think it gave it a really chic finish.
Prototype #3:
"No Strings Attached." Background story: I was laying in bed late at night this one time, thinking about love and all that good stuff (y'know like I usually do kekke...). I don't know why but I was suddenly intrigued by this idea of "no strings attached", and essentially, the opposite of that. I know it isn't an idea that should be romanticized, but the mere words inspired me to create a product that LITERALLY represented "no strings attached" / "strings attached." The idea was that the tassel would be attached to the charm when one was truly in love - strings involved and all. And removed when one was either not in on love or flinging around.
However, the tassel ended up looking so cute, that I thought the costumers (I love how I say customers but no one buys this lmao) wouldn't like the naked charm itself. So an alternative idea is (yes I have no life and actually thought this all out): when one was in love, the strings of the tassel would be knotted together versus when one was having "no strings attached", the tassel would just hang freely.
Once again, love the clean look to this one as well. Thinking about adding a face to the heart, but would that look tacky?
I don't know. Give me your thoughts.