Great Green Goods - Shopping the Eco-friendly Way! » Eco-Friendly Jewelry

Recycled Felted Wool Hearts

green — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:08:08 +0000

Take one part recycled wool sweater and add two parts of beads, buttons and embroidery embellishments and then dump a whole lot of colorful creativity on top and you get these cute little heart pins ready for anything.
Prices range from $5.00 to $10.00 perfect for your little valentines from SueandSew’s Etsy Shop

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Recycled Copper Hearts

green — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:03:57 +0000

Created from repurposed recycled vintage copper roofing shingles, cute hearts, that are hand cut and hammered with a true artisan one-of-a-kind look. They are lightweight and inscribed with the words LOVE/YA. On top of it all they are adorned with itsy bitsy silver tin hearts. Check out Ruddle Cottage Etsy shop there are several variations.
$18.00 at Ruddle Cottage

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Upcycled Fabric Felt Art Hearts

green — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 03:38:47 +0000

You don’t need to pollute the planet to prove your love…try one of these adorable heart pins made from random bits of fabric scraps.
$16.00 at TresArty’s Etsy Shop

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Handbags created from recycled records

green — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 17:51:12 +0000

From Brazilian artist, Gueth Freitas, beautifully painted handbags made from recycled records. She paints on the black vinyl records with “nanquin” a Chinese ink …her designs are bold and punchy! She paints enough of the surface to give is a strong graphic look, however, if examined closely your admirers will see the classic tracks of the record. If you would like to give this as a gift, Novica includes and “artisan card” which tells the story of the artist and the materials used…it is a nice touch. There are several designs and different sizes available at Novica.com.

Earrings and pendant necklaces are also available from this artist using the same process of painting on recycled vinyl records. These items are playfully named “Samba Symphony” and “Samba Swing” and “Copacabana Melody”
Click here for availability and prices from Novica.com

“Mama” Recycled Metal Fair Trade Jewelry Holder

green — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 04:56:45 +0000

I love the primitive style of this handmade jewelry holder. It comes from artisans from Kenya and is a Fair Trade item. Perfect for hanging your necklaces and bracelets so you can pick out your jewels easily in the morning and be on your way!
Measures 19.5″ tall, 22.5″ wide and 6″ deep.
$79.95 at Amazon

Recycled Bike Jewelry

green — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 01:37:50 +0000

For the bike nut in your life, this bracelet is made from polished stainless steel bicycle spokes each free formed and attached by little bike chain pieces. How adorable! Lots of Bike themed jewelry from this Etsy seller.
$28.00 at VeloGioielli’s Etsy Shop

Bracelet made from recycled stainless steel bicycle spoke made to fit your wrist. This will remind you what is like to have the wind blowing through your hair on that downhill ride last weekend while you are working away at the desk job that slowly eats away at your dreams and rusts your soul. No rust or tarnish on this baby!
$15.00 at Simply Spoken ak’s Etsy Shop

Conveniently holds the big bucks while keeping one spoke out of the landfill. Created in a workshop for disabled adults, there is no end of good vibes coming your way while you organize your life and hold on to your bills.
$10.00 at Uncommon Goods

Bike spoke ring the perfect gift to cement a friendship or say goodbye to a bike that has been with you a long time. Keep the memories of all the great places you traveled together fresh in your mind with this ring upon your finger.
$55.00 at Snegoratchka’s Etsy Shop

Bracelets and necklaces made from recycled CDs

green — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 18:45:31 +0000

I wish I knew more about the process used by this artist who transforms recycled CD’s into these wonderful works of art! Bracelets, earrings and necklaces in all kinds of shapes and colors. I looked for a tutorial, but didn’t find one ….if you know how she did it, please leave a url in the comments. These products are sold on Dawanda.com which seems to be an international Etsy-like site filled with crafters and artisans selling their unique or limited edition, handmade products.
5.00 € to 15.00 € at Whiteguppy’s Shop at Dawanda

Fantastic Recycled Plastic

green — Mon, 23 May 2011 01:25:56 +0000

Working entirely with post-consumer recyclable plastics, artist David Edgar started creating creatures from the sea in the form of fish with sizes ranging to small pieces of jewelry up to large wall hangings. He has since moved into making jellyfish lamps. He was having so much fun making these creatures, he got together with his wife and wrote a book. You don’t have to be an artist to enjoy Fantastic Recycled Plastic. Just reading and viewing the full-color pages will inspire you to recycle, learn more about plastic, and appreciate the art. Makes me want to start saving my detergent bottles.

Here’s one of his pins available for sale on Plastiquarium’s Etsy Shop

From the Plastiquarium:
Bluetail Reef Cruiser 23 x 36 x 5

Snub-Nosed Green Feeder 21 x 36 x 4

The Big Mouth 15 x 20 x 5

Fantastic Recycled Plastic: 30 Clever Creations to Spark Your Imagination [Paperback] by David Edgar and Robin A. Edgar is available on Amazon

Recycled Wool Beads and Necklaces

green — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 03:57:39 +0000

Tonight I was looking for some inspiration and stumbled upon several artists creating recycled beads and necklaces specifically from recycled wool sweaters or blankets. Something about the bright colors combined with “fuzziness” provided some warm comfort on a sad lonely day. The first artist I came upon was from Argentina. Lua Chea specializes in eco-friendly accessories made from wool, threads and fabric remnants along with a few buttons thrown in. The fabrics are usually remnants and leftovers from textile manufacturers. Leather and suede is gathered from shoe, belt and purse factories. Their designs are beautiful and inspirational.

Available for sale at Ans Designs

This next artist (from Etsy) creates everything from bags, purses and mittens to fun holiday decorations. This item featured is what they came up with for the leftovers.

The colors caught my eye ..how couldn’t they? This is a garland made from wool scraps ready to decorate your window or bulletin board to remind you that life is happy and good!
$24.00 at MaddyAndMe’s Etsy Shop (check it out for lots of handmade knit felted wonderfulness!

This artist is working with many recycled materials, the wool felt being only one small component. I fell in love with several necklaces made up of many beautiful arrangements.

This etsy artist combines handmade felted wool beads with recycled vintage glass and plastic beads. Artful color and texture combinations!
$20.00 at ThreePeat’s Etsy Shop

This artist from the Netherlands, works with vintage woolen blankets and felted Merino wool. You can see more of her work over on Flickr – www.flickr.com/photos/kyroushka/

Prices range from $25.00 – $40.00 at Eexterhout’s Etsy Shop

This artist uses hand dyed salvaged wool that she then felts into these wild colorful necklaces. They look so simple but they have the ability to be the finishing item to pull the perfect outfit together.

$22.00 at MaisyandAlice’s Etsy Shop

Aren’t all these necklaces delicious? Interested in trying your hand on hacking up an old sweater and turning it into fashionable neckwear? During my travels, I found a few tutorials listed below:

Tutorials for making felt beads from recycled sweaters

Recycled Fork Art

green — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 01:04:59 +0000

Fancy silver flatware has gone out of style on the table (for goodness sakes, it can’t go in the dishwasher! horrors!) but is getting a new life crafted into jewelry as rings, bracelets and necklaces.

From North Salt Lake, Judson Jenning’s ipod holders (called the iFork, of course!) are completely adorable. He creates all kinds of wacky art from spoons and forks and you can see his wares on his site www.forkedupart.com and can connect on his Forked Up Art facebook page. Judson also has an etsy store where some of the product is a bit more edgy.

Another etsy artist working with recycled forks is the Fork Whisperer. Beautiful spoon rings and fork bracelets.

Prices range from $39.90 to $149.99

Created by Jeremy & Jenni Eversen from Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, this item is called the “I Love Forking Bracelet Cuff” ….it seems that fork artists have lots of fun! $34.99 at Jjevensen’s Etsy Shop. Check out the website, JJEvensenArt.com to view more examples of silverware jewelry, coat hooks and windchimes.

Here are some resources:

This is the bible for learning how to make jewelry from flatware …only problem is that it is usually out of print and unavailable.

This is a product created by Maryann Cherubino which consists of a several high quality videos showing you how to make bracelets and necklaces with recycled forks. The videos cover: materials, tools, preparation, bending forks, using stones, and making bracelets and necklaces.
This group of videos costs $29.99 at Making Fork Bracelets.com