Instead of discarding or donating your old, unwanted jewelry, upcycle it to decorations for the Christmas tree. Jewelry has all of the glitz, glamor and sparkle needed to make brand-new tree and decorations decorations, or to embellish existing ones.
Magnificent Strands
Replace conventional garlands with strands of beads from old or broken necklaces. Open or snip a necklace filled with beads or baubles, like a synthetic pearl necklace, so it produces a very long strand. Choose necklace sorts with all the beads secured in place so the beads don’t fall off — even Mardi Gras beads will get the job done. Add ornament hooks to each end of the strand and another in the middle, if the strand is long. String several comparable necklaces together using jump rings to get a long beaded garland, or twice a couple of necklaces up for a layered effect. Dangle glass-like plastic snowflakes from several places along the garland to get a more wintry look.
Instant Ornaments
Turn pendants and necklaces into swift, sparkly ornaments for the tree with the addition of earring hooks or ornament hangers. Long, dangling earrings on French-style pins hang above the tops of divisions, no alteration required. Insert a French hook to a pendant from a vintage or broken necklace for one more type of ornament. Attach clip-on necklaces directly to branches for immediate adornment. Make the necklaces or pendants dangle a bit farther beneath divisions by tying loops of gold or silver embroidery floss to them, adding the pins to the floss. The more vibrant and large the earring or pendant, the more noticeable it’s on the tree. Even costume jewelry hooks — especially people who have Christmas themes — transform into ornaments when you secure a hook or rubbed through the pin. If the pin dangles awkwardly, hot-glue the rubbed to the rear of the pin near the top instead.
Bedazzled Decorations
Turn ornaments lacking in the sparkle variable into decorated delights by gazing beads, faux gems and bits from broken jewelry to them. Use an epoxy-style craft glue or jewelry glue to make bands of small beads or synthetic rhinestones, salvaged from vintage jewelry, around the perimeter of ribbons that are spherical. Pair a large, loose stone from a broken necklace or ring as a focus on a circular ornament, surrounding the item with rhinestones in a tree or even snowflake shape, as an example. Use glitter and glue to create the designs around the gems instead of rhinestones as an alternate strategy. Dangle a pendant or earring from the bottom point or points of a flat, sturdier ornament by drilling small holes and adding a loop of embroidery floss covered in glass beads to attach the jewelry. Use craft glue if you prefer not to drill the ornaments. Insert a ring to the top of a spire-style ornament for another easy adornment.
Cutout Creations
Transform frame-style steel cookie cutters — the type that are hollow in the middle — to festive ornaments complete with their own decorations dangling inside. Drill a hole in the top of each ornament, and dangle a thin earring in each, removing the first earring hook and adding silver thread or floss instead. Push both ends of the thread through the hole, and knot the thread to hold the jewelry in the desired height dangling within the cookie cutter. Pick cushioning with Christmas themes like stars, gingerbread men or snowmen, or use a round cookie cutter. Tie a loop of ornamental thread or rubbed around the top to hang the ornament on the tree. Use small image frames without the glass or backs to make similar hanging ornaments. Cut a collection of strips from card stock, wrapping each in colored metallic foil, to make a hollow orb, stapling the strips in the top and bottom to form the orb shape. Dangle a lightweight earring or pendant from the underside to embellish the ornament.