Chatter

Deb Harding on “Blue Velvet Wraps”:
“Beautiful!! I just went & looked at your tute. While I haven't tried it yet I…” read »
Kate on “Blue Velvet Wraps”:
“Oooh, I love the look of that wire against the glass. It makes me think of…” read »
Peggy3 on “Raspberry and Cream!”:
“Great colors…” read »
Deb Harding on “A Green Cuff”:
“LOVE IT!!…” read »
Deb Harding on “Yellow Dragonfly”:
“I do like it. Not as much as the blue but aqua blue is my fave…” read »
chicky Zee on “Night Owl”:
“Lovely!…” read »
chicky Zee on “Blue beauty”:
“Very pretty!…” read »
chicky Zee on “~ Brigantine Beach ~”:
“Beautiful!…” read »
chicky Zee on “Raspberry and Cream!”:
“Lovely!…” read »
chicky Zee on “Mystic Mystery”:
“Lovely set!…” read »
chicky Zee on “Yellow Dragonfly”:
“Pretty!…” read »
puppychick labratbecky on “A Green Cuff”:
“FABULOUS!!! …” read »
chicky Zee on “Blue Bird of Happiness in Brass”:
“Beautiful!…” read »
chicky Zee on “Blue Velvet Wraps”:
“These are pretty!…” read »
chicky Zee on “Evergreen Copper”:
“Lovely!…” read »
chicky Zee on “Recycled Blues”:
“LOVELY!…” read »
chicky Zee on “In The Garden of Olives”:
“LOvely !…” read »
chicky Zee on “Lots of Copper”:
“These are adorable!…” read »
chicky Zee on “A Green Cuff”:
“Love this Nancy!…” read »
Medieval Momma on “Lots of Copper”:
“So cool!…” read »
Need4Beadz on “A Green Cuff”:
“I agree, this color is gorgeous with copper....great piece!…” read »
Beadzilla aka Wanda on “Ice Ice Druzy”:
“That druzy is cool. Great piece!…” read »
Beadzilla aka Wanda on “Simply Crystal”:
“Lovely design!…” read »
Beadzilla aka Wanda on “Fancy Circutry”:
“Very cool!…” read »
Beadzilla aka Wanda on “A Little Vintage”:
“Well done! Love the focal.…” read »
SquirrelGirl on “My MacGyver Heart”:
“Absolutely gorgeous! You've also given me some inspiration for my teal colored wire that I bought…” read »
Mahala93 RockChick on “Tranquility”:
“Thanks! I got them at a Gem show last year.…” read »
Peggy3 on “~ Brigantine Beach ~”:
“Thank you Becky and Wanda. Fostering is very rewarding and I get to play with…” read »
Granny Chick aka Nancy on “In The Garden of Olives”:
“I like your choices for the pendant. Its all very beautiful.…” read »
Beadzilla aka Wanda on “Evergreen Copper”:
“I thought it was a Jasper, but wasn't quite sure. Yes they are a beautiful green.…” read »
puppychick labratbecky on “Evergreen Copper”:
“My bad--Brazilian rainforest JASPER. They still have the chips but these bigger pieces were a…” read »
Beadzilla aka Wanda on “Evergreen Copper”:
“Thanks everyone, and thanks Becky for letting me know. I know I got them from LB…” read »
puppychick labratbecky on “Recycled Blues”:
“Lovely!…” read »
puppychick labratbecky on “Blue Velvet Wraps”:
“Dang you are good!!! Gonna try it your way, post it later. …” read »
puppychick labratbecky on “Blue Bird of Happiness in Brass”:
“LOvely!…” read »
puppychick labratbecky on “Evergreen Copper”:
“Brazilian jade? I have some I got here. Love the design!!!!! …” read »
Nancy Mc on “Recycled Blues”:
“Very fun and summery. The swirls on the end of the wires is really nice. I…” read »
Nancy Mc on “Sonya or 'Earth' earrings”:
“Oh how gorgeous! You've outdone yourself with the wire work on these. Beautifully done!…” read »
Granny Chick aka Nancy on “Blue Bird of Happiness in Brass”:
“oh how pretty!…” read »
Granny Chick aka Nancy on “Evergreen Copper”:
“This is such an interesting piece. I love the colors and copper combo.…” read »

Wrist Braces Repurposed and Pimped

Bigger Photo

About this design:

My blinged up repurposed item is a pair of the aluminum pieces that slide into wrist braces one wears to combat carpal tunnel issues and other things. I wear them to bed every night so that I can use my hands the next day. They are sexy beyond belief and my dog loves to lick my hand and the brace because of the lovely yeasty smell that becomes a permanent feature over time. Eventually Zeus finds them and shreds them or they fall apart on their own and I have a habit of removing the aluminum piece and saving it before I throw the rest of the brace away. I found a pair of these stashed in a closet and thought they would make a lovely, albeit heavy and a tad long, pair of earrings.

My original plan was to bling out an octopus shower caddy. Google it if you have never seen one. It would have become a necklace. I didn't have an old one to redo and the new ones were too expensive so I tried to make one out of hairbinders (repurpose to repurpose). It actually works quite well at holding things like shampoo bottles. I was going to cut up one of Zeus' tennis balls for a head but I didn't get that far. Once I started adding bling to the tentacles it became apparent this was way too big a project. I gave up. But, here are 2 pics of my octopus/squid as far as I got it. It is holding 2 empty medicine bottles each stuffed into a sock for color and texture. Told ya, repurpose to repurpose to repurpose. :) Anyway, since it's no longer possible to make a long story short, I will just say I hope you enjoy my efforts! :)

Components:

Aluminum wrist braces, crystals, glass pearls, and pewter bell flowers, LB, silver seed beads, more crystals, 24 gauge stainless steel wire and surgical steel ear hooks.

Additional Images:

Read the comments (or add your own)

On Feb 13, 2013 at 10:37 pm #
Asia says:

Becky you are a pure genius
On Feb 13, 2013 at 10:48 pm #
puppychick labratbecky says:

No, just insane.
On Feb 13, 2013 at 11:08 pm #
Asia says:

Trying to work on my tonight, writing is the hardest thing, I made quite e few designs, but I’m going to share them gradually, I think we all are a crazy bunch
On Feb 13, 2013 at 11:11 pm #
Elis Mom says:

Don’t you know? Genius and insanit
On Feb 13, 2013 at 11:13 pm #
Elis Mom says:

Darn! Hit the button by accident. Was going to say genious and insanity go hand in hand! Becky, you’re a genius!
On Feb 13, 2013 at 11:14 pm #
Elis Mom says:

I may have something to post by the weekend, hopefully.
On Feb 13, 2013 at 11:20 pm #
Asia says:

Way to go girls
On Feb 13, 2013 at 11:44 pm #
Laud says:

Wondrous, over-the-top design!
On Feb 13, 2013 at 11:48 pm #
NY Bella says:

Wowza! You really are a genius! These earrings are way out there! Love the pic! Are they heavy?
On Feb 14, 2013 at 12:08 am #
Medieval Momma says:

Amazing! You are a mad genius!
On Feb 14, 2013 at 1:00 am #
OK Jacki says:

Girl, you are rockin those ortho props!!! I vote genius of the year. Simply brilliant. You make me laugh every day. Thanks for that & all your wacky & wonderful inspiration!!
On Feb 14, 2013 at 6:37 am #
Need4Beadz says:

Wow…I have those braces…I may have to do some re-purposing of my own! Great job and love that bling!
On Feb 14, 2013 at 7:49 am #
puppychick labratbecky says:

YEah, no, I can’t really wear these. They are too heavy — 5 minutes for the pics was enough. I was hoping since they are aluminum that I could at least wear them one day to work but it ain’t gonna happen. As usual, all I could think of is the ridiculous instead of the wearable. I’m so glad there are others of you out there who showed us how to really repurpose something.
On Feb 14, 2013 at 8:03 am #
puppychick labratbecky says:

One of my friends, Amber, (hi Amber) at work said I could make these into cuffs. I found a third one so I might do just that. I was going for silly with these but the cuff might actually be wearable.
On Feb 14, 2013 at 8:22 am #
Deb Harding says:

WOW WOW WOW!!! Those are totally over the top. You are, as my ex used to call himself, a mad scientist!!! The phito with you wearing them….ridonkulous! As my buddy Blake used ti say. I kove it and only you could think this up!

Its too bad about the octopus shower caddy. I could totally see.that as a necklace…him holding a tiny treasure chest in one tentacle, pulling strands of crystal out with another, clutching a tiny sailor in a third, a ginormous fake pearl in a fourth.
On Feb 14, 2013 at 8:40 am #
Kate says:

Becky- these are some crazy earrings! If they’re really too heavy, looks like you’re going to have to repurpose THEM… wind chimes?
ya’ll are so creative!! I love it!!
On Feb 14, 2013 at 9:36 am #
Deb Harding says:

I don’t “kove” it I love it. Durn it.

I love that Kate says ya’ll!!!
On Feb 14, 2013 at 2:30 pm #
Julie Shane says:

Becky, I agree with your friend Amber. I think if you gently curve these pieces then you’ll have awesome cuffs! Love the wirework. The tiny flowers are SO cute!
btw: order some Vintaj blanks and do this in a mini-version to have true earrings. Or maybe *I’ll* borrow your idea and make them myself!
On Feb 14, 2013 at 7:55 pm #
Crazy Chick Frida says:

Sitting here and just enjoying this moment LOL fantastico!! Becky I love those earings and the octopus is darn cute Love to see a pic of you too, you are beautiful!
On Feb 14, 2013 at 7:57 pm #
Asia says:

LOL, love Kate’s idea
On Feb 14, 2013 at 8:26 pm #
foxhill designs vt says:

Becky, these earrings are crazy fun!!! I like the idea of repurposing into cuffs, since they are too heavy for the ears.
On Feb 14, 2013 at 9:59 pm #
Elis Mom says:

Becky, I just keep coming back to these cuz they are just too much fun! I sure wish they weren’t so heavy because rockin’ them to work would be such a blast!
On Feb 15, 2013 at 12:55 am #
puppychick labratbecky says:

I really wanted to be able to wear them just one day. I already straightened them a ways to make the earrings so I know I can do a cuff. I like Kate’s windchime idea–if only I could also tune them to play Asia’s music. I thought of cuffs when I found them, too, but since they were a pair I had to try the earrings first. I’m not sure if I will bend these but I will post the cuff made from the 3rd one when I am done. This was a blast! Thanks for all the love!!