Vintage Belt Buckle Necklace & Earrings

I have had this vintage belt buckle forever...bought it back in the early 80s at an antique roadshow kinda thing. I think I paid $5.00 for it. Originally I planned to make a belt to go with it, but for a variety of reasons the project always got bumped to the back burner while I worked on something else.

When I came across the dark green beads that were the exact same color as the glass jewel in the belt, I remembered my old neglected friend. After bringing it back to the light of day and really looking it over, I decided a necklace would be a better way to use the buckle. Another reason for this decision was that the actual buckle link on the back of the piece looked like pot metal soldered on to the front. After years of use, and being very slightly bent, I was not sure it could have taken the strain of remaking it into a belt.

After playing around with different ideas, in the end I decided to keep it simple and let the vintage buckle be the focal point. 

Vintage Belt Buckle Necklace and Earring Set

Vintage, and very possibly an antique, belt buckle, emerald green glass beads, clear glass beads, green aluminum jump rings, gold-tone double jump rings, and gold-tone wire. 

  
This was the original thought...I had pieces from one of those bracelets made on stretchy nylon line that had broken. I was going to use the brass pieces along with the faceted clear beads. Pretty early on I eliminated the brass beads and spacers. They just didn't look right. 

Finished necklace and earrings. 

Closeup of buckle. The buckle opens behind the glass jewel, which is how the necklace is taken on and off. 

This was a fun piece to make, and it was nice to finally be able to use this lovely buckle after having it sit in a drawer for so many decades, waiting for me to be inspired. I  have worn this necklace a few times now, and always received a compliment or two.  

Ice Princess Necklace

Newest item up on the Etsy site. This necklace is made up almost completely of recycled bits and pieces from vintage or near vintage costume jewelry. The pendant was an old brooch, I'm guessing from the late 1950s or 1960s. Not sure. The two light blue dangles were a pair of earrings. The dark blue dangles from an old necklace, and the powder blue beads on the links I made, were from a huge, multi-strand necklace my mom gave me...I think. It's been a while since I acquired it, so I'm not sure on that either. People give me stuff all the time, and it can be years before I finally getting around to using it. By that time I can't remember who gave it to me.

The Process

I noticed that on a lot of blogs by artists, they post pictures of the process they go through in order to create a piece, whether painting, drawing, collage, sewing, or...jewelry. So, I thought maybe I should do the same, and talk a little about how I work. Not riveting stuff, but since I like to see how people go through the creative process, I thought others might like to see mine.

I try to do a lot of recycling in my pieces. I haunt junk shops, antique stores, and garage sales—why let all that great old stuff go to waste? When I do this, I have a price ceiling...I won’t pay more than $20 for anything...whether it’s a bag of parts, or a complete piece that I can take apart and turn into many pieces. Usually I end up spending anywhere from $1 to $10 average. Many of my friends pick up things for me, or if they are thinking of sending old stuff to the Goodwill, they let me look it over first. That’s always fun.

When I start a piece, I have a vague idea of what I want, and then I start pulling out beads, bits, charms, old pendants, buttons, etc. and play around with them. It’s usually the color that grabs me, and I go from there. An arrangement will finally satisfy me, and then I put the whole thing together. Next, I take it for a test run. I wear it, making sure everything stays where it’s supposed to, and that it drapes/hangs nicely, and is comfortable—nothing poking anywhere. If that all checks out, then it’s done, and I put it up on my Etsy shop. If no one seems interested after a certain length of time, I may take the piece apart and make something else.

So, that’s it. Here are the elements I used in the necklace pictured.

Red sections from an old necklace (ca. 1960s, I think) that I took apart. It has purple, light purple, and red sections. I used only the red, so have lots of other sections left over to use on something else. That old necklace was long, and I have made other pieces from it already. Since it was given to me by a friend, it didn’t cost me a dime.

Gold metal leaves that I inherited from my husband’s mother after she passed away. She had a ton of craft stuff, and Robert’s sisters were kind enough to share it with me. I’ve used these leaves on lots of things, and will be sad when they are finally gone.

“Gold” covered copper wire. I am still learning how to work with wire, which has a mind of its own. The links for this necklace were made with 1” pieces of wire, a black bead added, then twisted in an S-curve. I like making my own links, because I can add any type of bead/chip I want, to match the rest of the elements.

Misc. beads and small metal leaves. These are all over-the-counter bits, purchased at either Michael’s, JoAnn’s or Craft Warehouse. So are the jump rings, clasp, and head-pins.

The pictures are of the work in progress, and then the finished piece. I wear a lot of black, so I’m thinking this little gem I will keep for myself. But since I am getting rather addicted to making chain and bead links, another one will be in the works soon. Who knows, I may like the next one better and give this one up.

Commissioned Necklace

This is a commissioned necklace I just completed. It is very similar to a bracelet I did, and then enlarged into a necklace at the request of a customer. She wore it, and a friend of hers admired it and wanted one "just like that one." Well, I can't do exact replicas of a piece, because I use found elements. However, I did have enough of the frosted flower beads in another color, and pretty much the last of my glass leaf dangles, to do one more necklace. And so, here it is. It will go to its new home tomorrow.

After two such pieces, I'm really getting the hang of making wire link chain. Next time, I want to make something using gold wire instead of silver.

Bracelet to Necklace

This piece was originally a bracelet. I took it, along with two necklaces, to my writer's group meeting, for a "show and tell." One of the ladies liked the design of the bracelet, but wanted it as a choker instead. I didn't have enough of the frosted petal beads to make a whole new piece, but did have enough to add length to the bracelet. So, I took it home, reworked it, and voila...the finished choker. Better still, the lady loved it. That made me smile and feel good to be me.