Shredded Junk Mail Necklace

Jewelry as environmentally conscious ad it is fashionable - does life get any better?

Posted by Jennifer P.

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Reach into the office shredder for a handful of color, and hit your craft stash for some felt. Now decoupage the paper onto wooden beads and cut the felt, and you are on your way to a unique one-of-a-kind necklace.

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You Will Need (16 things)

  • Shredded Paper
  • 7 1" (3cm) Wooden Beads
  • 1 sheet light blue craft Felt
  • 30 black-and-white polka-dotted Glass Beads
  • 46 red Seed Beads
  • Stringing / Beading Wire
  • 1 silver-tone S-hook Clasp(s)
  • 2 silver-tone Crimp Beads
  • Decoupage Medium
  • Clear waterproof Spray Paint
  • Paper Shredder
  • High-speed Drill and small drill bit
  • Sewing Needle (with eye large enough for jewelry wire)
  • Scissors
  • Chain Nose Pliers
  • Wire Cutters

Steps (3 steps, 60 minutes)

  1. 1

    Cover beads with shredded paper
    Shred junk mail (or colorful magazines) and adhere the paper shreds to each wooden bead with decoupage medium, overlapping the pieces of paper until each bead is covered entirely. Allow the covered beads to dry completely. Once the beads are dry, give them at least 2 coats of clear spray paint. Allow the paint to dry completely. Use your drill with a bit the size of your bead hole to poke through the paper covering each bead hope. Repeat with all your beads.

  2. 2

    Cut Felt Squares
    Cut a sheet of light blue craft felt into 1/2" (1cm) squares.

  3. 3

    String the necklace
    Attach one end of a length of stringing wire to a crimp bead. Thread the free end of the wire onto a sewing needle, and string the necklace in the following sequence: red seed bead, black-and-white polka-dotted bead, red bead, felt square. Simply bring the needle through the center of the felt squares to string them. Repeat the sequence 11 more times, ending with a black-and-white bead. Then thread on 7 decoupaged beads, alternating with black-and-white beads. Repeat the sequence from the first side, beginning with a black-and-white bead. Finish the necklace by attaching the free end of the wire to a clasp with a crimp bead. Link the other clasp component to the other end of the wire a jump ring.