Recycled Glass – Page 25 – Julie Frahm

Posted on March 4, 2018 by admin

A bit of a fail

Today I have a bit of a “fail” to share with you.

Before Christmas I was given several really pretty blue perfume bottles. You can see the colour in the picture below, it’s a bit like the Bombay Sapphire Gin bottle colour.

When I was given these bottles I had a feeling that they would not stay true to their colour. I have used pretty coloured glass before, and have found it to be painted on, rather than part of the actual colour of the glass.

So, when I made some test beads with one of the bottles, I was not really surprised to see the colour burn out of them. I still made a few, just in case, tried a few different ways of making them, just to be sure….but when I opened the kiln, this is what I found. Still pretty beads, but not really what I had been hoping for!

Posted on March 3, 2018 by admin

Sparkly Silver and Gold Bracelet

I had a bunch of sparkly Coopers Ale beads made, and when I put them together I felt like the bracelet needed a bit more contrast to make it really pop. So I added the sparkly wine bottle beads to the bracelet, and loving all the contrast and sparkles in the bracelet now.

Posted on March 2, 2018 by admin

Wine bottle stud earrings

I have to confess that I love studs as it starts to get cooler (not that it’s cooler here right now, I’m just getting prepared). I really enjoyed making these stud earrings from wine bottles. I have 3 designs ranging from small studs to larger flower studs, and medium studs in between!

Posted on March 1, 2018 by admin

Sketches to reality!

I always carry a notebook and my phone with me, so its really easy to capture ideas throughout my day/week. Sometimes I will sketch the idea in my notebook, other times I might take a photo of something because I like the shape or the colour of it.

Let’s just say that when it comes to making pendants I have had lots of ideas, and drawn lots of sketches, but….not much in terms of making. I often wonder what is stopping me from making things like pendants. I think I often want to get it just right in my head before I pick up the wire and beads. Today I must have tried at least six ways of making this pendant before I finally settled on this:

And I have to confess, I was quite excited when I finished it! The beads in this necklace were all made from a Banrock Station wine bottle.

I have other items where this is also the case, and I am going to “just make them” at some stage too. What’s the worst that can happen??

Posted on February 28, 2018 by admin

The end of summer blues…

Here’s to the end of another month, and the end of another season. Summer where I live has been a real mixed bag this year, lots of hot weather, and lots of crazy weather in between. I’m looking forward to seeing what the days of Autumn offer me in terms of creativity for this year long challenge.

Today is day 59 of the Recycled Glass Jewellery challenge, and I am sharing a photo of a necklace I made this morning. The beads are made from a Bombay Sapphire Gin bottle. Such a great colour!

Posted on February 27, 2018 by admin

Blue Recycled Glass Earrings

I have been enjoying trying new things, tweaking old designs, and coming up with new work as part of my “Year of Recycled Glass Jewellery“.

Today I have used some Banrock Station wine bottle beads, and mixed them with Bombay Sapphire Gin bottle beads. I love how nicely these two colours work together. I also really like the stud earring here, and of course….they are very dangly!

Posted on February 26, 2018 by admin

Long + Swingy + Sparkly

= my kind of earrings!

The beads were made from a champagne bottle, and the long tubes are copper that I have enamelled. I love the shades of green. I love how the beads dangle and swing when you wear them. Lots of movement in these earrings.

Posted on February 24, 2018 by admin

Monochrome Recycled Glass Earrings

I have been having a lot of fun playing with the beads that I made from a Hendricks Gin and Banrock Station bottle. They work together so nicely! I couldn’t resist making a pair of asymmetrical monochrome earrings to add to the collection.

PS It was a bit tricky getting this finished today because it’s actually my daughter’s 9th birthday! Happy Birthday Ciara, hope you had the best birthday ever.

Posted on February 23, 2018 by admin

Monochrome bracelet

I have been loving getting my seed beads out this year, it’s been a long time since I have played with them! Anyway, here’s a bracelet to match the necklace that I made yesterday. The feature beads are from a Hendricks Gin and Banrock Station wine bottle.

Posted on February 22, 2018 by admin

Hendricks Gin bottle necklace

Firstly, a big thanks to everyone who sends me their empty gin bottles! I really do appreciate the effort you make to get them to me.

Secondly, the necklace I made as part of my year of recycled glass jewellery. Today is day 53, yes that’s right, I have made 53 pieces of jewellery from recycled glass so far this year! Lots more to come, lots more ideas in the notebook, lot of things I still want to try.

So, this necklace is super long! It can be worn long, doubled or even tripled over. The beads were made from a Hendricks Gin bottle and a Banrock Station wine bottle. I love the splash of gold seed beads in amongst all of the black and clear and grey beads, they add a lovely pop of colour to this monochrome necklace.