April 10, 2008

From Aluminum Cans to Jewelry

Every day at lunch, my friend drinks an Arizona Green Tea. And every day, I look at the cherry blossoms on the side of the can and think about how awesome they would look incorporated into a cute pendant or pair of earrings.

So I took home a couple of the cans, and with some other stuff I had laying around the house, turned them into this:

What you'll need:
-any soda/juice/iced tea can. There are so many different drinks with pretty cool designs on them.
-a Sharpie (or any other permanent marker)
-eyelets
-eyelet setter
-a disc or stamping, any shape you like
-hole punch
-jumprings
-earwires or chain, depending on what you'd like to make
-an x-acto blade (or plain old scissors if you're a reckless crafter like me)

Use the X-acto blade to cut off the top of the can, then use the scissors down the sides of the can to cut out the parts you want to use. Be careful, the edges of the cans are pretty sharp! I usually cut the can into more manageble square shapes.

Next, use the marker to trace the shape onto the piece of can. I find that it's easier to trace from the front, to make sure I get the exact part of the design I want. In this case, I traced a circle to mimic the shape of the disc:


Take the cut out shape and arrange it on top of the disc/stamping. I taped mine down to prevent it from sliding around. Use the hole punch to make holes wherever you would like to set the eyelets. I made one at the top and bottom, but you can go crazy if you want!

Set the eyelets in the holes, add a jump ring and chain, and voila! You could also make earrings, keychains, or a bracelet!



27 comments:

ThePeachTree said...

I would have never thought about that being where they were from! Very nice :)

KimmChi said...

Wow, what a beautiful end product, really nice!

Joanne said...

The pendant looks beautiful! Great project!

brooklynsoul said...

Thanks guys! I really owe it to Kimm for her Earth Day promotion idea, which motivated me to do something I've been thinking about for MONTHS!

KimmChi said...

can you do another tutorial just on eyelets! I love em but I'm afraid to get started with them!

brooklynsoul said...

Sure! This blogging stuff is kinda cool!

Anonymous said...

This is so pretty!

cakehouse said...

gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

Nice work making something so striking and professional-looking from something so simple! Aluminum from cans is definitely worth experimenting with. Lately I've been exploring using a dapping block to create half-spheres that can be combined to make spheres . . . and then, theoretically, beads. It's nice not feeling guilty about wasting material to experiment, especially when you can toss the scraps into the recycling bin.

Anonymous said...

I was just wondering, if the sides of it are still sharp or do you dull it some how, or cover teh edges?

Anonymous said...

What is a disc/stamping?
Okay, I know it's a dumb question but, I really don't know.
Good tutorial. Love the pendant!

Anonymous said...

YES! exactly! I can think of some options from junk I have but really, WHAT IS A DISC OR STAMPING??
hahaha!

Cate Lawrence said...

just wondering if the curves are still sharp when you are wearing the jewellery?

Anonymous said...

Is there any chance that you could elaborate on what you used for the disc or stamping, because I had a cool idea to make a belt-buckle like your beautiful pendant, but I don't know where to get started.

see steph sweat said...

angie that is so awesome!

brooklynsoul said...

Hey guys, thanks for the compliments! A disc/stamping is basically just a piece of metal that has been pre-cut into a shape. (round in this case) They can be silver, brass, copper, etc. You can also make your own shapes and cut them from a sheet of metal.

The disc I used is made of aluminum. One side is a little rough, but when I tried to file it down with some sandpaper, it got really scratched up. So when I made a second one, I put two discs back to back so that there are no more rough edges!

Rachael Hutchings said...

Where do you get the discs/stampings? What a great project! I'll have to take advantage of some of the great cans here in Japan!

brooklynsoul said...

I get them from this store called Metalliferous here in New York City. I think they have mail order also, www.metalliferous.com

Anonymous said...

i didn't saw images like this before

Anonymous said...

How freakin' cool is that? Eco-friendly jewelry that actually looks good. :-)

amandarivera said...

Can you please explain how I can get the edges of the aluminum jewelry to NOT be sharp? Any tips? Thanks!

-Amanda.

Leslie Todd said...

Hey, this is really cool. Thanks for doing the tutorial!

Anonymous said...

I've been exploring using a dapping block to create half-spheres that can be combined to make spheres . . . and then, theoretically, beads.
I have an idea to make pendent like but i have no idea where to get stared.

Anonymous said...

This is GREAT... hey, where did you get the disc .... or did you make them too???
Thanks for sharing!

Unknown said...

What a great idea for reusing a common item! I love it and featured you in my post Friday Finds today!

Monogram Canvas said...

Sure! This blogging stuff is kinda cool!Among so many affordable luxury bags, some people just follow suits, but for the wise fashionista, they know how to use the same money.

Diamond Jewelry Florida said...

Nice tutorial. The pendant looks beautiful! Great project! I'm also in the learning process, this tutorial helps me lot to do something new.