Crafty jewelry: recycling art

Circuit Breaker necklace

Over the summer, I helped a friend clean out a storage unit.  Everything had to go, except for the few small items that caught my eye for future use.  Two boxes of different colored fuses?  Why not...I'll think of something to do with them!

Materials and Tools

Fuses of different colors
28 gauge colored craft wire
Seed beads, sizes 11/0 and 8/0
Beading wire
4 crimps
4-5 mm round beads
Magnetic clasp

Wire cutters
Flat nose pliers

1. Cut off a 5 to 6 foot piece of colored craft wire.  In the center of the wire, wrap the first fuse and twist the wire tightly to secure.  

2. Add an 8/0 seed bead over both wires.  Bend one wire out of the way and work from the center outward with one wire at a time.  On the first wire, add another 8/0 seed bead, 6 11/0 seed beads, and 2 more 8/0 seed beads.  Wrap the wire around the next fuse, take the wire down through the top 8/0 seed bead, and wrap the wire around 3 or 4 times to anchor the fuse.

3. Add an 8/0 seed bead, 6 11/0 seed beads, and 2 more 8/0 seed beads.  Repeat from step 2 until near the end of the wire, leaving about 4 to 5 inches after wrapping the last fuse.

4. Repeat from the center outward using the other wire.  Create several more strands.  I made 4 in total, 2 with larger fuses and 2 with smaller fuses.  Twist the strands together.

5. Using 1 of the wires, wrap the ends together on one side.  Slide size 8/0 seed beads over all the rest of the wires.

6. Make a loop, wrapping the loose wires to anchor.

7. Cut 2 pieces of beading wire.  Use a crimp to make a small seed bead loop through one of the loops you created in step 6.  String on beads to finish the strand, crimping it to one half of the clasp.  Repeat on the other side of the necklace.

8. The finished necklace.     

Copyright 2010 Cyndi Lavin.