Recycled Belt Chain Necklace

This free jewelry making craft project shows you how to recycle leather belts into interesting and custom jewelry pieces.

What you need

Recycled Textured Leather Belt
Earring Findings
Scissors or Sharp Blade
Hole Punch
Needle Nose Pliers
20 Gauge wire
Silver Chain
Gold Paint
Pony Beads

Instructions

This project uses a recycled textured belt.

Cut 1 inch length of a belt which already has stitching along the edge. The belt was 3/4 inch wide. Therefore for the earrings, simple cut two pieces about 1/3 inch wide, and the original width of the belt now becomes the length of the earrings.

To enhance the texture on the belt use some gold metallic paint to rub over the design. Do this by putting a small amount of paint onto your finger and rubbing it over the raised texture or by using a permanent stamp pad and gently pressing the belt into the ink pad.

Using a small finish nail, and a hammer, punch holes in the tops of the two pieces for the earrings, and in the top of the piece for a pendant.

Clip the top corners off all three pieces. Punch holes at the bottom of the pendant piece, as well as the earring pieces to add beads. Refer to the picture for details

Using needle nose pliers, cut a piece of 20 gauge wire 1″ long. Form a loop in one end, and then form a loop at the other end, going in the other direction to make a figure 8. Pass one loop of each wire into the pendant, and the earrings.
Use the other loop to hang the earrings from ear wires, and for the cord of the pendant.

Thread on some large pony beads to finish off the leather strapping