Are you a book lover? We are in our family, sometimes to our detriment when we don’t have the space for them. I worked in a library for several years, and it always saddened me when it was time to cull the stacks and remove the books with poor circulation statistics. Something about that DISCARD stamp on the binding made me feel like I was giving up on them. I know I am not alone in that feeling. luckily, there are some talented people out there who give books and old papers a second chance at life.
*review item c/o Trashy Crafter
Kim Franklin, and her mom Helen, create recycled book jewelry from damaged and outdated books, as well as old maps, sheet music, and more. They take the pages of damaged books, and make them into paper beads! Then they make the beads into cool, one of a kind recycled jewelry. They are the Trashy Crafters. Not only can you wear the pages of your favorite book or sheet music, you get to support small business, conserve resources, and look good doing it.
Trashy Crafter jewelry is all handmade. In addition to the paper beads, there are decorative beads of glass,wood, and resin, collected from broken and discarded jewelry. They offer earrings, necklaces, lanyards, bracelets, and more, and there are a lot of books to choose from. You can have something custom made as well. You could have your favorite passage from a poem made into beads, or even a meaningful bible verse.
My husband is very into maps, so I picked out a road map bracelet set with blue and turquoise accent beads. The craftsmanship is sturdy and the bracelets are pretty unique. The paper beads are well-made and I am fairly certain they will last a long time. Obviously, since they are paper, you don’t want to wear them in the shower, or at the beach. The string is stretchy, so the bracelets are easy to get on and off, plus it is the extra strong, translucent type reminiscent of fishing line. The blue map bracelets go well with a jade and turquoise bracelet set I have from years ago, so I like to stack them all together.
Trashy Crafter jewelry is a cool idea for a gift for that person who has everything. You can get it customized to be more meaningful, or pick something from the huge selection in their shop.
I love the earrings!
I really like the bohemian harvest bracelet.
I love the Little Red Riding Hood Recycled Paper Bead Bracelet Set