Hey fashionistas! Chain (and metal disc) necklaces are all the rage, but the new trendy ones are pricey. Here's a tip - take smaller chain belts from the thrift store and fasten the ends together permanently by opening and closing a jump ring. Voila! An easy, cheap fashion necklace. (Really, no one can tell you spent $1 or so on the belt.)
By pam munro from L.A., CA
This page contains the following solutions.
You can make fun and inexpensive earrings out of buttons. You'll need a pair of cute buttons that attach to clothing with a shank, rather than flat buttons with 2-4 holes. Use wire cutters to remove the shank.
Try consignment shops, pawn shops, and the local thrift shops and Dollar Stores for inexpensive jewelry. I have a pre-teen and these are the cheapest places that I go.
Use an inexpensive ribbon (for example the 50-cent or 99-cent ribbon at a craft store) instead of a chain with your favorite pendant. This is best for costume jewelry or high-quality inexpensive jewelry, not fine jewelry, but it adds a special touch to any outfit.
If your skin is turning greenish-black from the metal of a watch, you can protect your skin from it by painting the backside of the watch with clear nail polish or cut corn pads to fit the size of the back and stick them on.
When most people think of gems they think of diamonds and other precious ones, but there are lovely semi-precious stones that are lovely and very affordable.
Picked up a bargain cocktail ring at H and M, but it was a bit too shiny. I added some interest by putting on some blackish glittery nail polish on the work around the stone.
I've found great deals on real jewelry like Seiko Watches for $1.99, only needed a battery. I've also bought pretty jewelry (not real gems) at the $1 store. It came with a necklace and earrings.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I have lots of old cheap gold earrings. I would like to find a way to paint them. I used gold spray paint but that only lasts for a few days and the jewelry started to have an funny smell, kind of like rusty.
Can you advise me on what would be good to use. Also I did not know if I should Use some type of sealant. -Lonnie GeorgeI have used fingernail polish to paint earrings. If you want to paint them gold though, I would seal first with clear nail polish and then try spraying again.
Actually, you could spray paint first then seal with either clear polish or spray sealer.
Check with the local hardware store to see which paint and sealer is the best for the type of material your earrings are made of.
Gold nail polish,even the glittery kind,then seal with a coat of clear.
I went to a local craft store for that same reason, hoping they'd have some gold touch-up paint for jewelry. They didn't. But I went down another aisle and found "liquid leaf" paint which is a liquid version of "gold leaf" used in crafts. It works great and without any sealant.
A few days after painting I dipped it in my jar of jewelry cleaner and no change! The only drawback is that it's not a real brilliant shine, it's more like a "brushed" gold finish but not real dull either.
Hope that helps
Donna
Refashion broken, old jewelry into new pieces. A necklace chain can become attractive earrings.
Sometimes repairing a piece of jewelry is easy enough to do with tools you might have a round the home. However, detailed work should be taken to jeweler to be repaired properly.
Jewelry can be quite expensive to buy new. Searching for vintage jewelry at thrift stores and resale shops may lead you to finding a lovely piece for much less. Minor repairs can often bring it back to like new appearance. This is a page about buying vintage jewelry instead of new.
