Friday, April 1, 2016

This is no April Fool's post


Today begins my first post leading up to bEARTHday, April 22.  And it's no April Fool's post either.

I've been hanging my sheets, towels, blankets and clothes on my clothes line every day because it was 80 F (~ 27 C) or higher for several days.  The winds were often over 40 to 50 mph, though, and once when I went out to get an afghan and a towel, they were twisted all over the line and one of the clothes pins had come apart.

I tell you this because, not to be confused with a clothes peg of single wooden construction,

it doesn't matter if your clothespins are plastic, old, or new (as shown above left to right)

they all have the same construction.  And when they come apart, like they often do when the wind batters them, we often throw them away.  Now I have saved the wooden parts in the past, thinking I would use them for doll legs or picket fences in an assembly,

but I never thought to save this metal spring before.  Now I'm sure many of you with lots of grip could reassemble one of these clothespins, but as is often the case, one wooden side may be missing.  As I looked at this spring, I thought it looked a bit like an elaborate jump ring for a bead.

So I took it to the basement to see if I could find a bead that it might fit in.  I picked three.  My favorite was the one on the far right, but it was too wide for the metal spring.  Although I tried to spread the "jump ring," my fingers weren't strong enough and the angle was wrong when I tried to assemble it.  I will need to play around with the angle once I get my needle nose pliers, all of which are on the main floor of my home.

I had absolutely no trouble getting the round polymer clay bead to fit in the jump ring spring.

Here it is ready for someone to wear.

 Today was Day 1 of 22, where instead of sending this metal spring to the recycle bin, I turned it into a necklace.    I'm sure there will be more to come as my clothespins often come apart now that I'm hanging my laundry on the clothesline.

Thanks for visiting.  I am glad you joined me for this first day of April (no fooling), and will join me for a second look on the 2nd with a link to a previous post you wish to share with others tomorrow.

14 thoughtful remarks:

Helen said...

very clever! I don't have pegs (or pins) for my clothes as I don't have outdoor space to dry my clothes ever... happy 1st April!

Valerie-Jael said...

Lovely idea, the necklace looks great. I don't have any clothes pegs as we are not allowed to hang our washing outside here in this house - crazy, but there you are. Have a lovely month. have fun, hugs, Valerie

kaybee said...

What a fabulous idea - maybe I'll start deconstructing my pegs now, and end up having to buy more! :D

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh how cute is that. Those springs are sturdy too. In my case a certain pup named peanut does sever damage to my clothespins! Xox

Halle said...

So cool! What a great idea!!!

My name is Erika. said...

Wow- you have a great eye for these things, for sure. I would NEVER have thought of this. And it looks really cool! I would wear this. Can't wait to see what you have up next. Hugs-Erika

Dianne said...

what a brilliant idea...I have missed some opportunities for jewelry making! I can so identify with the wind/clothesline/broken clothespin situation. surprised to hear it's been so warm at your house! You did have me "fooled" though, I thought for sure you were going to paint the clothespins somehow. Great little post for the day...looking forward to all of your bEARTHday posts! ♥

Jeanie said...

Bravo! Very clever!

Meggymay said...

What a great recycling idea, those wooden pegs will be looked at very differently now I have seen the fantastic post.
Yvonne xx

Divers and Sundry said...

Brilliant! You see, I have this bead..... and this is perfect! Thx!

kaybee said...

Hi again! Thank you for your kind comments on my blog, and I would be very happy for you to add my blog to your sidebar!

pearshapedcrafting said...

Wowser Elizabeth! What a brilliant idea! I wish it would warm up here - but not as much as 80F! Have a great weekend! Chrisx

Sandra Cox said...

OMGosh. Who woulda thought. Love it.

AiyanaKalyna said...

I love this too. You are so clever. I think the clothes pin jump ring looks very elegant. Can't wait to try this. Thank you for sharing.