Embellishments from Recycled Filing Cabinets

 

See the cute little flower charm in the above cluster of embellishments?  Would you believe that it is made from an old steel filing cabinet?  Well, it is!  There is an artist at Glass Garden Beads in Minnesota who makes beads and charms from all sorts of recycled materials.  She has invented a special apparatus to punch shapes from metal.  She then polishes and paints these shapes to make snazzy little goodies that are perfect additions to craft projects.

I think that metal adds a special sense of gravitas to projects.  However, it is a real struggle to find eco-friendly metal embellishments.  I was so happy when I discovered Glass Garden Beads at a local bead show.  Now I finally have a good source for metal charms and beads.  If you are interested, check out the Glass Garden web site.

 

Supplies: metal charm (Cathy Collison for Glass Garden Beads), background paper (October Afternoon), journaling boxes and fussy-cut crowns (Echo Park), two sizes of alphabet stickers (both from BasicGrey), scalloped border sticker (Doodlebug Design), ribbon (Berwick Offray) two red patterned papers (both from My Mind's Eye), pink cardstock (Creative Memories), white cardstock (American Crafts), light blue cardstock (Core'dinations).  This layout originally appeared on the Color Room.

I used my metal flower charm to add a regal (yet still fun) feel to my above layout, "If I Were a Princess."  The journaling reads: "If I were a princess...I'd choose to live here, in the Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace, on the bank of the Fontanka River.  Why?  Because it's my favorite color (red!), and it's right in the heart of Saint Petersburg--where the fun is!"

If you were a princess, where would you want to live?