Recycled Jewelry Projects - plastic soda bottles

In response to several requests for school project ideas for kids (and adults) to teach on a humanitarian trip, I am posting a series of jewelry items made from recyclable or foraged materials. This is the first in the series which will include items made with plastic, cloth, wood, etc. I would love to hear your experiences and ideas for jewelry projects also.

I made this bracelet and earrings from plastic soda bottles. The heart is made from suede and I used black elastic string to "tie" the ends of the bracelet in a way that would allow it to expand when pulling over the wrist.

The bracelet is my own design, but I got the inspiration for the earrings from this cute plastic feather garland on the State of Green blog. They even have instructions....

Here are a few more ideas with links :

Not jewelry, but I love how the plastic discs have been textured. See this and several other things to make with plastic bottles here and here.

Another look for earrings. Just heat the plastic a little to give the discs a warped look.

Getting fancy here with a little color variety and the cutest little plastic flowers and leaves. See more here.

How cute would this be made out of plastic discs punched or hand cut from a soda bottle! Here's a tutorial on how to make this one at mandipidy. 

Well, these are only a few ideas, but you can see that making jewelry from empty soda bottles can be simple and accessible with materials that should be available in any country, (though the clasps and chains will probably need to be sourced in a larger village or a city.)

The best thing is that you are recycling materials readily found and the cut shapes do not have to be perfect. A little imperfection adds a lot of character!