Refresh your jewelery collection.. for free!

Ever feel like just buying a new accessory or necklace because you feel like you just don’t have enough? (Hah.. I feel like that all the time, check out MY Jewelery Box).

Well I thought that instead of spending money on necklaces, I’d go through my collection and figure out ways to spice up what I already have.

I came up with some frugal ways to spice up your existing necklace collection without having to head out and buy a new one.

Take your brooches and spice up your necklaces

This was a really cool idea. Taking the brooches that you own and incorporating them into necklaces that can hold something so bold and beautiful. It works with chain necklaces, because you can thread the brooches through the links.

Mix and match your necklaces to create a layered effect

This is not the best example, but you get the idea. Wear a delicate necklace, and pair it with a double strung pair of pearls and a third necklace with a pendant for a final effect.

It’s very a la Carrie Bradshaw to mix things up and still pull it off with a simple outfit.

Pin a cloth, faux flower to your necklace

If you have them lying around, and you have a necklace, instead of pinning a brooch (if you don’t have any), pin a flower to your neckalce that lies flat, and you could create a whole new necklace and look with just a simple $0.50 flower.

I warn you, it may look kitschy, so try it out in the mirror before heading out the door.

Linking lobster claw necklaces together

Link necklaces together with their hooks to make an extra long necklace that you can double around your neck or wear as is. Link the lobster claw section against the second necklace’s hoop, and use the second necklace’s lobster claw section with the first loop… if that made any sense.

Ribbon necklace

Use a ribbon to string the pendant to wear as a necklace (and tie it as a bow instead of with a lobster claw hook). Instead of using the metal chain it can get a whole new look on a ribbon.

And you can change up the ribbons with different colours and styles, string all the ribbons together in a loose manner, or braid the ribbons together for new effects.

You can even grab a LITTLE ribbon and tie a bow or twoaround a small section instead of using the ribbon as the whole necklace ‘chain’. They have a cute necklace on for $48 (OUCH!) at Jacob Boutique that has little ribbons around the chains with the faux crystals. It’s hard to see but this is the necklace.

But this is the idea I was trying to convey with little ribbons all over the necklace.

Here is my experiment with layering with 3 sets of pearls and a brooch  

And here’s my experiment with layering 2 necklaces of different heights to create something funkier

Any other ideas? Have you done this before? How did it work out?