How to Use Old Jewelry To Upcycle Sandals

This project is the second pair of shoes I DIY'ed in the video above.

Give it a watch if you'd like to see how I did this in action! You'll also get two more ideas about how to upcycle your shoes with old jewelry.

Here are the shoes I started with. As I mentioned, there's nothing wrong with them but I thought they could use an extra "pop of color."

I came across these sandals on the Anthropologie website and they inspired this project!

Unfortunately I didn't have any shells, but I thought the beads would work perfectly.

I had so many different pieces of unworn and broken jewelry, so I decided I would embellish these shoes with a mismatch of pieces to give them a true "Anthropologie-style" look.

The first thing I did was clip the necklaces with scissors so I could take the beads off.

Some of the stones came from mismatched earrings. I used pliers to bend the metal on the earrings to free up the beads so I could use them in this project.

To attach the pieces to the sandals I got out a needle and thread.

Then I got out my spool of stretchy clear elastic cord. The same kind that you might use on a beaded necklace.

I simply tied a large knot at the end of the cord and pulled the needle through the edges of the woven pieces of leather.

I weaved up and down, attaching a new bead randomly throughout the body of the shoe.

For extra security I looped the cord through some of the beads twice.

When I had all the of pieces I wanted on the shoe I looped it through the back and knotted it several times.

While I wasn't able to make both shoes match perfectly I did try to make them look like "cousins" to bring some sense of order to this project.

Upcycled bead sandals

Here's how they came out!

I realize these sandals may not be for everyone but I like how they add a little character to shoes that are otherwise plain.

If you would like more of a "streamlined" look to your own shoes consider trying this method with one size or similar color of beads.

You could also try upcycling a purse, backpack with this same method.

Let me know in the comments how you recycle your own jewelry. I still have tons to work with after I finished the shoes and need to find something else to refashion!

If you want to see other upcycling ideas, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube Channel, Sew Much 2 Wear!

Thanks for reading, and happy upcycling!