Tumblr Faces: Upcycled Chokers

Tumblr Faces
Upcycled Choker

Tumblr Faces
Upcycled Necklace

Tumblr Faces
Upcycled Choker

Tumblr Faces
Upcycled Choker

What is a tumblr face? Half face with pouting lips that aim to create a dreamy allure. When I googled chokers online, most of what came up was pics of white-skinned people [resenting as women that capture half their faces while pouting their lips and wearing 90's tattoo chokers. Meh. My luscious, full, afro-black lips (wearing crayola crayon DIY lipstick) are accompanied by these upcycled chokers I've been working on. These chokers are made from the pieces of old necklaces and have been repurposed into new designs! Here's my tumblr face to add to the choker archives!

Smiles,

Tuly Maimouna

R&S: Takataka an ode to Meja Ngeti

Takataka
[tak-ah-tak-ah]
Bottle cap necklace

When I was in east Africa anytime I went out friends they would always ask with a look of slight disgust "why are you picking garbage up off the floor?" without confidence and shifting eyes I would reply "...I want to make something..."  In reality I had no idea why I was picking bottle caps up off of the floor when I thought no one was looking, but it really did seem right at the time. On my trip back home I was acquainted with a rather strange but charismatic major in the Kenyan air force who we always addressed as Meja Ngeti. Now Meja Ngeti while obnoxious in his own right was whole heatedly generous, when we hadn't eaten and were hungry he fed us, he provided advice to young men and challenged them to think seriously about themselves, he avidly demanded that I was respected as a lady but mostly he bought us drinks...a whole lot of drinks. Now that I think about it, I am actually not sure if his obnoxiousness can be attributed to him having a few too many, but none the less his company was always a pleasure.

On one of our many encounters Meja Ngeti taught me a really cool trick, how to open a bottle of beer with another beer bottle. With every round that would come to our table he would tell the barmaid to leave them all closed and insist that I open everyone's beer. You might wonder why this newly acquired skill mattered so much to me. Well, as soon as I mastered the skill I was from then on able to collect bottle caps in a discreet fashion! I no longer had to pick them up off them floor, I just popped the caps off and put them in my pocket free of disgusted looks. Sadly, not long after I returned to Canada I heard that he had passed away, so to Meja Ngeti, asante sana kwa chaluka tamu, moto ama baridi tutakunyuwi White Cap, Sumit, Tusker, Pilsner na Amarula kwa wewe. I am sure he would be proud to see how far my beer-on-beer opening skills have come.

Yesterday as an ode to Meja Ngeti I felt inspired to make a R&S takataka 'garbage' necklace with all the bottle caps I collected on my many adventures with him, as well as some random ( and delicious) beer drinking adventures I had on my own facilitated with the help of the bottle opening skill he passed down to me. 

Materials!

It was a really simple process! I recycled an old link chain in my box of stuff and used my jewelry making supplies (pliers, jump rings & hole punch) to get this project popping.You can buy all the materials at the dollar store or your local beading store. You can get like me and sneak bottle caps from the floor into your pocket at the pub when no one is looking, or...drink dozens of beers for their caps? You'll have to get creative with that part and figure out what works for you. 

Instructions:
1. Assemble all materials
2. Flatten bottle caps with mini pliers
3. Use one hole punch to punch a hole at the top of the bottle cap
4. Use mini pliers to open jump ring & attach the bottle caps to link chain 
5. Fiddle with it to get it to sit how you want it to
Thats it!

Final Product!

  
I now get to wear all of my favorite beers on my neck! I was told it makes me look like a drunkard, but this simple project that costed me nothing but time to make means so much more than that. To Meja Ngeti, where ever you are thank you for your kindness and welcoming nature. It was a pleasure knowing you and may you have found peace and an abundance of blessings. 

Smiles :)

Tuly Maimouna

Shags: Ode to a Village Bar

SHAGS
Bamboo Bead Necklace
$20.00

Ever since I was young I always wanted to have one of those bead curtains. I think they are absolutely tantalizing! About five months ago my friend and I came across them and it was like a childhood dream come true! I snatched one up and hurried home to hang it up. When my mom saw it she said dryly with a look of distaste 'it reminds me of something you'd find in an old village bar' Dreams crushed I took it down and lay it to rest...until recently. I decided that if I couldn't hang it lavishly in my doorway I would hang it from my neck. I hesitantly cut off the beautifully strung beads and made an array of necklaces and earrings, and this is one of the many final products! As an ode to a lost childhood dream and some old village bar charm, I have appropriately called this necklace shags which is the slang word for 'village' in my mother tongue of Gikuyu. 

Now I get to carry a little bit of childhood fancy with me!

Smiles :)

Tuly Maimouna

Meno: Eco-friendly?

MENO
[meh-no]
$20.00
wooden necklace w/ teeth

 I was recently approached by a classmate of mine who asked me to make some pieces for an organization she works for. They are looking support local crafts persons who make eco-friendly products. I was surprised to be approached because I have never really thought of my products as eco-friendly, but after a short conversation I realized that being 'eco-friendly' is a large concept that encompasses many different components. If you have been following my blog for a while y'all know how I feel about recycling and saving, but my point of view was more from personal economics. I never thought that being broke helped to reduce my environmental footprint! 

Instead of throwing away a necklace of mine that had broken, I decided to take it's best parts and make something new! I love wooden beads, they have a beautiful look that no other material has. This recycled black and white double stranded necklace is detailed with four teeth, so I decided to call it meno which in kiswahili means 'teeth'. I like to wear this on days when I am feeling fierce! 

Now, not only am I saving money & looking fly, but through reusing existing materials I am to a small degree reducing my personal eco-footprint!

Reduce, reuse & look fly!

Tuly Maimouna

Daraja

Daraja [Dah-Rah-jah]
$25.00
Pendant and Earrings
Materials: Bamboo beads
Size: o/s

When I was about 8 my aunt bought me this Jazzy Jewelry kit. It was this box filled with beads and attachments for making earnings, bracelets and what have you. At the time I was thoroughly unimpressed, but smiled in false appreciation none the less. Now check me out!

Smiles :)

Tuly Maimouna