One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

At least, that’s how the saying goes . . . but sometimes our trash can also be our own darn treasure, non? Why should “another man” get all the benefits of your trash? That’s right, you seize that trash and you make it your own treasure. (Insert ironic z-snap here.) Check out what I made from something that would otherwise have been in the trash:

Not too shabby, is it? Which is why it is now worth saving your old goopy nail-polish the next time you find some extra lying about or are looking to purge your supply! Keep reading to see how that gooey mess can become a pretty piece of jewelry. . . or maybe even something more . . .

To make these flowers, you need:

• old goopy nail-polish

• wire

• wire clippers

• a pen

• hands

*If you want to make it/them into a necklace, you will also need a chain and some links to close it – they’re easy to find on Etsy!

Starting with just wire, cut yourself about a six-inch piece. Then use pen as the petal-measure, wrapping the wire around once and twisting it to secure the round shape.

You repeat this process 5 times, or until you are satisfied, then bend your petals around to give them a less circular shape . I personally did this one by hand, but I’ve since done some better ones using needle-nosed pliers!

Once you have the flower framework of wire, all you need to do is drip goopy nail-polish over the petals and then allow them to dry. This makes a delicate-looking tissue for the petals! Since I only had old clear nail-polish, I decided to paint over that with some of my less-congealed colors, and I was pleasantly pleased with the effect!

Now all that remains is to turn it into something usable or wearable! Since your flower still has a “stem” of metal, it makes sense to use that to create loops in order to hang the flowers from a necklace or chain. Other ideas I’ve toyed with include flower-girl headdresses (lots of these in pearly white would look lovely as a wreath, which could be put together using florists tape!), summery-topped bobby-pins, and daisy-chain bracelets.

Now, I am still a nail-polish jewelry novice, but I have some pretty exciting ideas for these little flowers!