Be bold! Bust a bracelet!

Want to see a fun way to make eight custom pendants from one bracelet?  Sure you do!  I'm talking about those two-hole-tile stretch bracelets, I hope you know the kind I mean.  Like this one:

If you are fearless and bold and own a pair of scissors, you can take these bracelets apart, and turn each tile into a terrific focal piece.

I'm sure you've seen these two-hole Mah Jongg tiles around, either made up into finished bracelets, or sold as a kit in craft stores:

You'll need a Mah Jongg tile bead, some skinny chain and a few jump rings.  Thread a bit of chain through the bottom hole, then link the ends with a jump ring.

Before closing the jump ring, add some random chain lengths to form a tassel; I fancied mine up with some charms, but that's optional.

Now take a long piece of chain, and thread it through that same bottom hole...

Then criss-cross it up and through the top hole so the two ends come out either side.

Then just add a clasp, and you're done!

Do the same tassel-and-criss-cross thing with cord, ribbon or fiber for a different look:

Here's another technique.  This didn't start as a finished bracelet, these little bone rectangles came plain.  I hand-painted a bunch of them to make the bracelet:

Then I painted two more tiles for a matching pendant.  Instead of chain - the holes were way too small for that - I threaded them on craft wire with some beads.  Like this:

I made two wrapped loops at the top, and here's how it came out:

And this is a simpler version of the same idea.  Also using wire, but without the beads:

Fun and thrifty, right?  So be brave, be brilliant, bust a bracelet.

Eight necklaces from one bracelet?   Hey, that's stocking stuffers for half your gift list right there.