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We all have a box or a drawer full of old cables, cords and wires from various devices, chargers and failed setups. It can be tempting to just throw these cables away but that’s not really eco-friendly. You can try them all and see if any of them can’t still be reused in some way. Or you can repurpose and upcycle them by turning them into beautiful decorations and jewellery.
Make a Pendant
If you have some copper wire lying around, you can make a pendant using a beautiful gem or semi-precious stone. Wrap the copper wire around the centrepiece for the pendant and then connect the pendant to a chain.
Make a Bracelet
If you have colourful, old electrical wires lying around, you can make a cute bracelet or anklet. Choose three of the colourful wires and make a loop about halfway down the length.
Tape the looped end onto a tabletop and begin to braid the electrical wires. Braid until you have all the electrical wires you’re done.
You can also braid copper wire of different thicknesses to make matching bracelets for the whole family. Here are a few other DIY bracelet ideas that you can explore as family activities.
Make Sculptures of Figurines
If you have an excess of copper wire, you can turn it into a family activity and make your own sculptures or figurines. They can be as big or small as you want. You can use them to decorate your home or your garden.
Make Decorative Bowls
If you have thick leftover cables or electrical wires, you can use them to create small or medium-sized decorative bowls. You can use these bowls to hold change, keys and trinkets. You’ll need the cables, a hot glue gun, some colourful, stretchy fabric and bowls to use as models.
Wrap the different cables in different colours of fabric, and add beads of glue as you go to secure the fabric. Wrap the model bowl in the covered cables and use hot glue to secure the bowl shape.
Make a Pencil Holder or Jewellery Tree
You can also use copper wire to make a pencil cup for your desk. You can also try your hand at making a jewellery tree where you can hang your earrings, bracelets and necklaces. Here are a few more ideas for DIY jewellery holders.
To Display Kid’s Artwork
This is a fairly simple use of copper wire or a long, colourful cable that you can’t use anymore. You can string it across the room and use it to hang your kid’s artwork or posters and pictures using pegs or clips. You can also use it to hang up decorative lanterns to decorate a room.
You can also tape the copper wire to the wall on either end, in a corner, or just on the wall. Use this to display cute snapshots of happy moments or cute cards.
Make Wall Hanging
You can use either copper wire or old cables for this one. You could even make a mixed-media wall hanging if you have the eye for it. Use the copper wire to create a shape you can hang on the wall, like an ornate picture frame or a beautiful shape like a star or flower.
With the cables, you can pick the most colourful ones or different shades of the same colour and use a hot glue gun to fix them, to some fabric or cardboard. You can create a specific shape or just make it a general hanging.
Make a Light Fixture
Copper light fixtures are definitely very trendy right now. You can repurpose your old cables and strip them down to the copper wire. Use all the wire to make a light fixture or a trendy lampshade.
Make Christmas Decorations
You can use copper wire to make your own Christmas decorations and save a little money. As a bonus, the decorations will have a lot of sentimental meaning for your family.
You can make stars and wreaths to decorate your walls, doors and Christmas tree. You can also make your own Christmas trees by wrapping the wire around something conical.
Final Thoughts
Leftover electrical cables and wires are a great opportunity for you and your family to spend a few hours getting creative. There are plenty of things that you can do to repurpose these wires so that they don’t just end up in the trash.