
These little soldiers are my charms for the charm swap I'm participating in. They are about 1.25" tall. Inside each capsule is a dangle that has a copper rectangle with the participants initials hammered into it, dangling from a jump ring. The jump ring is attached through the top copper wire spiral, ending with a twisted loop for hanging on the charm bracelet. A colorful bead is dangling on a copper jump ring through the bottom of the little copper metal rectangle. The whole dangle is about .75" long and does not hit the bottom of the cartridge so it swings freely inside. The charm is closed on the bottom with another copper wire spiral. Here is a closer look:

What are the little capsule tubes, you ask? Well, my husband is currently using a nicotine replacement therapy - the Nicotrol Inhaler:


Of course, I've been having him save the used cartridges for me since he started - not having a clue what I was going to do with them. When the charm swap came along, I thought, what do I have 25 of that I can make into charms? I took one of the used capsules and pushed out the little white cylindar leaving a plastic, open-ended tube. The plastic cylindars are not totally clear, but not quite as cloudy as they look in the scan. The printing on the side is from the company -- dose, lot, and batch numbers etc. I used nail polish remover to take off the word "nicotine." (That word just seemed nasty to me! LOL) The rest looked kind of funky, I thought. What do you think? Hope the girls in the swap like them.
Very cool! They have a futuristic look to them like something out of Bladerunner or Gataca. I'm sure the girls in the swap will be charmed! :-)
Posted by: Michelle | October 02, 2006 at 03:50 PM
Well Sally,
These are just smokin hot. So clever. So original. Wonderful.
Sharon
Posted by: Sharon @ NorahS | October 02, 2006 at 08:38 PM
Sally, I LOVE these! They will be a great contribution to the charm swap. You are oh so clever!
Posted by: Lorraine | October 03, 2006 at 07:39 AM
Oh my gosh girl!! Leave it to you to do something wildly creative with garbage! (I mean that as a compliment!).
Posted by: Deryn Mentock | October 03, 2006 at 08:48 AM
amazing, I can believe that you lined them all up! they look great! I guess we can all learn from your creative recycling :) I can't wait to see them in person.
Posted by: Ruth Rae | October 03, 2006 at 10:07 AM
WOW WOW WOW what a brilliant idea Miz Sally! I love your creativity! Look how you made wonderful little tops and bottoms for all of them..and all the pretties dangling from the inside.
Bravo!
I can't wait to see all of these charms in person.
Posted by: Miz Carla | October 03, 2006 at 12:58 PM
Sally, these are amazing. I can't wait to own one. You just added more to the conversation piece this charm bracelet has become. So creative!
JoAnnA
Posted by: JoAnnA | October 03, 2006 at 06:04 PM
oh i LOVE these sally!! can't wait to wear one on my wrist!!
liz xx
Posted by: liz smith | October 04, 2006 at 03:41 AM
Sally these are amazing! I can't believe the extent of the details in each one. Our own individual initials hammered into and dangled inside?? Wow! I love it!!
Crystal
Posted by: Crystal | October 04, 2006 at 08:21 AM
These are soooo cool! What a great idea for recycling! I bet they had no idea when they designed those things ;-)
Posted by: debra | October 04, 2006 at 08:34 AM
Who would have thought? These turned out so great, and what a ingenious idea. You always do some of the neatest artwork.
Posted by: Rande | October 05, 2006 at 06:47 AM
Hello,
I found your blog (and picturetrail albums) while I was searching for altered books related sites. Your art is fascinating and I really love what you're doing. Envelopes are awsome... but so are all other things as well.
I'm going to start with my first altered book today. Thanks for inspiration!
I wish you all the best.
Posted by: Roberta | October 05, 2006 at 12:42 PM
Ooooohhh -- how cool are these? You are so clever -- what a great bracelet you'll have!
Posted by: christine | October 05, 2006 at 06:21 PM
totally cool!!!!
Posted by: claudia | October 07, 2006 at 10:52 AM
OMG, girlfriend...I had NO IDEA what these little soldiers were until I read this post!! Hmm...just goes to show you that cigarette smoking can't be ALL bad..LOL!! Look at the cool charms you were able to make! I didn't realize, until I received mine, that you had everyone's initials inside. Too cool!! I LOVED them!!
Posted by: kathywas | October 26, 2006 at 05:09 PM