An Elephant a Day 2.0: Elephant No. 136: Cast-Off Jewellery

When I was in a thrift shop last week, I came across a bag of cast-off jewellery. When I find little bags of junk like this, I always tell myself that I'm sure to find a purpose for them. And, if not, it's only a $3.00 investment.

This was the bag I bought. I didn't have an elephant in mind when I picked it up—I mostly just like shiny things—but I decided today that it was worth a try.

It had a lot of bangles in it, which doesn't lend itself to an elephant as much as smaller bits might have done, but I was sure I could make it work.

I began a bit tentatively, thinking I'd use the bangles as general shapes for the body and head. I opened up a leather bracelet for the ear, used a chain for the nose, and a wooden bracelet for one of the legs.

I wasn't sure how promising this was going to be, but I decided that I would use every bit of jewellery in the bag somehow—even if it meant balling it up and stuffing it inside one of the larger bangles. There were a few interesting bits like this plastic skeleton keyring. I decided it might work best stuffed into the elephant's belly. To be honest, it was too gangly and unwieldy to work anywhere else.

I liked this bit of delicate chain for the elephant's tail.

And these two pink stud earrings were perfect for the tip of the elephant's trunk.

Also fun was this tiny heart in an envelope, which I put approximately where I thought the elephant's heart might be.

You never know what you're going to get in a grab bag of junk jewellery, but I really like the way this turned out. It's always fun to assemble found objects, and I'm a bit sad that I have to take it apart and put all the bits back in the bag.

Elephant Lore of the Day

Sometimes little ones just get tired. In May of this year, a baby elephant stumbled and fell in the middle of busy road in South Africa's Kruger National Park. After a couple of half-hearted attempts to get up, it laid down and decided to stay where it was.

Immediately, its nearby herd came to the rescue. Invading the roadway, the herd stopped traffic, forming a barrier between vehicles and the elephant calf. Some of the older elephants prodded the baby with their trunks and feet, trying to coax it to its feet.

Elephant calf with its protective detail, Kruger National Park, May 2015.
Photo: © YouTube/Kruger Sightings
Source: Daily Mail

Eventually the baby got up off the road and wandered back into the forest with its herd. Onlookers expressed amazement at the herd's protective instincts, and their willingness to put themselves between vehicles and the fallen calf. To read the full story and see the video, please click here.