Guest post by Rae Steinbach

In today’s world, our waste consumption seems to be out of control. In the Western world, we consume more and own more material possessions than any society throughout history. All this stuff that we buy also gets thrown away at record rates. Perhaps this is why researchers have warned that we’re on the verge of creating a “plastic planet”.

In the midst of all this bad news, we as a society are learning to adapt and make positive changes that will benefit us – and the planet -- in the long term. One of these adaptations is “upcycling”. Upcycling refers to the process whereby something old, broken, or no longer of use is reused and turned into something new. Usually a few changes need to be made to the product to make it something else. These can occur large scale at a recycling plant or small scale at home with just some simple crafting tools and DIY knowledge.

While plastic is the popular upcycling material you have probably heard of, other materials like ceramics and glass break too. These can be upcycled into decorations like beautiful trinkets, or fashioned into something more useful.

For instance, no one is happy when their precious china dishes or glasses break. Unfortunately, sometimes accidents happen. However, when your china breaks, you don’t necessarily need to discard it. There are ways you can upcycle it, turning broken china into something that’s still useful, even if it’s not exactly useful in the way it was originally intended to be.

This tutorial will give you a basic idea of how you can transform a piece of broken china into a stylish keychain. Keep in mind, you could use multiple shards of broken china to make a few of these keychains, selling them online to make some money off a minor household accident!

 Start with the right tools

To create a keychain out of broken china, you need the right equipment. Specifically, you need a rotary tool with a sanding attachment and grinding attachment. You may also want to use a buffing attachment during the next stage.

Remember: protective eyewear is also a necessity when you’re working with these kinds of tools. Tiny but sharp particles can fly off the china while you’re sanding it and end up in your eyes.

Sand down the edges

The edges of your broken china may be fairly rough and potentially a little sharp in some places. Use your rotary tool with a sanding attachment to sand the edges down until they are smooth. If you don’t mind spending a little more time on this project, you could even sand the edges down to change the overall shape of the broken shard of china. That’s not a requirement for this project, it’s simply an option to consider.

Either way, to achieve the appropriate level of smoothness, you may need to switch out your sanding attachment with a buffing attachment. Buffing the sanded edges will ensure maximum smoothness. You can also lightly wet the edges with water when buffing for even better results. Again, make sure you’re using protective eyewear during this stage. You don’t want any specks of china landing in your eyes!

Grind a hole

Next, remove the sanding or buffing attachment and swap in a small grinding attachment. While still wearing protective goggles or glasses, grind a small hole through the china near one of the edges. The hole needs to be close enough to the edge that you will be able to loop a metal ring through it to complete the keychain. You may have to dip the china shard in water every few seconds to keep it cool. This will also help the rotary tool cut through it more easily.

Finish up!

Once the hole is finished, all you have to do is loop the metal keychain ring through it, and you’re all set. Again, you can make additional keychains with the remaining shards of broken china if you plan on selling them or giving them as gifts.

This simple project may also inspire you to tackle more large-scale DIY art projects in the future. For instance, you might one day be confident enough in your DIY skills to try beautifying your entire yard. Just remember to stock up on any lawn and garden equipment you may need if so. Regardless of the size and scope, any DIY project is easier when you have the right tools.

Other ideas

If a ceramic keychain is not necessarily the best fit for you, it could also make a thoughtful gift for a loved one!

Another idea is to use the techniques you’ve seen in this article to make earrings out of old broken ceramics. In order to do this, follow the guide but perhaps take more time to sand down the edges. The earrings will be sitting close to your skin so there’s even more danger of them having sharp or jagged edges. Then, instead of adding a ring to the tiny hole you drilled, simply add an earring clasp. You can use the ring and closure from an old pair of earrings you no longer want (upcycling like a pro) or you can buy some materials at a jewelry or craft store.

Similarly, if your china is flat enough it is easy to create some mismatched, asymmetrical coasters with it. This perhaps requires the most china to work with. However, it is probably the easiest upcycled product you could make with your old ceramics. Not only this, but it requires no additional pieces like key rings or earring clasps. If your china came from cups, this might be close to possible whereas if your china was from plates already, it should be relatively easy. Again, you will want to spend some extra time sanding down your china in an attempt to make it as flat as possible. A plate should not be too much of a challenge, but sharp edges could still be dangerous if there are children and animals in the house.

Rae Steinbach is a graduate of Tufts University with a combined International Relations and Chinese degree. After spending time living and working abroad in China, she returned to NYC to pursue her career and continue curating quality content. Rae is passionate about travel, food, and writing (of course).

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