Tanzanian Earrings

I've been wanting to show you my Tanzanian earrings for a long time now! I'm hoping to inspire some of my jewellery-making friends. So here they are, organised by the material they are made from.

1. Beads. 
I made the black ones and the white ones on the beading weekend, and bought the blue ones. This kind of earrings are very popular and closer to tradition than any of the other types.

2. Newspaper.
These earrings also use beads, but the big beads are all made from painted newspaper. They're really cool. This pair measure about 4 inches in diameter and hit my shoulders when I walk. They're my favourites!

3. Plastic.
I think I bought this pair when I was craving sweets, because they look so delicious! Not traditional in the least, but fun. They remind me of that baby toy where you stack the rainbow rings on a stick.

4. Wood.
My carving teacher made me the black pair. I still haven't worked out why he chose the letters 'M' and 'B': maybe those were the most fun to make? The blue pair must be imported from another country: DRC maybe? Although I bought them here I've not seen anyone in Tanzania wearing anything similar.

5. Bottle Caps.
I bought the 7up ones because the logo is so retro, from the era when my mum used to model for 7up. The bavaria ones I mostly bought because I like the colours. They match with a lot of my clothes.

I have so many bottle caps saved up! We use them at school instead of counters, but I'd also like to try some bottle cap crafts. Let me know if you have a good idea for how I could use some or all of them!

Usually I try not to buy too much stuff, since I move around a lot and I'm trying to live a more minimalist lifestyle, but earrings are so small and light that they seem like a great thing to shop for. Plus it's fun to wear them every day!