Recycle and Rethink Earrings by Marilyn Gardiner

by Judy Ellis, Wirejewelry.com

Wire Jewelry Tip for August 22nd, 2017

Recycle and Rethink Earrings

by Marilyn Gardiner

What are earrings? Well, many of them are body decorations that dangle from your earlobes. The key word is “dangle”. Let’s think creatively about where you can put delightful things that dangle. My thoughts include pendants, zipper pulls, purse jewelry, and cell phone jewelry. Perhaps you can come up with even more ideas. (I’d love to hear from you if you do.)

First on the agenda is recycling. This means that if you lose one of your favourite earrings, the other one can be given a new life.

Next on the agenda is rethinking. Take another look at the earrings you make and consider making just one, but with a different end in mind.

Here are some chainmail examples:

Pendants:

Remove the earring finding, add one or two jump rings of an appropriate size, slip a chain through the jump ring, and you have a new necklace with a pendant. This example is a small Celtic Star.

Zipper Pulls

Remove the earring finding, and replace it with a lobster clasp in a matching colour of metal and appropriate size. Clip the lobster to a zipper on your favourite sweater, hoodie, or jacket.

This example uses a one-in-one chain dangling from the lobster clasp.  I added a selection of beads to headpins, wire wrapped loops, and then connected them to the chain I made.

Purse Jewelry

Follow the Zipper Pull instructions and clip it to a zipper on your purse—or even a small change purse. If there is no zipper, add a large jump ring or split ring to a strap on your purse, and then clip on the zipper pull. (You could also clip one to the large ring that holds your keys.)

This example has 3 Möbiuses linked together, and a Swarovski crystal drop.

Cell Phone Jewelry

Most phones have a port where you can plug in earbuds or headphones. There is a plastic finding available that pushes into that audio jack—it’s called a cell phone plug or dust proof plug—and comes in black or clear with a loop on the end for adding charms or dangles.

The idea of cell phone charms may open up a world you never knew existed—just Google it and see! This is a photo of a clear, plastic adapter with a loop.

Happy Wrapping!

 

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