Cable Jack Earrings

I got the idea for these when I found a detached jack on my desk in maths. Not only do these look all cool and techno, but they actually help to save the environment by recycling those pesky broken earphones that always got tangled in your pocket. You get to look cool and the penguins get to continue... you know... living. Bonus.

You will need:

• Any broken old earphones or cables with jacks on the end
• Super glue
• Scissors
• Basic Hooks (See Vocab Tab)
• Jump rings (See Vocab Tab)
• Round-nosed pliers (See Vocab Tab)

Method

Take the cables with jacks on the end and make sure that you're okay with never being able to use them again. You don't want to feel like listening to music one day and regret this. The ones I used were broken. Please double check. 

Cut the wire of each jack about 1.5 to 2 cm above where the jack ends. Bend the wire over and super glue it to make a loop. Attach the basic hook to the loop of the jack using a jump ring. 

Rating

Patience Needed: 2/10

Not the most complicated thing in the world. They're really quick and easy to make.

Durability: 7/10

As they're not very big or very complicated they are pretty durable. Their strength depends on the strength of the glue you use and how well you stuck the loop. As long as you have no children swinging off your ears they should be fine.

Cool Factor: 7/10

There are a lot of recycled technological earrings out there. These are pretty cool and I'm sure you can find these things in awesome colours. They're also a handy way of carrying your phone, provided your ear is strong enough to hold it.

 

Coin Earrings

I saw someone wearing one of these discontinued one cent coins on a ring and it just so happened that I had a packet of them.

How it's done:

Look, it really just is a coin super glued to a basic stud (See Vocab Tab). The only reason I included that sentence is because people actually ask where I got them and then don't believe my answer.

Rating

Patience Needed: 1/10

This assuming that you already have coins.

Durability: 10/10

They're made of something engineered to survive worse treatment than making your ears look pretty. It just depends on the integrity of your super glue really.

Cool Factor: 4/10

It's a novel idea, especially if the coins you use are rare or pretty. Unfortunately mine are not doing too well in either of those fields and have a propensity to blend into my hair.

Gummy Bear Earrings

Ever since we saw that episode of iCarly, we were trying to think of a way to make these. I mean, gummy bears that last forever? Come on! Let's put them on our ears!

You will need:

• 2 Gummy  Bears in desired colour
• Oil-based spray varnish
• Modge Podge or cold glue
• a Paintbrush
• Newspaper
• Basic Hooks (see Vocab Tab)
• Round-nosed pliers (see Vocab Tab)
• Loop-end wire pins (see Vocab Tab)
• Cutters (see Vocab Tab)
• Jump rings (see Vocab Tab)    

 

Method:

 Spread the newspaper out to protect your work surface. Lay your gummy bears on the newspaper and spray a coat of spray varnish. Wait for them to dry, turn them over and repeat. Do this several times to ensure complete protection, I think I did mine about 5 times.  It may seem repetitive, but you have to make sure that they are completely sealed. Rotten earrings are not fun.

Once they are completely dry, impale each gummy bear with a loop-end wire pin, so the spike end sticks out it's head. Twist that end into a loop and seal both places where the wire has pierced the bear with some modge podge. Attach the bears to the basic hook with the jump rings. Touch up any cracks with modge podge.

You could also use basic studs and just stick them to the back of the gummy bears instead of using hooks. 

Rating:

Patience Needed: 4/10

The whole varnishing process is quite tedious and the impaling process is requires delicacy, but overall they're not so difficult to make and they're totally worth it.

Durability: 6/10

If you keep them dry they'll be fine. But warning, people will want to squeeze them to see if they're real. Do not let them. Extra pressure can cause cracks in the varnish. If any cracks appear, seal them immediately, especially if you live in a humid place. There's also a danger of people wanting to eat them, so wearing them around children, stupid people or zombies is probably not a great idea.

Cool Factor: 9/10

Everyone loves gummy bears. When people see them  on your ears they often react like Steve from 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs' (Gummy bearrrrs!!!!). They're a great conversation starter and unfailingly increase the happiness level of everyone who sees you. What more could you want?  

 

Nut and Bolt Earrings

Sometimes inspiration is found while scratching through a draw of hardware supplies. I guess it's now "hardwear".

 How It's Done

 You Will Need

•   Two nuts and bolts
• A Hacksaw
• Superglue
• Basic studs (See Vocab Tab)

The nut of the bolts you use should be big enough for the back of your earring to fit inside. This may require some swapping of earring backs.

Just to clarify; the nut is the thing you screw onto the bolt. 

Method

Step one is to use the hacksaw to cut the head off the bolt. If you have little arms, don't know what a hacksaw is or have a propensity to misuse sharp objects you should probably get someone to do this for you. In hindsight leaving a few lines of thread would add to the overall effect but be careful about making the front so heavy that it pulls away from the ear.

Next glue the heads of the bolts to your earring studs (as in picture 1) and glue your earring backings into the nuts (as in picture 2) . Make sure these steps don't inhibit the functioning of the earrings. 

Rating

Patience Needed: 2/10

You don't really need clarification on that do you?

Durability: 9/10

These guys are troupers

Cool Factor: 6.5/10

They're like the introverts of the earring world; really cool if people take the time to actually see them. Once they do though the reaction is worth it. "Is that going through your ear?!" is a pleasant change from "nice earrings".  The biggest problem with these is that the fun part is happening at the back of your ear so if your ears stick out, you get 2 extra points on these.

Paper Crane Earrings

This is probably the most popular pair of earrings I own. I learnt to fold paper cranes in high school. It's a skill which always seems to impress people, as well as being a good use for unwanted pamphlets. 

How it's Done:

You Will Need:

• Two squares of coloured paper. I used 5cm squares and their wingspan is 4cm when fully extended. The smaller the paper gets, the more difficult it is to work with but with steady hands, patience and finger nails of a decent length you could start with a square as small as 1cm.
• A needle and thread
• 2 Jump rings (See Vocab Tab)
• 2 Basic Hooks (See Vocab Tab)
• Round-Nosed Pliars (See Vocab Tab)

Method:

For simple instructions on how to make a paper crane click here.

Once you've made two cranes of the size you want you may continue reading.

Thread the needle and push it through the apex of the bird's back. Make sure the hole is in the center and far enough away from the top that the thread won't tear through. Tie a knot in the thread about 2cm above the crane. It's not important how big a loop you make but it is important that you can make the second loop the same size. Using a finger or pencil as a spacer when tying helps ensure accuracy, but it's still a fiddly process.

Once your loops are tied, cut the thread (leaving enough that the knot does not unknot) and pull one side of the loop so that the knot shifts to inside the bird's back where it can't be seen. 

Next attach a jump ring to the thread and an earring hook to the jump ring.

Once they are finished a coat of spray varnish or modge podge is suggested but they can survive without. 

Rating:

Patience Needed: 7/10

I think the reason for that myth that claims making a thousand paper cranes will bring you good luck came about is because anyone who has the patience to actually do it is going to have no problem waiting for a turn of fortune.

Durability: 2/10

Mine, unvarnished, have lasted months without any visible wear and tear but I am careful about wearing them when it's raining, windy or very hot. A little common sense will preserve them well.

Cool Factor: 9/10

There's something universally endearing about paper birds especially if they're little and move when you do.

Paper Bead Flowers

This idea involves effort. Turn back now! I first learnt how to make paper beads as a cheap way to amuse children. I put some thought into how I could use them in making earrings and this is what I came up with:

How It's Done:

You will need:

• 2 sheets of glossy magazine paper
• A pen
• A ruler
• Scissors
• Craft glue
• A paintbrush
• Varnish 
• 2  4-holed Buttons
• Soft wire
• Basic hooks (See Vocab Tab)
• Wire Cutters (See Vocab Tab)

Method:

First the beads:

Chose the magazine pages in the colours you want. The stripy effect is going to happen with the rolling unless you manage to find a page of solid colour. I purposefully chose colourful pages for mine. The colour pen you use will also affect the colour of your beads so you can either use that to your advantage or measure them out on the back of your chosen pages.

Along the top of the magazine page measure and mark intervals of 1cm. Do the same along the bottom but start off 0.5 cm from the straight edge. Now join your marks together so that you have long strips that taper to a point. Check out this picture before you start to make sure you have the right idea: 

Once you've drawn your strips cut them out and we'll get down to the tough part. Take a strip of paper and roll it around the back of your paintbrush. If the end of your brush isn't round and narrow find something that is. Ideally you need something that's around 20mm in diameter. I used the end of a chopstick. Start rolling from the broad side of the strip and end with the point in the middle. Keep your rolling tight and neat. Add a touch of glue to the end to hold it in place. Making the beads is time consuming and can get pretty frustrating but you can look at this one for some motivation:

Once you have made 48 of these you can give them a coat of varnish and breathe a sigh of relief (but turn your face away first because they're pretty sensitive to wind).

Now for the earrings:

Start by making a loop with your wire and threading it through one of the button holes. Next thread 4 beads onto the wire, thread it through the next button hole and pull tightly so it makes a petal. Twist it a couple of times so that it holds the shape. Continue this process for the rest of the flower and to finish off twist the end of your wire around your loop. Once your flower is complete attach the earring hook to the wire loop and bam, you have an earring!

Rating:

Patience Required: 8/10

Making paper beads needs a lot of patience but one you get the hang of it it's kind of relaxing. It'll also give you an understanding of why people who sell anything made out of paper beads charge so much for such basic materials. 

Durability: 3/10

I made mine with copper wire so anything sturdier than that will improve this score. They do get bent out of shape by hugs, hair brushing or any kind of vigorous movement but can be restored just as easily. They also come with all the natural limitations of once-varnished paper.

Cool Factor: 7/10

They are big and beautiful! 

Buttons!

This idea is not particularly original but it is cheap, versatile and very easy.

How it's Done

You will Need:

• Buttons

• Basic studs (See Vocab Tab) 

• Super glue

Method

Stick buttons onto basic studs (well, you did scroll down).

Rating

Patience Needed: 1/10

Some advice which may or may not come from first hand experience; make sure the super glue is dry before you try and wear them.

Durability: 9/10

Keep away from extreme heat and corrosive chemicals.

Cool Factor: 6/10

You're not going to be the only person walking around with buttons on your ears but they do allow for a lot of versatility and the sheer range of choices mean you can have a pair to match every outfit (if matching is something thing you do). You could also get more creative about how you attach them, using hooks or multiple buttons. Any cool factor  points you earn by design improvements you get to attach directly to your personality. 

Gelatine Capsule Earrings

This was one of those ideas that just came from nowhere. I was just innocently sitting there one day when it hit me. And the beauty of this is that tablets are easy to find and they come in some really cool colours.

 

 How it's done 

 

You will need:

• A tablet capsule ( preferably in pretty colours )
• Super glue
• A pin
• Basic hooks ( See Vocab Tab )
• Loop-end wire pins ( See Vocab Tab )
• Round-nosed pliers ( See Vocab Tab )
• Cutters ( See Vocab Tab )

Method

Take your capsule tablets, carefully open them and remove their contents. While your capsules are still open, decide which colour you want on top. I made mine inverted, so on one ear orange was on top and the other, red.

Take your pin and gently poke a hole through your top colour. Slide your loop-end wire pin through this hole so that the loop is on the inside of the tablet. Use the cutters to cut the protruding wire so that about a pinky-finger space of wire remains above the capsule. Bend this wire into a loop using the round-nosed pliers. Put a small drop of super glue on the hole where the wire enters so that it won't rattle around. Put a little more super glue on the bottom of the capsule half and stick the two halves together. Then simply join the basic hook to your top wire loop and you have an earring.

Rating

Patience Needed: 5/10

These are a little bit tricky because of how delicate the capsules are, but they still don't take long to make.

Durability: 4/10

As they are capsules, they are water soluble, so don't get them wet. They are also quite delicate and are prone to indentations and crumpling.

Cool Factor: 6/10

They're pretty cool, but people don't really notice them because they're not incredibly flashy. Their effectiveness depends largely on the kind of capsules you use.

Hot Air Balloon Earrings

I got this idea after I made my sister's Christmas present, which was a mobile of hot air balloons. It occurred to me that they could make pretty cool earrings, even though the mobile was terrible and fell apart. 

You Will Need

• An old book you never want to read again. I guess you could also use newspaper, but I wouldn't recommend it because it isn't as durable.
• Normal paper
• Scissors
• A pencil
• Glue
• A needle or pin
• Basic hooks, jump rings and round-nosed pliers ( See Vocab Tab ) 

Method

Take your normal paper and cut out a rectangle that is the size you want your earrings. Mine are about 3.5 cm. Fold the rectangle in half and sketch half a hot air balloon/ light bulb shape. Cut it out and then unfold to ensure symmetry. This is going to be used as a template for the earrings.

Now take your book paper and trace the template onto it in pencil. Choke back your tears and pick up the scissors, you now need to murder the book. You need at least 5 balloon shapes per earring.The more shapes per earring, the more 3D the appearance.

Fold all of the shapes in half and take your first 5 to begin gluing. Remember that the book paper is super absorbent, so you're gonna want to put a lot of glue on there. Put glue on half of one balloon shape and stick it to half of  a second one. Make sure that the folds are pointing inward. Repeat until you have stuck on 5 of the shapes and then you just need to glue the last two sides together to complete the circle. Do the same for the second earring.

Once you have your two balloon shapes, take the pin and poke a hole on the top of each balloon, right in the middle by the folds. Open a jump ring, put it through the hole and attach it to your basic hoop. Repeat for the second earring.

Rating

Patience Needed: 4/10

The cutting gets pretty tedious and you get glue all over your hands, but overall I think these took me about 10 minutes to make.

Durability: 3/10

This is the sad part. Obviously they're made of paper, so they are pretty flimsy. Don't get them wet and watch out for anything like putting on and taking off of helmets or even of hugs because they get crumpled. But the plus side is that they're easy to repair.

Cool Factor: 7.5/10

Personally I would have given them at least 8, but my moany sister says that there's no way they're cooler than lemons. The number of compliments I have received about these definitely makes them worth the wear and tear. I love these because they go with just about anything and they cost virtually nothing to make.

Lemon Slice Earrings

The idea for these came from someone I met while waiting in a queue. Hers were made by a woman from Botswana. The idea that you can wear fruit has pretty much changed my life.

 

How it's done

You will need

• Two similar sized slices of any citrus fruit ( I grew this lemon myself but being that cool is optional, you could just buy  one) 
• 1 Oven
• Varnish
• Stud earring bases (See Vocab Tab)
• Scissors
• Super Glue

Method

Dry out the fruit slices in the oven on the lowest possible temperature. This takes a couple of hours and a lot of checking because you want to get rid of the moisture but no the colour or shape. You can tell when they're dry by poking them regularly. This is probably not the best way to dry them out but it is the easiest.

Once they are dry, cut out a segment along the lines the fruit provides to make space to attach the stud (as in the picture). Then give them a couple of coats of varnish. I used a water-based varnish because it's what I had and they smelt a little funky for a couple of days but now they're fine.

Finally, super glue the stud to the inside of your cut-out segment, making sure that you have left yourself enough room to slide the butterfly on and off easily.

Rating

 

Patience Needed: 6/10

 

Nothing especially tricky about the process. I was just really excited for them to dry.

Durability: 7/10

 

I wouldn't submerge them in fire or water but they're basically rubberized fruit slices so if they are dried and varnished properly, they should last fairly well.

Cool Factor: 8/10

The 8 is leaving room for optimism that there are better ideas out there but these get some brilliant reactions.  I mean, you're wearing fruit on your ears. It's definitely cool.