New Jewelry A Day: Make Earrings from an iTunes Gift Card

Monday, December 13, 2010

Before: Gift Card

If you have a tween or teenager in your house, then somewhere in your kid's room is likely to be an old iTunes gift card. iTunes gift cards seem to be the gift of choice for birthdays presents, stocking stuffers and prizes for children of a certain age. In our neighborhood, you can purchase iTunes gift cards at the pharmacy and grocery store. They are literally everywhere -- and the come in very pretty, eye-catching colors.

After: Recycled iTunes Gift Card Earrings by GeltDesigns

When my husband surprised my daughter with an iTunes gift card, she was very excited about all the music she could by-- but we both were excited about the prospect of making the card itself into jewelry. DH really struck gold with his surprise. :) My daughter began construction before we could get the first "before" picture...Oops.

...but the card was large enough to yield a number of projects.

Materials
18-gauge round brass wire
iTunes or other gift card, credit card or other plastic card

Back: Upcycled Earrings by GeltDesigns

Tools
Disc cutter
Size 50 drill bit
Drill (Flex shaft, Drill Press or Dremel)
Center punch or automatic center punch
Round nose pliers or 3-Step wire looping pliers
Chain nose or bent nose pliers
Wire rounder or needle file or cup burr and flex shaft
Jewelry saw and blades or wire side cutters or flush cutters
Mandrel
Steel bench block or anvil
Rawhide or plastic mallet

Step 1
Sketch the design for your earrings.

Step 2
Use a disc cutter and ball pein hammer to cut the charms for your earrings. We cut six charms in three different sizes to construct our earrings. Arrange the charms in the order you want to use them for your earrings.

Step 3
Mark the charms to prepare for drilling. Use a magic marker to mark where you want to drill holes on the cut charms. Use either a center punch or an automatic center punch to create divots in the charms where you marked the plastic. The divots will prevent the drill from slipping when you drill the holes.

Step 4
Drill the holes. Use a size 50 drill bit and a drill of your choice (Flex shaft, Drill Press or Dremel) to drill the holes. Any drill will do but you need to select a drill bit that is approximate in size to the wire you are using to create your links.

Step 5

Make the jump rings. Wrap the wire around a mandrel ten times. We used a mandrel from our dapping set, but you can use many things (inlcuding a pen or pencil) as a mandrel. Remove the coiled wire from the mandrel and cut the coil using a jewelry saw and blades. If you do not have a jewelry saw and blades, then you can use wire side cutters or flush cutters. File the ends of the jump ring smooth using a wire rounder or needle file or cup burr and flex shaft. Place the jump rings on a steel bench block or anvil and hammer the jump rings with a rawhide or plastic mallet to harden the jump rings and prevent them form becoming misshapen. If needed, adjust the jump rings with chain nose or bent nose pliers.

Step 6
Make the ear wire findings. We used a jig we made to quickly create consistent ear wires but you can use wire wrapping tools to create the ear wires. File the ends of the ear wire until smooth enough to slip through an ear.

Step 7
Assemble the earrings. Attach the charms to the jump rings to make a chain. Attach the ear wires to the top charm.

Although we intended the earrings to be worn on the colorful blue side, we found the back of the earrings equally charming (pardon the bad pun). Aren't reversible earrings fun?

Related Tutorials
How to Make an Ear Wire Jig

How to Make Earrings from a Credit Card

How to Make a Bracelet from a Credit Card
How to Make Jump Rings for Jewelry Making
How to Use a Disc Cutter

How to Drill
How to Drill Acrylic
How to Use a Dremel to Make Jewelry
How to Use a Flex Shaft to Make Jewelry

How to Use a Drill Press for Jewelry Making
How to Make Your Own Stand for Your Flex Shaft
How to Determine Bracelet Sizes