Friday, January 7, 2011

Make Post Earrings from a Gift Card

Before: History Channel Gift Card
Like Tony Soprano, my entire family loves the History Channel....so when we saw the History Channel Pop Shop in Times Square we had to check it out. The store gave each of my kids a gift card inviting them to download a free episode from iTunes. My kids were all psyched. Even the adults. My daughter and I were double psyched. Free downloads and a card that could make interesting jewelry! Excellent!

We decided to use one gift card to make post earrings. We used clip-on posts rather than pierced posts for this project (because that is what we had on hand and our pledge is to make stuff for a year for NJAD with things we have or we reclaim), but the process is the same with clip-on or post earrings.


After:Clip-on Earrings by GeltDesigns.com
Materials
Credit card, gift card or other plastic card
Clip-on earring findings
JB Weld  or other glue


Tools
Disc cutter
Wet/dry sandpaper, assorted grits



Step 1
Cut the gift card
Use a disc cutter, craft knife or scissors to cut the gift card into two 3/4-inch disks.

Step 2
Sand edges of plastic
Sand the edges of the plastic disks with wet/dry sandpaper to remove frayed edges and make the disks jewelry smooth.

Tip: place the wet/dry sandpaper on your work surface and move the disk for an easier time sanding.

Step 3
Glue the finding to the disk
Arrange the findings on the top third of the prepared disk. Placing the findings on the top third of the earring will allow the earring to hang best and make the earring more comfortable-- especially important for clip-on earring findings.

Mark the disk where you plan to glue with a marker, if needed.

Step 4
Glue the clip-on or other post finding to the disk. Allow the JB Weld or the glue of your choice to cure overnight or according to the glue manufacturer's instructions.

Related Tutorials
How to Use a Disc Cutter 
Make a Necklace from a Credit Card
Make a Bracelet from a Gift Card
Make Earrings from an iTunes Gift Card
How to Make Earrings from a Credit Card  
How to Make a Bracelet from a Credit Card 
Make Post Earrings from Vintage Game Pieces
Make Post Earrings from Buttons


Further Reading
"Fabulous Jewelry from Found Objects: Creative Projects, Simple Techniques"; Marthe Le Van; 2007.
"Beaded Jewelry with Found Objects: Incorporate Anything from Buttons to Shells";  Carole Rodgers; 2004.
"Junk to Jewelry: A Step-by-Step Guide to Using Found Objects in Jewelry You Can Actually Wear"; Brenda Schweder; 2007.


New & Noteworthy

"Jewelry from Found Objects";  Heather Skowood; 2011.

Day 48.  Month 3.  Jewelry from Found Objects.
Found materials: gift card
New Jewelry a Day.


TGIF!! 

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