New Jewelry A Day: Gift Card

Showing posts with label Gift Card. Show all posts

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!!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Make a Necklace from a Credit Card

Canceled or expired credit cards are great sources of raw material for jewelry making. The plastic is durable but light weight. Many credit cards have interesting pictures or designs on the face of the credit card. I recently canceled a credit card that had a scene of mountains on it. Since my daughter and I already demonstrated how to make a gift card into a bracelet and earrings, I thought this time we would use the credit card to make a necklace.

Materials
Credit card, gift card or other plastic card
18-gauge round copper wire

After: Necklace by GeltDesigns.com

Cut the credit cards

Cut the credit card into disks using a disc cutter, craft knife or scissors. We cut three 3/4-inch disks and four 7/16-inch disks for our necklace.

Step 2
Use a center punch to mark the disks where you want to drill holes so the drill bit will not slip when you drill.

Drill holes in the disks

Step 3
Drill two holes in each disk.

Step 4

"B" links made from copper

Create links to link the plastic disks.

We used some "B" links that were left over from the from our copper bib necklace project on December 21, 2010. We made the "B" links for that project and then decided to use "S" links instead, so we had a bunch already made. We used round nose pliers to form the "B" links by hand and then adjusted the links as needed using chain nose pliers. We then filed the end of the links smooth using a cup burr and our flex shaft.

Clasp by GeltDesigns.com

Step 5
Make the clasp.

Step 6
Assemble the necklace.

Step 7
Check the necklace for any sharp spots and file until smooth.

After: Necklace by GeltDesigns.com

Back: Credit Card Necklace by GeltDesigns.com

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.
"Cold Connections"; Tim McCreight (DVD)

New & Noteworthy
"Jewelry from Found Objects"; Heather Skowood; 2011.

Day 47. Month 3. Jewelry from Found Objects.
Found materials: credit card
New Jewelry a Day.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Make Earrings from an iTunes Gift Card

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