New Jewelry A Day

Friday, January 14, 2011

Make Dog Earrings from Toys

Before: toys in the toy box.

It is a dreaded task. Nobody in our family likes cleaning out the toy box. I hate sorting the toys. My kids hate my queries. The task always takes longer than any of expect....but sometimes cleaning out the toy box yields nice objects that can be used for jewelry making.

I have no idea what the origin was for these two dog figurines. They were never a family favorite. They were buried at the bottom of the toy box where they inevitable sunk quickly (probably in the initial toss) and sat undisturbed for who knows how long. In short, these little dogs were destined to become earrings.

After: Earrings by GeltDesigns.com

Materials
Two surgical steel earring hooks
Two small screw eyes
Two dog figurines

Tools
Pliers

Step 1
Select two matching figurines. We used two dogs, but there are many small toys that make great earring components.

Step 2
Make or select the ear wires. We used commercially made surgical steel ear hooks because the color matches the screw eye and we have a lot of them on hand, but consider the style ear wire and color metal when selecting findings for your earrings.

Step 3
Gather your tools and materials.

Step 4
Place the screw eye in the center of the back of the toy figurine. Make a divot and then begin screwing the screw eye into the back. You do not need to drill first, just mark and begin screwing the part into the toy.

Use your pliers for added leverage when screwing in the eye. It may be easier to hold the screw eye with your pliers and turn the toy figurine to secure the finding.

Step 5
Attach the ear wire to the screw eye. Adjust the screw eye or the finding to be sure the earring hangs straight.

Step 6
Repeat to create second earring.

Related Tutorials
How to Make an Ear Wire Jig
Make Earrings from Grommets
Make Earrings from Steel Wire
Make Earrings from an iTunes Gift Card
GeltDesigns Tutorials by Topics

Further Reading
"Beaded Jewelry with Found Objects: Incorporate Anything from Buttons to Shells"; Carole Rodgers; 2004.
"Jewelry and Accessories from Everyday Objects: 19 Unique Projects Inspired by Found Objects and Ready-Made Materials"; Tair Parnes; 2007.
"Semiprecious Salvage: Creating Found-Art Jewelry"; Stephanie Lee; 2008.
"Junk Jewelry: 25 Extraordinary Designs to Create from Ordinary Objects"; Jane Eldershaw; 2008.
"The New Jewelry: Contemporary Materials & Techniques (Arts and Crafts (Lark Books))"; Carles Codina; 2005.

New & Noteworthy
"Jewelry Upcycled!: Techniques and Projects for Reusing Metal, Plastic, Glass, Fiber, and Found Objects"; Sherri Haab, Michelle Haab; 2011.

Day 55. Month 3. Jewelry from Found Objects. $ spent to date: 0
Found materials: toy dog figurines
New Jewelry a Day.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Make a LEGO® and Chain Necklace

Before: LEGO® in the toy box

We are still playing with LEGO®. Isn't it great that we do not have to stop?

This project took on a completely different look from yesterday's LEGO® as bead necklace or the Giant necklace we made influenced by Emiko Oye. Rather, this necklace was influenced by the work of Susan Lenart Kazmer's talisman style art jewelry.

After: Necklace by GeltDesigns.com

I've always liked Kazmer's mixed-media necklaces and I admire her generosity in sharing her ideas and techniques. This necklace incorporates LEGO® rather than metal, so it is really just the talisman feel we emulated.

If you are not familiar with Kazmer's amazing work, I recommend curling up with her book Making Connections: A Handbook of Cold Joins for Jewelers and Mixed-Media Artists.

Materials
LEGO®
Brass Chain
18-gauge round brass wire or
20-gauge round brass wire

Tools
Bead board
Side cutters
Wire looping pliers
Flex shaft or Dremel and cup burr
(or wire rounder )

Arrange the LEGO®

Step 1
Gather your tools and materials. Arrange the LEGO® on the bead board in the design you like.

Attach the LEGO® to the chain

Step 2
Attach the LEGO® to the chain and to each other as arranged. I used 20-gauge round brass wire to attach the LEGO®charms because we have a lot of the 20-gauge wire. If I made the necklace again, I might substitute 18-gauge round brass wire for durability.

Clasp made by GeltDesigns.com

Step 3
Select or make the clasp. Attach the clasp to the chain.

Step 4
Check all wire to be sure there are no sharp edges. File the wire with needle files, if needed, to remove any sharp spots.

After: Necklace by GeltDesigns.com

Day 54. Month 3. Jewelry from Found Objects. $ spent to date: 0
Found materials: LEGO®, chain
New Jewelry a Day.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Use LEGO® as Beads to Make a Necklace

Before: LEGO® in the toy box

So today we played with LEGO®. Again. It turns out New Jewelry a Day is a great excuse to play with toys. My delightful daughter and I happily sifted and sorted and arranged colors. The result was a bag full of odd shaped LEGO® sorted into possible projects and a colorful LEGO® beaded necklace accented with sterling silver parts.

Materials
LEGO®
Leather, imitation leather or other stringing material
Six sterling silver beads
Sterling silver clasp

After: Necklace by GeltDesigns.com

Tools
Bead board
Scissors or wire cutter
Glue (optional)

Step 1
Select the LEGO®. Arrange the LEGO®. We used a bead board when creating our design.

Bead boards are not necessary (a plate or bowl will do) but bead boards are a great tool to prevent beads from rolling while you work. Bead boards come in a variety of sizes ( 9x 12 inch, 34-inch, travel) and are made by many different vendors, including Beadalon and Beadsmith;; they all serve the same purpose.

Step 2

String the LEGO® and beads

Make or select the accent beads and clasp. We used sterling silver beads and a sterling silver "S" clasp, but picking the beads and playing with the pattern is half the fun. There were a lot of designs we liked and could have used.

Step 3
String the LEGO® and beads onto the stringing material.

Step 4
Add the clasp. We used a sterling silver "S" clasp but selecting the clasp is part of the design.

Make loop

Make a loop at the end of the stringing material. Slide the last LEGO® to secure the loop.

Make knot

Make a knot or two below the first and second LEGO®. Secure the knot with glue.

Slide the second LEGO® over the knots and snap the first and second LEGO® to cover and secure the knot.