Wednesday, April 20, 2011

$0.30 earring! (aka, returning to iron craft)

it's been quite a while since i've been able to participate in an iron craft challenge, so i'm really excited that i managed something this week! even though it's super simple, it's still fun.


this week's theme is taxman, and therefore money. (we're at week 16 already - how did that happen?!)


when i saw the inspiration pics that kat posted, i realized that the theme was the perfect excuse to use the dapping punch set that i bought for last weekend's classes.

i didn't actually use my set during the class, because richard had a really awesome homemade set for larger circles, which is what i was using.
richard's dapping tools

cool, huh? he used supplies from any hardware store, i'm thinking i need to do the same!


however, my basic wooden set is great for small circles.... like coins!

i raided my wallet for dimes, since they're the thinnest coin, and are silver in colour (i knew i wouldn't wear pennies!). i found three dimes, one of which was a special year of the volunteer design. i decided that the special one should be in the centre of the earring, so i used my heavy duty punch to punch 3/32" holes in the dimes - 2 holes in two of them, and 1 hole in the bottom one.

hole punch

you could punch the holes after shaping them, though it might be a bit trickier. shaping them can change the shape of the holes slightly, so if you want exactly circular holes, you'll want to punch after shaping, not before.


i went outside, which was good, cause this was hella loud, and sofie is scared of ikea bags, much less hammering! i placed a dime face down in the dapping block and used a regular weight hammer to pound the punch, which pushed the dime into the depression in the dapping block.

dapping 1

see??

dapping

curved coins!

domed coins

i pulled out my needlenose pliers and my basic jewelery supplies and used jump rings to join the dimes together. i added a shepherd's hook earring wire and tada! an earring! that only cost you $0.30! maybe closer to $0.40, once you factor in the jump rings and the earring wire, but still.

earring

i should note that i haven't worn matching earrings since i was a kid, so i only made one... however, making a second earring will only take you a few more minutes, this is a super quick project. (if i'd had 6 dimes, i would've made two just to demonstrate, but i only had the 3.)


in addition to wearing mismatching earrings at all times, i also wear tunnels, so regular shepherd's hooks don't exactly fit in my ears. it's a super easy solution though!

i use a pair of jewelery pliers to straighten out the hook - i could just use a piece of wire or an eyepin, but the hooks aren't expensive, and i find that they're generally sturdier than eye pins when you bend them repeatedly. and i like having the little loop, bead and coil on the shepherd's hook.

tunnel 1

after the hook is straightened, i use the pliers to bend it into a sharp 45 degree turn. i put that through the tunnel to gauge how long it needs to be, and then i make another 45 degree bend that will hold the earring in place.

tunnel 2

easy-peasy. when i'm wearing them, i'll often push the end of the wire towards the front of my ear, so that it looks more like /_| than the open box |_|, just to make it a bit more secure. that's why i like the wire to be a bit stronger and able to bend.

action shot

3 comments:

Chris said...

These earrings are awesome. I would possibly re-pierce my ears for those.

kat said...

ok that is so cool to see how those are make

amy dame said...

thank you both!

kat, it's super easy, once you know! i never knew how people made the rounded domes either!

chris, what about clip-ons? my mom doesn't have pierced ears anymore either, so i'm used to switching earrings over!

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