Anyone who knows me or has seen my work knows I have a thing for cocktail stirrers, as seen below in my TV drawer. I have made and sold many earrings and other accessories made from these molded plastic sticks of wonder. The whole idea of them overwhelms me, don’t know why.
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One of best selling earring sets is made from a long key, so when I found this little bag of awesome, I pounced.
More earrings!!! A very good friend told me I had to do a better job of bullet pointing my process so here goes.
1. Measure and mark the center of the stirrer.
2. Using a sharp wire cutter gently snip it in two. Any shape wire cutters will do this is just what mine look like.
3. Using a thin drill bit, drill a hole in the top of each piece. I used my monster drill press, but you could a cordless drill (just make sure you brace it down somehow so it doesn’t slip)
4. There are talented people out there that make the own earring wires for earrings, this is how I avoid learning this skill. I buy commercial ear wires from my local craft store and make them look nicer by snipping off the loop on the bottom that holds the spring and the cheesy bead.
5. Once I have snipped off the loop without taking out an eye (those suckers take flight) I use round nose pliers or looping pliers to make a new loop. It turns out looking like it wasn’t bought at my local craft store.
no that is not my hand.
6. Cut a small length of heart chain and attach a Lucite heart to one end using a jump ring. I just happened to have this adorable heart chain but any would do.
7. Attach the other end of the chain to the ear wire and key using another jump ring. Walla!
Check out my etsy store to purchase. Electricbelle on Etsy
