Sunday, June 5, 2011

Earrings to Wind Chime

Sounds strange, doesn’t it?  Well, I found these ginormous earrings at an auction and I bought 7 pair of them for $2!  I wasn’t sure what I would do with them, but they are made from shells, so I knew I would do something with them! 

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I love how they were different designs and how different the actual shells were in thickness and color on the backside.

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I cannot imagine wearing these as earrings because they each weigh about half a ton! 

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I got to thinking about the clanking of the shells/earrings would make a great wind chime.  So I toodled off to JoAnn Fabrics where I snagged two round bamboo circles for 97 cents…I was thinking of something metal, but I knew these were perfect (and cheap) when I first saw them.  I guess they are purse handles, but they were great for this project!

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I had some flat clamshell beads in my jewelry making stash and strung one of them in front of each earring, partly for the look and partly for the sound they made!

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I used a hit and miss arrangement method…I didn’t measure, that is just how I roll!  I drilled the holes to hang the string though in an imperfect manner (I used stretchy bead and jewelry cord in the 1mm size)…I didn’t measure.  And I didn’t measure length either, so they are also not perfect in length.

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They do make a pretty sound when they clank together. 

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I am going to do some thing at the top where the strings poke through the top of the holes in the circle, just not sure what to do.  I super glued the ends of the strings (just like I would if I was making a bracelet).  I think I might try to cute the knots off and see if the superglue would hold without the knots…I am also thinking that maybe I should have painted the circle black or maybe cream color.  Or a bright red?

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I am linking up to these great parties

Ellen

33 comments:

Aisling said...

Looks gorgeous.

Delaney said...

Looks so cool!

Jessica said...

What a cool idea! Love it!

TheCraftInMe said...

Great invention, very cool!

Just Jaime said...

Pretty! Fun idea!

Unknown said...

Those are great!.. but not as earrings, I agree. They are pretty to look at and I love how some have almost a Celtic knot design. They make a lovely wind chime.

the cape on the corner said...

oh my goodness, that is genius! i love it! do they make a nice sound? i have had some chimes in the past, and they make an annoying chang chang, not a soothing sound.

AsylumTanya said...

Your project reminds me of the lapidary class I took back nearly 25 years ago. I made some wind chimes out of thin slices of rock. They came out remarkably like your chime! I like how your chime turned out. Thanks for sharing!

The Fall Creek Chicken Coop said...

way to upcycle!!! Love the "new" chimes!

Mic said...

Great idea!

Suffia said...

Brilliant! Love it.

Suffia

very merry vintage style said...

You're so creative! Love the design on them. Thanks so much for linking up to Share the Love Wednesday!
Mary

Cecily said...

Beautiful, Ellen... love it!

yaga said...

Wow, the earrings are fab, and so is your idea. I love chimes, they can bring such a feeling of home to a space.

Karina said...

That is truly clever. My ears are hurting thinking of those things dangling from my loves. This is a much better alternative - you have a great vision.

Unknown said...

This is too clever! Love the look and the fact that you used earrings to make it! Would be flattered if you linked up to WWWW! http://itstoilegood.blogspot.com/2011/06/wwww-3rd-times-charm-partay.html

Terri @ A Creative Princess said...

What a great idea!! Love it! Just too clever!

Unknown said...

now that is creative!!! Great idea.

Unknown said...

Love that you used earrings and a purse handle. So cool! Thanks for linking up with DIY UNDER $5!

Sassy Sites! said...

This is so creative! I would have never used earrings, but it looks amazing! :) Thanks for linking up at Sassy Sites for our ffa party! Have a wonderful weekend! xoxo!!

-Marni

A Few Pennies said...

Love this idea; looks pretty in your garden.

Antonella said...

What a great idea! Too funny that they are so heavy it drove you to find something else to do with them - They look a bit like zentangles. So glad I followed your link from the Marvelously Messy Link Party, I've also linked up if you want to stop in.
Hugs, antonella :-)
http://quilling.blogspot.com/2011/06/filigree-friday-free-fathers-day-badges.html

Jill said...

Great use for those earrings - I can just imagine the lovely sound of them in the breeze!!

Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
Hope you have a great week!
Jill @ Creating my way to Success
http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

Megan Gunyan said...

How awesome! What a great idea. How can those be earrings?? They're huge!!

Jenn Erickson said...

Wow! You had a great eye and creative inspiration for turning those beautiful earrings into even lovelier wind chime!

Thank you for being a part of what made this week's "A Little Birdie Told Me..." linky party the best yet!

Jenn

Rebecca @ My Girlish Whims said...

Such a smart idea!! Thanks for linking up to Your Whims Wednesday :)

Unknown said...

Thank you for linking up to WWWW!

Dee ⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️ said...

This is so cool!

Dee
Your new follower

Unknown said...

I absolutely love these. Thanks so much for sharing on my Marvelous Mess party!!!

Dacey said...

These wind chimes are really looking good since making earrings is a difficult and very creative task.I have seen this creation first time.

Zaira said...

Great idea!

Smithitfa said...

oh my goodness, that is genius! i love it! do they make a nice sound? i have had some chimes in the past, and they make an annoying chang chang, not a soothing sound.

Gardening gifts said...

Wonderful idea..... :) thanks for sharing!!