Recycled CD earrings

Front CD side  (left) Back (right)

Do you have old CD’s lying around gathering dust?  Who doesn’t right?  Well if you are the owner of a wood burner tool (think summer camp) or a similar versatile heat tool for stencil cutting etc. you are all set to use those old CD’s to create some terrific earrings. 

You will need:

Old CD’s

Small stencil motifs-- used in scrapbooking

Wood burning tool

Scrapbook paper (optional)

Tacky glue

Silver sparkle dimensional fabric paint (optional)

Jump rings, two for each earring, one larger than the other

Fish hook ear wires

Needle nosed pliers, one or two pairs

Sharpie marker

Piece of glass from an old picture frame

Note:  Since this project uses a high heat wood-burning tool I do not recommend it for use with children.

1.     Using the scrapbook stencil of choice trace the motif onto the CD on the side that will be the backside of your earring with the sharpie marker.   Trace it again in another section so you have two motifs of the same design.

2.     While you are tracing, plug in your wood-burning tool and allow it to heat up. Be careful when you are using the tool since the tip is extremely hot.

3.     Working on a piece of glass placed on your work surface, begin to trace around the motif with the wood-burning tool.  Work slowly. When you have completely traced the design, pop out the motif.  If you have traced around it completely it should pop out easily.  If some of the CD residue builds up on the tip, wipe it off on a piece of heavy cardboard. Carefully use the tip of the wood burner tool to poke a hole in the top center of the CD earring.  Repeat this step for the other earring.  Note:  If the back of your earring is plain and  you would like both sides of the earring as it they are, skip the next two steps and proceed to adding the earring findings.

4.     Use the scrapbook stencil to cut out an exact motif from the scrapbook paper.  Make sure it fits in the CD earring piece.  Trim if necessary.  Add a dab of tacky glue and attach to the backside of the earring motif.  Let dry.  Repeat for the other earring.

5.     Working on the backside of the earrings, use some dimensional fabric paint to trace around the edge.  This will give the earrings a finished look and cover any gaps. Let dry completely.

6.     Use the needle nosed pliers to twist open rather than pull apart the larger of the two jump rings.  Use a needle to make sure that the hole you made with the wood burner is open. Thread the larger jump ring through the hole in the top of the earring.  Twist it back closed.  Open the smaller jump ring in the same way and add to the larger jump ring, but before you close it add a fishhook ear wire. Make sure the ear wire is facing in the right direction. Twist closed.  Repeat for the other earring. (While you may use only one needle nosed pliers, you may find it helpful to use two pairs twisting each pair in opposite directions to open and close the jump rings.)

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