Tuesday, May 15, 2012

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.)







Thanks to the wonderful hosts of Feed me Friday blog Hop for featuring me this week  :-)  Click on the link on the sidebar to join in.





23 comments:

  1. This is very cute, I need that tool now!! Thank you for sharing, stopping by from Todays Creative Blog :)

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  2. Fantastic and sooooooooooo cool!!!

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  3. Wow - very creative. Nice job! They look great. Thanks for linking up at Romance on a Dime. I'm now following you on Blog Lovin'!

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  4. Oh yeah baby! I'll be borrowing this idea...#100

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  5. Very clever. I wish I wore earrings now. #130

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  6. fab tutorial,great idea
    have a fab woyww
    kay #22

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  7. What a great idea thanks for sharing, happy crafting.


    Eliza #19

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  8. great idea

    found you at the blog hop

    new follower

    ~heather

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  9. Fun and unique! I'm a new follower through Feed me Friday :) Nice to "meet" you.

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  10. Hi. I am following you from the Feed Me Friday. I hope to see you at Jennifer's Deals http://www.jennifers-deals.com

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  11. Already following. Now following via email. Hope you subscribe back.. Stopping by from Feed Me Fridays. Congrats on the feauture. You are very talented! Great ideas...

    http://naptimeshopper.blogspot.com

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  12. Just subscribed to your blog from Feed Me Friday. I hope you pay a visit to my site! :) http://jadesierra.blogspot.com Thanks & Happy Friday!

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  13. How clever this is! I would love to try them. Just dropping in from Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons to invite you to share this at Freedom Fridays Blog Hop:) So hoping to see you there.

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    1. Thank you for linking this up to Freedom Fridays! Have a perfectly marvelous weekend!

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  14. Clever upcycling idea! Thank you for sharing it.

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  15. Very cool..but for those who dont have the heat cutting tool and are going to cutting with scissors (like me) do you have any tips to get the edges even?

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  16. These are great, what a fab idea, thanks for sharing

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  17. Love these! Great Tutorial on how you made them. Thanks so much for sharing at Sunday Round Up!
    -Kayla :)

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  18. Makes me want to but that tool...very creative!!

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  19. Thanks very much for that tutorial. I have used cds before but with random pieces from broken ones. Using a heat tool is genius! Fortunately I have one too so I don't have to add to my ever growing pile of tools and materials!

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  20. Love this idea for charms too!!! I'm going to have to keep an eye open for a wood burner now.. But thanks for sharing how to make these. I really look forward to trying my hand at this! ~tina

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Thanks for your lovely comments!