Started off the morning cutting and moving limbs that had fallen in the storm, by afternoon I wanted to do something a little more fun! So I decided to convert some of my earrings.
The red moonglow are screw backs... can we say "torture devices"? The yellow and the lions are clips. First thing is to remove the old... gently! Some folks just cut the metal off and leave the disk behind. I've found that if you gently, but firmly, pry the older fitting then it will usually come off in one piece. If its being stubborn, just relax pressure for a moment and then apply again. Repeat as needed. Just takes a little patience. The only time that has not worked for me was when the metal was so old that it just broke under even the slightest amount of pressure. I usually scrape the old glue away as best I can. Love my trusty old pocketknife.
Important step! Hold the earring up to your ear. How or where do you want it to hang? Take note of where your earlobe is pierced, measure if you have to. Using a fine point Sharpie pen I mark where the pierced post will be glued. With these earrings, the red ones needed the post to be affixed in the center in order to look right. The yellow ones are larger so I measured and put a mark off center at the correct distance from the edge. For my ear lobe it was 7/16ths of an inch. And yes, this does make a difference when you are done!
Of course, Ronan kept a close eye on the work being done. He said he was supervising, but every once in a while he would try and swipe one of the pieces! Just too tempting for a cat.
Then Fearless Fergus joined in! Actually was heartening to see because he hasn't been feeling well lately. The mischievousness was a good sign.
The lion faces presented me with a problem I hadn't encountered before. The pieces are concave and the "post" that the clips were attached to is quite small. I decided to cut the clip and leave part of it behind in order to have a little larger spot to glue onto. Hoping this works! If not, then I'll have to put them on a fish hook earring.
I like to use good old E6000. Haven't heard anyone raving about any newer glue that supposedly works better. Try not to use too much. It can get messy in a hurry! I use a toothpick to even it out a bit and then swirl it a little when I place it on the earring back. You can wipe away the excess with a toothpick.... if you have a steady hand. If not, then you might want to leave well enough alone. No one is going to see it anyway!
So here they are! Sitting for at least 24 hours. And yes, those red ones got scratched pretty bad when I was trying to remove the old glue. I blame that on my pocketknife blades being dull. And I didn't take the time to sharpen them. Shame on me!
Also forgot to photograph the backings. Definitely get the ones with the larger silicone disks. I think that earrings hang better with those. And some of the vintage earrings are pretty large... and heavy! Your lobes will thank you for the extra support!
Both posts and backings can be bought at your local craft supply/fabric store or online. They come in bags of 60 or so pieces and run around $3.00 per pack. And of course, you can convert from pierced to clips too. So have fun and enjoy wearing all you vintage pieces!!!
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