At home I have saved up a small plastic baggie of homeless earrings…every once in a while I lose one, and I’m just not radical enough, fashion-wise, to wear the remaining one either by itself or in tandem with another homeless earring. (I’ve only got one piercing in each ear, and these aren’t small, inconspicuous studs; I tend to favor somewhat dangly silver earrings with stones or beads).
I hate to just throw them away; after all, they are beautiful, if I may say so, and some of them were gifts – but it would probably be more trouble than it’s worth to have the components taken apart and made into something else. So what should I do with them?
I beg to disagree; it sounds like you have the makings of a very cool keepsake bracelet or necklace. If you aren’t the crafty type or don’t know anyone who is, I’d love to take on this project; I’m a part-time jewelry maker.
If that idea doesn’t jazz you, you could always remove the hooks/posts and sew the dangles onto something – a pillow, a favorite shirt. Or make a suncatcher.
Not really; no nieces yet (thank God! My sister is just not ready for that), and the youngest kids in the family at this point are in their early teens. (My cousins range from mid-20s to 40; the oldest of them has 4 girls.)
Hmmm, I’ll have to think about the charm bracelet idea. A friend I haven’t spoken to in a while is a professional jeweler/jewelry designer; he might have some ideas. But I think he’s too expensive for me.
i’ve seen catalogs selling deliberately mis-matched earring pairs (i’m assuming this is an attempt at a new “look” or trend). like a sunface dangle for one side and a moon crescent for the other. or other “themed” pairings – but the two earrings, other than generally being of similar materials and finishes, didn’t resemble each other at all. (it’s enough to make hide-bound types like me want to order two pairs sometimes, just to get a proper matched set … particularly if i only like one of the designs in the odd pairing.)
so if all your stuff is silver, you might already be halfway there. just pair up some that have a similar “theme” or feel to them, and voila! instant new set.
failing that, you could always check out for friends (including guys, nowadays) who do the odd number of piercings (2 on one side, 1 on the other) or just have a single ear pierced. you can offer to sell/give your oddsters to them, and you both wind up happy… they can get something without having to break up a set, you get a little cash back (or just the warm fuzzy of giving something to them).
and as others have mentioned, there are the hobbyist jewelers (me included) who can probably take the parts and combine them into something new (or even, depending on how unique the elements are, craft a new mate for some of them).
A matching chain and the right earring will make a great necklace (or ankle bracelet!) (or bracelet!). If they’re big enough, they can be used as pulls on light chains (you know…to turn on a light that’s mounted on the ceiling). If it’s a really good size, you could make keychains out of them.
If they’re post type earrings, they make snazzy thumbtacks for your cork board. If they’re danglies, take the earring part off and hang the dangly bits off your jacket zipper or key ring (or sneaker ties, even.)
I love to mismatch my earrings, right now I’ve got on 4 different opals. But I guess it helps to have several holes. Maybe you can put them on eBay as a lot, it would appeal to weirdos like me.
Sir Galahad, aka Fatso, apparently has a rule about playing with things specifically intended for that purpose; he doesn’t, preferring to scratch the sofa instead. (And since the surgery, he’s only half a boy.)
The girls don’t have pierced ears; they are too small. I haven’t discussed the issue with the respective moms in question, but I believe they will want the girls to wait at least until they are preteens, so it’s a good few years yet.
I was given tons of jewelry from the eighties and once I’d used as much as I liked in various art projects, I glued 'em to my cd player. They cover nearly the entire thing and it is definitely cool. A friend liked it so much she did the same thing to her phone.
This may or may not work for you, but it’s a thought!
I don’t know how you celebrate the winter holidays, but even though I’m Pagan, I put up a tree and decorate it, as a Yule tradition. We don’t have much space, so we only have a tiny little tree (fake for now) that would fit on a desk with ease. Things like earrings make ideal ornamants for a tree that size, and can look quite beautiful.
Other than that, why not convert them to brooches? Or even a charm bracelet? Those aren’t bad ideas at all. It could be quite pretty. Hope you do find a way to make use of them, I too hate to think of throwing them out, but hate worse not having a use for lone earrings.
if you have been in a waldens or borders recently, you may have seen something called a “book thong.” when i make them i call them book beads or book charms depending.
if you like i would be happy to make some for you using your earrings. just email me.
