Making Hair Clips out of Dangle Earrings

If you have dangle or chandelier earrings which are missing their mate, you may want to consider transforming them into hair clips. I have quite a few that I am in love with but have lost the other one so I can no longer wear them as an earring pair, this is a wonderful transformative idea which can still allow you to get joy and use out of your jewelry.

All you need for this project is earrings, bobby pins, pliers, spring ring (if the earring doesn't have one), and glue (either from a hot glue gun or Gorilla Glue). You can do a variation of this project using chopsticks (if you use a drill to drill a hole through the chopstick and cut it down to size you can attach your earring to the end and use it as hair chopsticks).







First, you should open up the earring from the earring hook with pliers and make sure you add the spring ring to the earring afterwards where you want it to attach to the bobby pin. You can consider coloring the bobby pin with nail polish if you want to add a pop of color or you can skip this step. All you need to do is hook the closed spring ring onto the bobby pin and pull it through to the end. Use a dab of glue where the ring attahes to the bobby pin and make sure that it sticks down so that it doesn't move while it's in your hair. Make sure you don't glue the bobby pin closed, and let the earring dangle beautifully from your hair. This accessory will definitely make a statement, especially if you use a nice vintage earring that pops. If you don't have dangle earrings to do this, you can use studs that you cut the backing off (either with scissors or jewelry cutters) and then glue the earring backing onto the bobby pin and let it set. Voila, either way, you will have fantastic looking pins!

How to make your own earring organizer!

This project is inspired by my mother-in-law because she's always making funky and weird household things with her own little touch of style to them. If you choose to do this project, I guarantee you that it will be uniquely you and nobody else will have one that looks the same. If you're not down to pay a pretty penny for most of those metal carousel hangars to put your earrings into, you may want to consider making your own earring organizer.

 This is better than placing your earrings in boxes, as you can forget which ones you own (if you have many like I do) and you might have a hard time finding the pair you want in the mornings. Having your earrings out in the open and on a wall, not taking up any space at all in your home, is an ingenius way to go about displaying them.


The tools you will need for this fun and inexpensive project are:

- inexpensive picture frame (from a thrift store or new, it doesn't matter)
- scissors
- fabric large enough to fit behind your frame
- picture hanging kit (if the frame lacks the proper hanging ability)
- sandpaper (hard and soft grade sandpaper)
- paint
- paintbrush or painting sponge
- something to cover the area you're working over so you don't create a mess - like newspapers
- wire mesh or screen of some sort (window screen can be found at hardware stores)
- heavy duty stapler or hot glue gun (gorilla super glue may even do the trick)

The backing of your creation can be as interesting as you want it to be, you can use produce bags, several wires wrapped around each other, fabric in any array of patterns, or even lace! Make sure that your picture frame is free of any nails or anything that can hurt you while manipulating it, remove nails using hardware pliers. You won't be needing the glass associated with the frame, so you can toss that out or use it for something else, or the backing that comes with it. Make sure you lay down some newspaper or rags before continuing on. First you will want to start sanding with a very gritty sandpaper to get any excess paint or spliced wood off your wooden frame and then smooth it out using a soft grit sandpaper. You don't have to do the sanding if you love the way your frame looks to begin with, but if you want to change the color of it, make sure you sand down the old paint first, and paint on a new layer of whatever color you choose.

Turn your frame around and have the back facing you while it is laying flat. Using your hot glue gun or stapler, stretch the mesh and append it taught to the inlaid part of the frame, making sure you're pulling it apart so that it looks straight and doesn't create waves. Cut the excess of the screen off using your scissors after you have secured it on all sides to the frame.

 Then you will want to glue your fabric to the back of your frame, making sure that the pattern is facing away from you and to the face of the frame (it would be a shame to put it on the wrong way, wouldn't it?). Glue one side and then pull it taught after it has dried and get an even spread across the whole frame. Cut off the excess fabric so it doesn't pop out along the sides of the frame. if your frame doesn't have a hanging kit attached, wait for everything to dry and apply it to the back of the frame. Hang your frame on the wall where you want it to be or just prop it up on your desk if you don't want to hang it. And it's as easy as that! Now all you have left is to hang your earrings in a creative way on your frame.

How to make your own feather earrings

Since feathers are all the rage in style and accessories of all sort, including hair extensions, scarves, and jewelry, I have come up with a way for you to incorporate them easily in your jewelry making. This is a very inexpensive project for those of you who are into the bohemian chic look of recent fashion.

Supplies you'll need:

• ear hooks for making earrings - from your local craft or bead store or online
• craft feathers - from your local craft store or they can be bought cheap online
• bendable wire (preferably something you can mold but that won't come apart later)
• charms, chain or anything else you wish to attach to your feather earrings
• flat-nosed pliers
• wire cutters

What you first want to do is pick out the feathers that you would like to use, whether it be just one pair or multiple kinds of feathers. You can use various sizes and shapes depending on what your personal style is or what you think would look cutest. Trim the stem of the feather so that there is only a little bit left for you to wrap your wire around. After this you want to wrap your bendable wire around the top part of the feather multiple times. Form a loop on the end of it that is going to be attached to the ear hooks and make sure you cut and tuck the end into the rest of the wire and press it together so that it doesn't stick out (cut using your wire cutters and press the wire together with your flat-nosed pliers). The wire can be in any color you choose and you can trim it after you are finished.

Open the loop of the earring hook and place the loop extending from the feather inside the open loop. Here is your chance to further customize your earrings by adding any embellishments you would like to the earring hook. Then when you are finished adding baubles, close the loop of the earring hook securely with your flat nosed pliers to let your feather dangle freely.

Alex's Rules of Accessorizing

This guide will show you how to turn a pocketful of baubles into jewelry and accessory treasures that you can mix and match with your colorful wardrobe!

Playing with scale
If you're going to wear big or dangly earrings, I suggest not pairing it up with a big necklace or belt because you don't want the jewelry to overpower you. Remember that the focal point should always be yourself and anything that you put on should only accentuate your best features rather than drown you in bling. Sometimes less is more and if you have too many pieces, they will detract attention from one another. Chunky jewelry is definitely fun so don't shy away from big, beautiful cuffs, bold earrings, or wide belts. Remember that the most important aspect of accessorizing is the overall harmony of the pieces and the way they look together and how they accentuate your outfit.

Classical is always in
You can never go wrong with signature pieces like pearl earrings or tennis bracelets, they are as antique as Audrey Hepburn's style but as fresh as anything you see today. These classic pieces are good for anytime of the day or night, including casual day-to-day or formal events. If you have something that means a lot to you, never hesitate to put it on, our accessories tell a story and if they don't reflect your personality, you've missed the point. Don't try to emulate what you see on models and in magazines, something that is trendy one day can just as quickly be untrendy the next. Stick to what you feel good in, what looks good on you, and what you're likely to reach for when you get ready!


Masculine vs. feminine
If you have a man's watch and you think it's too bulky or masculine to wear, think again! Androgynous style is very socially prevalent so you can pair your masculine watch with a couple of feminine bangles and dress it up a little. Also, don't shy away from wearing bow-tie or tie necklaces and oversized scarves, especially if it's in an uber-feminine finish like crystals or silk.

Iconic shapes
We all have necklaces with peace signs, crosses, and various other religious or political symbols. Whether it be letters of a foreign alphabet, heart and star shapes, or Hello Kitty's face plastered on your accessories, remember not to go overboard. A good rule of thumb is to try to keep it to one symbolic show-stopper piece, the way a lead performer would be, and keeping all of your other pieces that day as back-up performers.


Antique and contemporary 

Wearing older jewelry from your grandparents or acquisitions from pawn shops and thrift stores is perfectly great, especially when mixing it with new styles of jewelry. Clashes in culture and time-periods can make for beautiful combinations of accessories. As long as the styles are cohesive and not divisive together, they can be utilized in beautiful ways to amplify your look. Mixing and matching silver with bronze and various colors of gold or pewter also makes for an interesting look, but try not to combine too many kinds of metals together at once. Underneath, you can see various styles of jewelry, some antique, some contemporary, some bronze, pewter, and various shades of silver. There is a cohesiveness between these pieces and they can be mix and matched for numerous looks with teal, brown, or silver scarves/purses and metal-tone belts.

These are merely simple guidelines which aide in the mixing and matching of what we have to create interesting combinations, rather than going out and buying a designated set of accessories for each outfit (which isn't necessarily financially responsible or viable). In the end, it's a matter of personal taste and preference. Some people enjoy matching colors, and others swear against it, as long as you choose colors that are complementary, you will look coordinated, and polished!