Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Recycled Bullet Shell and Cookie Tin Earrings

Whenever I go hiking I keep an eye out for bullet shell casings. They come in all sizes, and can be recycled into jewelry-making components.





I love that I used so many reclaimed components to make these. I found the bullet shell casings when we went to southern Oregon on a camping trip. The tin was a gift from a friend. It was full of Key Lime Cooler cookies. After we ate all the cookies, of course I saved the tin. I love the combination of stripes and checkers. 

For these earrings I used a pipe cutter from the hardware store to cut off the bottoms of the bullet shell casings. I used a drill press to put holes in them. A hammer and nail will work on most casings, but I've found that some do need to be drilled out. Next I cut two metal pieces from a cookie tin, filed the edges smooth, and wrapped the tin around the casings, securing them in place with a drop of E6000. Finally, I wired them up with headpins, small frosted black glass beads, green jade beads, crystal spacers and then topped them with more black glass beads.

The crystal spacers were antiqued with Jax Pewter Black and then sealed with Dorland's Wax. Here's where you can buy the Jax:


...and here's where I found the sterling ear wires:

This is a really fun easy project, and they're fun to wear too.

Until next time!

Leaving you with this quote:

"Enjoy NOW like a child and pursue the future like a BULLET." - Colin Wright

No comments:

Post a Comment