June 30, 2012

DIY Floral plugs

I'm an avid Etsy surfer.  I'll buy things occasionally, but am definitely more of an online window shopper.  I'd been looking around for some fun new gauged earrings that would be less obvious than what I typically wear, and when I saw many sellers offering flower-adorned ones, they seemed perfect.  Well, perfect except for the price.

So I went to my local bead shop, found a couple of those resin flowers, and made some myself for less than $1.  Here's how I did it!


1.  Found a pair of old plugs I don't wear anymore.  You may have some earrings you can use sitting around, otherwise BodyCandy has a large selection of $1.99 plugs.  The ones I used were metal, but plastic would work just as well, if not better since it's lighter weight.  I'd also not recommend flared styles, as you will want to be able to push the plugs completely into your ear once you've attached the flowers.

2.  Went to the bead shop.  I found the flowers pretty easily and in a variety of colors.  The circular backs fit the end of my plugs quite closely, so less than $1 later, I was on my home.   My ears are a 2 gauge, so if yours are much larger it may be more difficult to find flowers that will cover the plugs completely.  Here are some similar ones online for $0.64 a piece. 

3.  Glued them together.  I used Gorilla Glue because it was what we had lying around the house.  I did it late at night, and went to sleep immediately after.  The flowers shifted a bit and don't sit perfectly flat on the plugs, but it still works for me! 



4.  Wear your new plugs!  You'll probably want to use O-rings to hold them in.  I love mine and will probably make more when I buy some supplies.





Good luck crafting!


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