Seeking Ideas

[ladysprite]

Okay - I've got a lot of clever and creative people reading this, and a lot of crafters, and I've got a conundrum that's been stumping me, so I'm going to throw it out to the masses and see if y'all have any ideas.

I love wearing earrings, but I am occasionally absent-minded and clumsy, the end result of which is the fact that I own a lot of unpaired single earrings. I don't want to throw them away, for a lot of reasons. They're beautiful. They were gifts, and I have wonderful memories of the people who gave them to me, or times when I've worn them. I'm an incredible packrat, and it's just hard to throw anything away, even when I lost the other earring three houses ago and there's really no chance of me ever finding it again.

On the other hand, I can't wear them. While I do have two holes in my right ear, most of what I wear in the second hole are studs, if anything, and most of the singleton earrings are dangles.

So... any creative suggestions of what to do with single, unmatched earrings?

Comments

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

I may be completely off base here, but... accessorize asymmetrically? You can wear a single in the left ear (which I presume only has one hole...?) and studs in one or both holes in the right. Not all the time... just for an evening here and there.

Alternatively, you could decorate a tabletop Christmas tree, or make a jingly cat toy, or stylish wind chimes, or....

[mindways]

I was thinking this, too, though I was thinking more just "heck with it; wear mismatched earrings". It'd go better with some outfits than others; I think the key would be making it look deliberate - formal/strait-laced clothing would make it look accidental, while (depending on the specific earrings) I think it could work well with more artsy/eclectic wear. (Esp. since: how often does anyone look at both of your earrings at the same time?)

Other notions: Necklace charm(s), memory-book, take digital photos of 'em as keepsakes to replace the actual items, hair-charms? (would need to be mounted on something appropriate)

Less serious notions: Wine-glass charms, fly-fishing lures, weld them together to make little sculptures

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

Brainstorming means I can make any suggestion, no matter how stupid, right?

Buy a necklace chain, hook your singleton earrings through it in a pleasing sequence, and use pliers to twist the loops closed so they don't fall out.

[moiramisu.livejournal.com]

OOh I like that idea. I also have the same issue with single earrings. I have lots where one is lost, broken, etc...

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

Great minds think alike! I was about to suggest making pendants of them.

[catalana.livejournal.com]

I was going to suggest that too! Apparently we're the necklace crew.

[jenni-the-odd.livejournal.com]

This! I've had to do this with several solo earrings.

[summers-place.livejournal.com]

I've used a single earring as a necklace charm before. Works quite well!

[gyzki.livejournal.com]

Mobiles?

[msmemory.livejournal.com]

The Bajoran look, with an ear cuff and danglies?

[oakleaf-mirror.livejournal.com]

A charm bracelet or necklace? Replace the ear wires with attachments for the bracelet/neclace, and you can wear a bunch of them is a sparkly jangly way.

[calygrey.livejournal.com]

That's clever. I have the same problem, with quite a collection of singletons.

[multigeek.livejournal.com]

I just think it is terribly appropriate that the profile photo you selected is one where you can only see one ear. Just wear your hair like that. Or use the pin portion of the earrings to poke people like me that make stupid suggestions. :)

[wcg.livejournal.com]

Make necklaces or bracelets out of them.

[bess.livejournal.com]

hair sticks?

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

Any idea where I could find the stick bases? I had thought of this, but had no idea of where to start....

[bess.livejournal.com]

Beware -- it's a dangerous place for people who like crafts.....

http://www.firemountaingems.com/search.asp?skw=hair+sticks

[redfishie.livejournal.com]

firemountaingems is a good source for those as suggested- some of the other major beading companies will have them as well. I also picked some up ages ago on ebay.

[laurion]

Turn them into pendants or brooches? Rear-Window Mirror charm? Hang them on a dreamcatcher to make a suncatcher?

[usernamenumber.livejournal.com]

I like the hair sticks idea. I was going to suggest some sort of hanging sculpture/mobile.

[cyan-blue.livejournal.com]

You make necklaces out of them. Earrings often make lovely pendants.

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I could see that....

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

Add me to the necklace crew. You'll need a chain about 20" long, with links large enough to work with; depending on exactly how the earrings are put together, you may also need some small jump rings for attaching them to the chain. Remove the earwires and attach the earrings in whatever order pleases you; with a bunch of different items like this, I'd probably go for the "clustered at the center" look, possibly with more than one earring attached to each link.

[tafkad.livejournal.com]

If you've got LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of dangling singletons, you can string them together to make a bead curtain.

OK. I'll shut up now.

[tafkad.livejournal.com]

OK, seriously this time, I seem to recall seeing a crocheted afghan with beads or jewels sewed/crocheted/knitted/whatever into the design. If you have sufficient beads from these or enough that you can supplement them with an assortment from Michaels or somewhere, that might be a project worth your while.

[gmkieran.livejournal.com]

as an addendum to the necklace crew's host of excellent ideas, if several of them are danglies that would allow for hooking another one (or more) on, you could make a large triangular pendant of several of them - hook a row through the necklace then a smaller row through the first and so on. I second the Bejoran ear chain idea; ear charms! *g* They might also make interesting decorations on a pair of victorian gloves or on a headband that, say, a post-apocalyptic-native-american-based LARP character might wear? In any case, hope you have fun with whatever you decide to do with them!

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

Just wear them. Even if they don't match.

One more alternative

[kyttn.livejournal.com]

Book marks, if you use them. You can get shepherd's crook bookmarks with a hole in the end that you can connect the earrings to.

Re: One more alternative

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

I never would have thought of that, but it's a really good idea - thank you!

[hfcougar.livejournal.com]

A college friend decorates barrettes and hairclips with broken and singleton earrings, as well as earrings from thrift shops, and sells them on Etsy.

[redfishie.livejournal.com]

someone I met recently had a sort of earring wrap -similar to the idea of a bejoran ear charm but it required no piercing - it went from the top of the ear and wrapped at the bottom and was made of silver wire and charms off of it on the the bottom and a loop in the middle. I could see something like this working- though I'm not sure if I'm describing it well.