Chipboard Earrings. Really!

I skipped out on you again Friday. My apologies. Andy and I drove across the state to visit some friends we hadn't seen in about a year and a half. Ok--Andy drove and I read. I think it's the first time I've stayed awake for the entire drive there and back! We had a wonderful time. (We always do with Don & Janie!) The guys got to go to the driving range and Janie and I went to flea markets and garage sales and made cards and secret envelope boxes. What can I say--we're a wild and crazy bunch! 

A couple weeks ago I noticed a pair of earrings that Kathie Lee was wearing on the Today show. They were asymmetrical in shape--sort of an amoeba with no center--silver, and really big. I decided that I could probably make something similar with chipboard, aluminum foil tape, and some dies. This is what I came up with....

I made the big hearts first, because the Sizzix Tipsy Hearts die was my best candidate for chipboard. I wrapped some aluminum foil tape around chipboard, then ran it through the Cuttlebug to cut the middle sized heart. I had to use two strips of tape, but once it's embossed the seam barely shows. And the edges are compressed enough that you can't tell there is a layer of chipboard in the middle. After cutting the hearts, I embossed them with SU! Elegant Lines folder.  

The hearts turned out great, but I'm really not much of a heart jewelry person, so I decided I'd try some Nesties. Ugh. If you want to keep it simple, use a thick die or maybe try Nesties with heavy cardstock instead of chipboard. The Nesties wouldn't cut through the chipboard plus front and back layers of tape, so I cut the chipboard first, then wrapped the tape around, lined up the Nesties and ran it through again to cut the tape. Even then, I had to trim some where the tape didn't cut through. 

After embossing, all that's left is to add hooks. I tried to get creative with the scallop ovals, but I honestly like the look of the punch-hole-insert-jump-ring-add-hook method better! The smaller hearts at the bottom of the photo would already have hooks if I hadn't run out. 

Would you like a necklace to go with your new earrings? Just make one more piece and add a chain instead of a hook. I cut a small heart from the middle of a big heart to make this floating pendant. They could be colored with alcohol inks, but I don't think the tape would hold up to the sanding like the aluminum cans.

Hmmmm.... You know what I have to try now, don't you? Geez! I'm going to have to do a whole post of follow-up's for the ideas that come to me while I'm writing these! 

I hope some of my ideas are inspiring for you. Or at least that they encourage you to just get out some things and PLAY! See what you come up with. Then please leave a comment to inspire someone else!  

Thanks for stopping by! See you Friday!