DIY 365: Broken Jewelry Rings

I'm posting a little late today, but I thought I would share something that can look really nice with minimal effort: upcycled rings.

Several years ago I scored a shoebox of broken jewelry at a garage sale. Some of it was in such poor condition that I suspect that there is very little that can be done with it. Some of the earrings looked nice, if a bit old-ladyish, but were missing mates. And were screw-backs. Or clip with the clips so badly corroded that I don't feel safe putting them anywhere near my sensitive ears.

There are several ways to re-purpose these mateless earrings. One could turn them into a brooch, make a pendant out of them, attach them to hair clips (that one's coming up!) or, my favorite, make rings.

This one started out as a pearl rosette clip earring with a very nasty back. Patina looks nice on some home decor, not on earrings.

To make the ring part, I used brass wire. I'm not sure of the size or even where I got it. Somehow it ended up in my stash.

The first task was to take that nasty back off the earring. I took the easy way out and used wire cutters.

At least that was the plan. In reality, it proved more difficult than I had first thought. I ended up basically scoring the back with the wire cutters, the bending it back and forth until it came apart.

Finally got that sucker off!

Next, I trimmed the wire to fit my finger and bent it into a ring shape. Unfortunately, I was concentrating on bending the wire and neglected to get a picture of this part.

Now, a word on putting rings together. There are a couple of ways to do it, depending on the equipment and materials you have and the time you have. For a longer-lasting ring, you would ideally want to solder the two parts together, as I did in this ring I made several years ago. (Okay, disclaimer, my husband did the actual soldering.)

Alas, I no longer have a soldering iron, so I had to go to Plan B: E-6000. This is an industrial strength adhesive. It's like super glue on steroids. If it absolutely has to be stuck together, this is your go-to.

For the ring, I put a decent-sized glob on the back of the former earring and pressed my wire ring into it.

Notice the newspaper under the ring. I strongly recommend you use protective covering for your work surface any time you're using industrial strength adhesive, especially if your work surface is the family dining table.

E-6000 does take some time to dry, so plan on coming up with a clever solution to hold the ring portion vertical or just use your fingers like I did. After a few minutes, it does firm up enough to stay upright as long as the ring is not tilted. Because this does take some time to dry, it's not a last-minute, I need a stunning cocktail ring for a party project. Unless you want the ring permanently attached to your finger.

Eventually, I will probably solder the wire ring onto the earring, but the E-6000 works for now.

Oh, and the soldered ring from several years ago? Here's what the top of it looks like. I love big statement rings!