Custom Lego Earrings!

Lego Earrings.
They are simple, easy to make, and add that spark of nerdiness to any outfit!
And they are fun to build onto for an easy change up!  Makes a fun gift too!

You'll need:
2 desired flat Lego pieces (don't have to match)
2 jewelry pliers
Drill with a small drill bit
4 jump rings
2 earring hooks

Drill a small hole in the tops of the Lego pieces.
I use a flat brick, usually a 2 by 4 or 5...and drill the hole
right between the bumps...is there are real word for these?

Then use the pliers to hook a jump ring through the hole.

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Sakura blossom necklace and earrings with YUPO paper

I wanted to try doing something with a material rarely used in jewelry making -- YUPO paper. YUPO is not actually paper, it is thin sheets of polypropylene. As such, it has some interesting properties, such as being waterproof and very difficult to tear, that normal paper doesn't have, which suggest some intriguing possibilities. YUPO is normally used for printing, and some artists also find it a great watercolor and ink medium.

One property of YUPO that I'd read about was that it will warp when exposed to heat (so using it to make lampshades, for instance, is not very practical). I was curious how much heat was necessary and what this warping looked like, so I held a scrap piece above a candle flame to see how it behaved itself. Watching the piece of paper curl, shrivel, and thicken in the heat gave me an idea of how to take advantage of this unique feature of YUPO.

Using fabric or paper flowers in jewelry isn't new, but both materials, while often producing realistic and beautiful results, require delicate handling, and can be completely ruined by moisture. Since YUPO is waterproof and extremely durable, this wouldn't be a problem, and even the curvature that it acquires when exposed to heat would be completely unaffected by normal wear and handling, and, conceivably, even withstand some brief abuse from children and pets. (Please note: I'm  not suggesting that either YUPO paper or jewelry made from it would make good toys for pets or children. At the very least, a sheet of plastic can present a danger of suffocation, and jewelry tends to have small parts and be a choking hazard. So please keep younger children and animals safely away.)

 In this instructable, I intend to show you how to make a necklace and a pair of earrings similar to mine. However, it is the flower making technique that is the truly original element here, so you could make many adjustments and variations to accommodate the materials you prefer/have available, and your own designs. Therefore, most of the tools and materials on this list are optional.

Two things that aren't optional are YUPO paper and a source of heat (a candle is most convenient and easy to find). I also highly recommend that you get a "tiny hole" hole punch, as it is by far the most convenient way to make holes in the flowers.

Other materials you may want/need are:
a large flower-shaped hole punch (to help you make many flower shapes quickly),
pink and green flower beads,
pink crystals,
thin jewelry wire (I'm allergic to both nickel and copper, so I went with permanently colored aluminum wire, which is both cheap and hypoallergenic, but you could also go with copper, brass, sterling silver, or even gold wire; I don't recommend stainless steel, or galvanized, as both can rust when exposed to sweat and skin oils),
wire cutter (preferably flush),
and needle-nose pliers.

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3D Printed Spiral Earrings

3D printers can do anything. I wanted to make a present for a friend, and she loves earrings, so I decided on some fancy ones I designed and was able to 3D printed! They are a great gift! This instructable covers the steps to design one with a 3D modeling program, but I will also discuss several ways to make them unique. Anyways they look great and are very lightweight. I think the natural PLA filament type looks the best, it's a little tough to tell from the pictures but they reflect a lot of light. I would also like to thank my sister for modeling them.

I was fortunate enough to be able to use a Makerbot Replicator 2 to build them, and you can see a time lapse of it below.

A basic knowledge of the 3D modelling program you will use is highly recommended. Watching whatever tutorials/examples they offer will probably be plenty. I used Autodesk Inventor 2013.The first thing that needs to be chosen is the base shape for your earring. I used a circle to keep things simple. To start make a 2D sketch of your base shape in your 3D CAD program. See my picture for help.

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Salmon Sushi Earrings

Here's what you'll need!

Clockwise (more or less), starting from top left:

Varathane: a satin-finish water-based floor sealer that works nicely on cured polymer clay. It sells by the pint at hardware stores, but you can also get it here in smaller bottles: http://www.polymerclayexpress.com/
Kato Liquid Polyclay: Like regular clay, but in translucent liquid form. Cures hard and clear in the oven. 
Kato Concentrate Clays (yellow, red): Also like regular clay, but with much higher pigment content. These are too brittle to use normally, but they work well for color tinting and other fun effects. More info at http://www.katopolyclay.com/
Detail brush: because it's the little things. 
Sterling silver wire, 20ga (I think): I like to buy this from http://www.monsterslayer.com/. You can use other metals, but sterling is my favorite. 
Wire cutters: for cutting wire.
Round nose pliers: for plying noses. I guess.
Tissue blade: Originally used for harvesting tissue from people, or corpses, or...hot dogs? (See for yourself: http://www.braintreesci.com/prodinfo.asp?number=BS-BLADES) They're also great for crafting, and they're sold in more reasonable quantities at crafting stores. 
Rice-colored clay: this is my own mixture, a 30:1 mix (by volume) of translucent clay and white clay. I wouldn't recommend eyeballing the amounts, because slight variations in the mixture can result in weird-looking cured results. If you have a pasta machine, measuring is easy: roll out equal thickness sheets of both clay colors, then mark out the proper areas with a ruler (multiples of 30 cm^2 and 1 cm^2, respectively) and cut them out with the tissue blade. One more thing: this mixing ratio is for Premo Sculpey, because that's what I usually use. I'm not sure how it would differ with other brands. 
Glass cutting board: Clay doesn't stick to it too much, and the flat surface is nice for precise cutting. 

NOT PICTURED (sorry, guys):

Earrings hooks: because, well, we're making earrings. Cheap ones are available here, alongside many other great things: http://www.firemountaingems.com/
Jump rings: little wire rings for attaching the earrings. You can make these yourself if you're ambitious and/or thrifty.
Extra pliers: not strictly necessary, but really useful for opening jump rings. 
Bristle brush: for texturing.
An oven: for curing the clay.

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Beaver Teeth Earrings

One day while fishing a small creek,  I spotted a strange, small object in the water.  I picked it up and determined it to be a beaver's tooth, and  I stuck it in my pocket and went on..  A few weeks later while fishing on the same creek,  I came upon the matching half of the tooth I had found earlier. When I got home I looked at both teeth together and thought to my self, "what better way to class up your ears than to hang rodent teeth from them" and I have been making Beaver Teeth Earrings ever since. I now go to my friend who traps beavers to get the teeth.Photo 1
First take the beaver teeth and give them a nice light sanding to remove dirt & stains,  then figure out the how long you want your earrings and then make your cut.

Photo 2
I like to cut at a angle to allow for better hanging presentation 

Photo 3
Now I apply two coats of polyurethane and allow a day of drying for each coat

Photo 4
While waiting on the teeth to dry I pick out a cap for the teeth.  I have chosen acorn caps for this set. 

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