Earrings Everyday - Dots

Each month, Erin at Earrings Everyday likes to throw out a theme for the We're All Ears Challenge. This month, she chose DOTS to inspire us. I have to admit that I went a little crazier than I anticipated with this theme. 

Initially, I remembered I had a few small tin discs already cut out that included dots. So, I turned to those for my first pair of earrings.
I could have just punched holes, hung them on earwires, and called it a day. But that's no fun. 

Instead, an idea had struck to try riveting some of the internal snap rings I had picked up last month to create a loop on the bottom of the discs.
As you can see, it worked out perfectly! And the rivets just look like more dots on the earrings. From the rings, I hung a few round beads to add to the dotty feel.

As I contemplated what other supplies I had that included dots, I decided to use some of my paper supplies encase a dotted paper in a bezel. This ended up failing in so many ways, but I thought it was only fair to share my failures as well as my successes. Not everything is a winner.
Though I had sealed the paper with Mod Podge prior to placing it in the bezel, somehow the resin seeped in and turned it translucent. I have to admit that I was just going to roll with it and make the earrings. However, the resin began to form some sort of crystallization. You can see it in the far right of the right bezel. I've never had that happen before. So...these were scrapped. Like I said, not everything can be a winner. 

Over the course of the week, I've been purging my bead supply. As I've sorted through just about every bead I have, a few caught my eye for this challenge. There were a few more, but I realized that I just couldn't make them work. They're now in the purged bins.
I apparently had quite a few of these wood discs with the top drill. I've tried to use them in various forms over the years without much success. Before bagging them all up to go away, I kept a couple to play with for this challenge. 

I wanted to create a rustic farmhouse feel with them. They were first lightly sanded, then painted with a little white acrylic paint. I added the pale green dots to suit the challenge and allowed the discs to dry before sanding them again.
A layer of clear crackle paste was added to the top. Once it crackled, the cracks were accented with watered-down brown acrylic paint. They're simply hung from pale green beads sandwiched between bead caps.

Also in my purge, I can across a baggie of unusual tiles that had been connected to make up a stretch bracelet. The elements are all plastic but a lot of fun. They remind me of dominoes and almost spurred me on a tangent of also making dot earrings from dominoes, but I held back.
The double holes on these elements had me puzzled as to how best to work with them. But, I let myself play and experiment for a bit to come up with this design.

Despite them being plastic, I kinda love them. 
They feel romantic and antique (I started to say vintage, but those dotted elements are definitely already vintage.) Yeah, I dig them.

Like I said, there were more dotted beads on my desk, but I knew it was time to stop so I could get everything photographed and ready for this reveal. 

Dots really are a simple design feature, but work out beautifully. I am happy that Erin presented us with this theme, as its simplicity really let me play and explore options. Thank you, Erin. 
Now, make sure to head over to Earrings Everyday Reveal to see what she created, check out what the other participants made, and maybe join in the reveal yourself!

10 comments:

  1. You say that you failed, I would say that you tried and learned something. It is better to try something and than just wondering about possibilities which I did this month. I think that the wooden disks have a lot of possibilities - you could even decoupage a few of them and then sand or antique them.

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    1. Well...it was only that one. It was so weird though. I've tried all those techniques before and never had a problem. I thought I had taken all the right precautions. I'm not sure where the failure lies. Ah well. You live, you learn. I hate to hear that you didn't participate this month. I always love seeing what bounty of color you have for challenges. Yes, I thought the same about the discs. And, have decoupaged them in the past. They've been languishing in my stash for YEARS. I just need to have them gone now. Maybe someone else will cherish them a little more than I did. Thanks for the suggestion though. I really appreciate it!

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  2. All super fun! I love them. I love that you created some of your own components. And I love that you used some upcycled pieces. I don't know why you had the crystalization on the resin either. But I wonder if you could layer some more color over it, like with alcohol inks that would be translucent, and then another layer of resin. That will probably cancel out the crystalized part. Worth a shot! Thanks for playing along with me! Enjoy the day! Erin

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  3. I love the last pair that you made. They are really cute!
    It is too bad you had a problem with the resin. At least you were brave enough to give it a try.
    I also enjoyed this theme. I admire your willingness to purge some of your bead collection. I have lots that I should part with.

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  4. That's quite a lovely bunch of dotted earrings, Hope! It's awesome just how many kinds of components you've played with this month - you seem to have had a lot of fun. :-) All of the ones that did turn out well more than make up for the resin one.

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    1. Anita, Thank you so much! This inspiration really had wide open possibilities, and I just let myself roll with it. I did have fun. I'm so pleased you like what I created. 😀

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  5. Wonderful earrings! I really like the resin idea too!

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    1. Ann, Thank you! I hate that the resin ones didn't turn out. They were going to be my fun, colorful pair. I understand the paper being compromised, but the crystallization was just weird. Try, try again, I guess! I appreciate you taking the time to hop by.

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  6. All your ideas are wonderful and not literal, so to say :) Especially that last pair that apparently took a lot of construction thinking. As for the resin, it continuously fails me. I think Mod Podge might be the reason - it seems to me the surface has to be smooth but not varnished. I had the same issue with some Mod Podged pendants and in the trash they went. I'm going to try again with slightly sanded Mod Podge-ed surface - some day :)

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