Give It!: DIY Cocktail Ring

I'm trying something new today.  I'm introducing a series of gift-related posts and projects in an effort to motivate myself, and hopefully some of you, to be prepared a little earlier this year.  I am determined to be finished with the shopping by the end of November, so that December can be spent leisurely enjoying the festivities. This series will be called "Give It" and appear every Monday until December 20, 2010.  Let me know what you think.

My Collection

I love vintage jewelry!  Most days you will find me wearing at least one piece.  The workmanship is just so beautiful that I often end up buying brooches and clip earrings even though I don't have much use for them.  Occasionally, I will put a brooch on a hat or add one to the bow of a gift, but I have ended up with quite a collection, that just sits in my jewelry chest.  Years ago, I found an article in Blueprint magazine that showed how to turn a brooch or a button into a cocktail ring and couldn't wait to give it a try.  Well, I can no longer link you to the article in Blueprint as it is no longer with us, but I can show you how to make a gorgeous cocktail ring out of a pair of earrings in about thirty minutes.  Very little cash and very little experience are required.

For this demonstration, I have chosen to use a pair of vintage, rhinestone, clip-on earrings.  If the piece you are using has an integrated shank; use a plain ring blank (I got mine from Fire Mountain Gems).  Wear work gloves (and if these directions don't match the directions with those of the soldering iron, let the iron's directions prevail).

1.  Soldering Iron  2. Wire Cutters  3.  Clamps  4.  Flux  and Matchstick

Gather your supplies.  The soldering iron came from Radio Shack.  Any kind of metal clamp that locks will do, but it gets hot, so you're not going to be able to use your fingers.  And the flux came from Home Depot.  I used a brand called Bernzomatic.  The end of a long matchstick was used for applying the flux.

1.  Earrings  2.  Ring blank  3.  Snip off findings



1.  Apply flux  2. Earring and Ring Blank in Clamps  3.  Solder and Hold

Directions: 
     1.  Using wire cutters, snip off the earring finding.  File off any remaining nubs.
     2.  Using the matchstick, apply a little flux to the attachment points on both the earring and the ring blank.  Unwind a bit of solder, and place the end between the attachment points; heat the earring, the ring blank and solder with the iron until a bead of molten metal appears.
     3.  Wearing gloves, gently hold the earring onto the ring until it cools.


Final Product

And Voila!  A beautiful ring to keep or give away, and since I used a pair of earrings, I can do both.  Wouldn't these make great holiday presents?