Wondering what to do with your stash of antique jewelry and vintage earrings that are missing their mate? Have a cool old brooch you'd like to wear...but you don't wear brooches? Then grab a pair of wire cutters and turn your stash of antique jewelry and vintage buttons into wearable and fashionable rings!
Here's how:
1. Using wire cutters, cut the backs off of whatever bauble you're using. If you're cutting off the back of a brooch, mind the pin when you're clipping!
2. If you've got a little nub of metal left over, try wrestling it off with needle nose pliers. If that doesn't work, try sliding the back along some low-grit sandpaper or a heavy-duty nail file. If that doesn't work (!) try using a vintage button as a base so the metal nub fits inside one of the button holes.
3. Prep: Clean all surfaces that will touch glue with alcohol. Why alcohol? Because it evaporates and does not leave a film like soap and water can. Caution: we do not recommend using alcohol to clean extremely old bakelite or petroleum buttons, their surfaces will become cloudy.
4. If you're gluing antique jewelry onto a button and then onto the base, glue the jewelry onto the button with e-6000 epoxy and let it cure for 20-ish minutes.
Tips re: using e-6000? Beware, it spreads. You don't need to use as much as you think! The epoxy is fairly forgiving and easy to work with, but it stinks! Make sure you work in a ventilated area. Buy your e-6000 and Michael's or Walmart, those stores sell theirs with an applicator tip already attached.
5. Once your 'button cluster' has cured, put a small dollop of e-6000 on the glue pad of your ring base or blank and put the glue pad in the center of the back of the button cluster.
6. Drying: If your ring is flat on top, just flip it over and let it dry. Make sure the ring base is pressed firmly into the button cluster, and that it stays in the center. If your ring is rounded on top, use a clothespin as a makeshift drying stand, but make sure the top of your ring is level and not slanted to one side. You can also use a wire cooling rack or fill a small tray with a thick layer of rice and press your upside-dow ring into the rice to dry.
Whatever drying method you choose, just be sure that the ring itself is level and the ring base is centered in the middle of the back of your bauble.
7. Voila! Wear your ring and feel sassy!
