Easy Button Earrings

Have some buttons that would make cute earrings, but don’t know how to do it?  Here’s what I do.

You need some small pliers (regular and chain nose), wire cutters, eye pins, buttons, and ear wires.

This is the time when you decide if you want beads above the button.  If you do, slide them on the eye pin before going through the button-hole.  The beads will be between the eye part of the pin and the back of the button.

If you want a bead on the front of the button, then slide them on before you bend the eye pin with the chain nose pliers.

This is what the front of your button looks like without a bead.

This is what the back of the button looks like after you pull the bent part of the wire tight against the front of the button.

Now you need to bend the straight end  (without the eye) over to keep the button in place:

  

I use my chain nose, but you could use your regular jewelry-making pliers.

  

Time to cut the excess wire and guide it towards the button-hole.  I also bend the “eye” end of the pin to its permanent position before glueing.

  

I use something (plastic bubble mailer, fabric) to protect the front of the button and then use my pliers to squeeze the short end of the wire into the nearby button-hole.  Then I glue the wire leading to the ear to the back of the button (I like Loctite gel glue) and hold it with a clothes pin.  Just be neat with the glue so you don’t permanently attach the clothes pin to the button.

Repeat with the other button.  Hold the finished button to the one in progress to make sure you make the wire between the ear wire and the button the same length.

After you do a pair or two, you can get to the glueing stage for both buttons in about five minutes.