How to: Pendant Charm Earrings

This is such a fun way to make earrings. Pendant Charm Necklaces tend to have really unique and lovely pieces on them. The next time you come across one you like, or one on sale, buy two! and end up with lots of one-of-a-kind earrings!

You will need: 2 identical (or not) pendant charm necklaces, lots of earring hooks, preferably 2 pairs of jewellery pliers (but can work out just fine with 1 pair)
For more information regarding jewellery hooks and pliers see my previous post.

Click image to enlarge

1. Using jewellery pliers open headpin loops
2. Remove charms, leave loops open
3. Using a second pair of jewellery pliers, open any of the jump/split rings. Jump rings are easier to open using two pairs of pliers. If you only have one pair you can press the rings back into the charms and they should open fine - or just cut them open!
4. Remove all remaining charms.
Add hooks and it's good to go!

For more information about attaching hooks see my previous post.

I bought these necklaces from Kmart for $9 each. Including the cost of hooks, that's 12 pairs of earrings for around $20!

As the charms aren't designed to be worn as earrings, some of them may be facing the wrong way for the hook or be too thick to fit through it. You can work around this by manipulating the size or direction of the hook's loop. Simply straighten out the wire at the end up the hook using the jewellery pliers. It doesn't have to be perfectly straight to look ok. There are specific pliers you can get for straightening metal called nylon jaw pliers. I don't have a pair myself. To change the direction of the loop, simply grab metal at the end and bend to one side. To make a larger loop you need to remove any of the beads or coils from the base of the hook and curl the wire back to form the desired size. If the top of the charm is still too large you can always insert a jump ring before attaching the hook.

A few more ideas:

Combining 2 or more of the charms - or combine with other beads.

Selecting some of the charms to create your own unique necklace design.

Make a bracelet using some of the charms. I made this by linking black beads on head pins then attaching the charm with a jump ring. See this post to learn more about looping beads.

So many possibilities here!