How to Turn an Earring into a Pendant

My ears aren’t pierced. I have a hangup about unnecessary cutting of the body. I’m not against piercings or tattoos on other people, of course, but I did faint once in Austin Music Hall when two people next to me were swapping tattoo stories. (There may have been a few other contributing factors to my lightheadedness, however, which we shan’t discuss here.)

Anyway, every now and then I get earrings as a gift. I used to wonder what to do with them—until, that is, I figured out I can turn them into pendants. (This would also be a great solution if you lose an earring and are trying to make use of the one you have left.)

Aren’t these pretty? I got them from my friend Beth for my birthday last year. The coral color reminds me of a my grandma for some reason, and it makes me really happy.

Call me weird, but I actually like the back even better. I like the parallel lines of gold around the outside.

So here’s what you do. Squeeze the metal wire thing (sorry if there’s a special term) gently with your fingers to create a small loop. This will be where your necklace goes, to give you an idea of the size you are looking for.

Next, bend the wire around so that it crosses in front of the loop.

Continue to bend the wire so that it wraps behind the earring.

Finally, squeeze the wrapped wire so that no ends are poking out to bother you. If you find that this last step is difficult to do with your fingers, try using some sort of pliers to help apply the pressure. Do proceed gently, though, so you don’t crimp anything more than you mean to.