Vintage Earring Redux

I love me some vintage jewelry.



Especially the kind that's been loved a little too much - i.e. paint chipping, rhinestones missing, broken chain. It gives me creative freedom to rescue these pieces, just like on the show American Pickers.  Except I'm like an American Jewelry Picker. I like to dig through piles of forgotten treasures at yard sales and flea markets and re-imagine pieces in a new light.



These earrings, however, came from my Grandma's closet. I was given them to "do with what I wanted", and I obviously had to glam them up just a bit! Using a bit of sparkly nail polish and Swarovski flat backs gave these vintage gems a whole new look. Doesn't a bit of Swarovski just fix everything?!



As you know, I love anything that has a story. Vintage jewelry (or anything vintage really) is a passion of mine. In a lot of tutorials, you'll see me using chandelier crystal taken from a broken 1930s lamp. I reuse these as beads and pendants to have the "spirit" of the lamp move on!



This tutorial really allows for customization on your earrings. Look below!



Step 1: Gather materials. You will need vintage earrings, nail polish, super glue or E6000 glue, Swarovski rhinestones and nail polish remover, just to be safe.



Step 2: Paint sections of the filigree with nail polish. I only chose to paint some, to keep a vintage look. Glue on rhinestones with the E6000 glue or super glue.
 

Step 3: Keep adding gems until you reach the desired look. On the silver earrings, I used Super Glue - it's not necessarily recommended, because Super Glue leaves a white haze on the gems upon drying. But, you can easily remove this haze. Simply use a Q-tip dipped in nail polish remover to wipe the top of the crystal, completely dissolving the white haze and leaving your rhinestone sparkly as new!



Feel free to adorn as much or as little as you want. Let the design of the piece inspire you!



You could also use this technique on pendants and such.


I like the mix of colors and textures. I almost always use nail polish as a quick fix to add a lacquer-like finish to metals and such. It's a cheap alternative to enameling.



These would totally be a retro-glam accent to any outfit. Don't you agree?! If you follow this tutorial, post your final product to Instagram and tag me @quietlioncreations. I'll repost you!



All photos copyright Allison Beth Cooling. Do not post or reuse without crediting me and linking to me!