Guitar pick earrings

Today's project is following up on yesterday's mini poker chip earrings.  If you missed it, click that link back there to get caught up.  There's even a video showing you how to make the earrings.  Remember that I'm a jewelry designer and not a film maker.  :)

Yesterday's project was practice for making very simple earrings using guitar picks that my husband and I got at an Adam Ant concert last summer.  I've loved Adam Ant since the Strip album came out (1983 - oh, goodness... that was over 30 years ago!).  This was my second time seeing him in concert.  I determined that I'm too old to go to concerts now.  :D  It was SO loud, and there was very limited seating.  We sat on the floor on a low step for a long time, then Steve went on a mission to find me a chair.  He was able to get a chair a little bit after that, and we were both much happier.  Still going deaf, but happier.

Anyway.  Here's one of the picks:

My goal was to drill a small hole at the top and to hang it from an earring wire.  I didn't want anything fancier than that.

After I did all the work yesterday with Steve's pin vise, I told him it was difficult on my fingers and that my thumb actually got numb from all the turning and turning.  He brought up a hand drill with a crank that would be easier on my hands.  Here it is next to one of the pin vises I showed in yesterday's video:

That part that says "Fiskars" is the crank.  I asked where it came from, and he said he found it in my old house in the drawer with my other tools.  I don't remember buying it, so its origins are a mystery.  It's probably Dave's, an ex-boyfriend who lived with me for a few years.  Don't tell him I have it, though.  He might want it back.  Wait - he has the Dremel tool and all the attachments, so I think he won't miss this little tool.  (If he hasn't after more than a decade, it's probably safe.)

Because this tool was untested, I drilled a hole in another poker chip:

It slipped a little until the hole got started, but I was able to get a good idea of how the tool worked.  I then took a deep breath and drilled one of the guitar picks (I drilled the first one yesterday with the small pin vise):

Whew!  It worked, and the hole is in pretty much the same place as the first pick.  That always makes me nervous, especially when the pieces are irreplaceable.

Here are the final earrings:

I said to Steve, "He looks so mean."  Steve replied, "Well, he had a hole drilled into his head.  That would make anyone mad."