Upgrade Old Earrings Easily

by Clayalotte in Craft > Jewelry

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Upgrade Old Earrings Easily

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I started doing this years ago when I was a teenager. I had a lot of ball post earrings but they were almost all boring neutral colors. I wanted something in colors I actually liked, so I found a quick and easy solution to upgrade my old earrings into something new!
Now, years later, I went through my jewelry the other day and found a pair of hoops I never wear. I love the style, but they were fading and I had a second set in identical colors but better shape. Before giving them away, I remembered my upgrade technique and thought, "Why can't I do that to these?"
Whether you want to keep up with the ever changing "fashionable" color or if you just want earrings in your hard-to-find favorite color, this Instructable will show you how to easily upgrade those old earrings!

Supplies

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1. Old earrings

2. Nail polish in white (could be skipped, but best results are had if you use it)

3. Nail polish in your preferred color (you can also use enamel paint)

4. Cork board or styrofoam to hold your earrings while they dry (technically optional, but HIGHLY recommended).

Optional Supplies: Glitter, Glow-in-the-dark paint, whatever you want!

Base Coat of White

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Poke the earrings into the cork board. This will keep them secure while you paint.
With the white nail polish, paint the whole earring, NOT painting the actual part that goes in your ear. The white will help the color you actually want to stand out and prevent you from using a tonof nail polish coats trying to get an opaque top coat.
Let dry. I did two separate coats of the white.

Paint the Main Color

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Now that the white base coat is dried, paint on your preferred color. Depending you may have to do two coats of this color as well. Make sure all the coats dry in between.

Upgraded Earrings

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Once they are dry, your earrings are upgraded!

I have had these paint jobs last for years. I have also had ones that chipped, but I think it was because I didn't let it dry sufficiently between coats.

Here are some that I did while working on this Instructable. There are the hoops and some ball post earrings.

Enjoy your new style and have a great day!