Rustic Look Earrings

Hammering metal and wrapping wire have kept me busy lately. 

I then put them all together to make these earrings. 

I decorated some of the hammered brass dangles 

with bits of letters and wrapped wire bits. 

Then I worked on this group

I call them the 'Rusted and Worn' group

They are made from old pieces of metal strapping. 

I collected the super rusted strip of metal from an old partially built structure

that was taken down a few years ago.  

I collected the partially rusted and worn piece of metal strapping

 from someone that was going to take it to the landfill.  

I guess some people would say I made these earrings out of garbage,

but I think of it as using reclaimed metal.

I cut the worn and rusted metal into various shapes and filed the edges smooth. 

I then added some wire wrapped squiggly bits to the top 

and an occasional bead or hammered metal to finish them off. 

I used the super rusted metal in a similar way, 

but removed the top layer of rust first. 

Both types of metals were sealed with Renaissance Wax Polish.

I hung all of these earrings on sterling silver ear wires. 

I do think it distracts from the look, but lots of people have sensitive ears 

and sterling silver was the only wire I knew of 

that would not bother people when they wore them. 

But then my blogging friend Norma told me about these ear wires

that she wears that would match the style of my earrings

and are comfortable for people with sensitive ears.
She even sent me a couple of pairs to try out!

How fortunate I am to have friends like Norma!

I will be placing an order for these and change out the sterling silver earring wires very soon!  

You can read about other earring creations here 

UPDATE - I have finally updated my etsy shop and included some of my earrings there.