Easy Guitar Pick Earrings

Here in the Live Music Capital of the World, guitar picks are pretty easy to come by.  But they're not just for strumming guitars!  They can easily be turned into earrings, and the possibilities for transforming them are endless!

The first step is to find some guitar picks that really catch your eye.  Any music or guitar store will have them, and they'll most likely be standard looking picks (colored with a Fender label).  The ones shown in the picture are decorative picks from Austin's own Wild About Music, located on E. 6th Street.

Next you need to put a hole in the pick.  Guitar picks come in different thicknesses.  If you get a thin or extra thin pick, you can probably poke a hole in it with a bead reamer.  Personally, I like the weight of medium to thick guitar picks. They still make very light earrings, but I think they have a nicer swing.  It's entirely up to you!


If you go with a medium or thicker pick, you'll want to use an electric drill with a very small bit.  Probably no larger than 1/16. Remember to protect your eyes when drilling.  Safety first!

Mark each pick with a Sharpie where you want to drill.  The placement of the hole should be close to the top.  If you drill too far towards the center of the pick, you'll have a much harder time attaching your pick to anything.

Once you've marked the spot to drill, you should secure your pick to your drilling surface.  Don't try to hold it with your hand!  Fingers should keep a safe distance from power tools.

Also, keep in mind that when you drill through the pick, you'll also drill through whatever is directly below your pick.  Get a stack of old magazines, and use a hand clamp like the one shown in the picture to hold the pick steady on your drilling surface.

I used an old edition of Vogue, and I positioned it on a table with a ledge so that I could clamp the pick, the magazine, and the table together all at once. Position the drill directly over the hole you marked, and gently press through the pick. You should get a pretty clean hole, but check the back side for any rough edges that might require filing.

Now that the hard part is over, it's time to let your creativity run wild!  You can use jump rings to attach chain for added dangle, or go simple and hang them directly from an earwire.  You could even drill a hole in the bottom of the pick to dangle beads!  Guitar picks are pretty inexpensive, so you can try lots of different looks!

Thanksgiving Greetings!

Well, hello! Theresa here. We're going to be trying something new. Start watching for regular blog updates a couple of times each week with more pictures and more updates of what's going on in the store. Our big news this week is that Pam Way of Yellow Dog Beads will be bringing her beads into the store so that we will have them from November 26 through December 24.

That's right! You will not need to wait for her July trunk show. You can pick up some lamp work goodness now, just in time to finish your holiday gifting. 

This Sunday, the 25th, is Bead Brunch Sunday. Bring a project to work on and make some new beady friends. We will also be open tomorrow, November 23. Most people call this "Black Friday" but I think we should change it to "Beady Friday".  Come in and say hi when you get bored with the games or just feel a need to sit and visit. 

Here is some more inspiration using Pam's beads: 

While you are in the store, check out the class schedule. We have some great classes coming, but more on those later. Enjoy your Thanksgiving Day festivities.  

Kudos to our own Jessica for her GREAT photos! See you soon!!

~ Theresa