Art Journal Every Day: More February 2015 Pages
New Obsession: iPad Art

Ring Pincushion

I was cruising through Amy Butler's instagram account and I came across this awesome pincushion: 

InspirationPiece

I literally jumped up and walked straight into my studio and began pulling through my jewelry stash for the parts to make one of my own!  Here's the how-to:

STEP ONE: Gather your supplies:

Supplies-wm

  • Ring Blank -- These come in tons of different styles.  The one in the photo is a super cheap adjustable one from Plaid.
  • Small Bezel -- To ensure that the pins don't poke your fingers, you need a hard metal bezel to hold the felt ball.  The one in the photo is from Nunn Designs.
  • NOTE: You can purchase rings with the bezel already attached.  I just didn't have one in my stash.  Here's a link to an inexpensive one.
  • Felt Ball -- Buy one or make it yourself!
  • Wire Cutters -- My favorite ones are from Tronex.
  • File -- I used a jewelry file, but you could also use sandpaper.  It would just take you a little longer.
  • Scissors -- Always good to use dedicated fabric scissors.  These are the ones I use.
  • Glue -- I highly recommend E6000.  Best glue for jewelry applications!  Sadly, when I took my tube out, it was all dried out, so I grabbed what I had on hand and used Beacon Quick Grip.

STEP TWO: Prepare the bezel.  

1-CutOffRing-wm

My bezel was intended for a necklace.  I snipped off the bail.  Then, of course, I had some jagged edges.

2-FileDown-wm

Some quick filing took care of getting rid of those sharp edges.  Very important for something that is going on your finger!

STEP THREE: Glue in the felt ball.

The ball is round.  It will sit in the bezel a bit better if you flatten one side by trimming it with scissors.

3-TrimBall-wm
3-TrimBall-wm

Use light pressure to secure the ball and ensure the glue is sticking.

STEP FOUR: Attach the ring.

Obviously, it you've bought a ring with an attached bezel, you can skip this step.  Otherwise, glue it on.

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(And ignore my peeling nail polish, okay?)

Once the glue dries, you've got an amazing pin cushion for your finger!  So convenient and so easy to make!

Final-GloveMold-wm

I'm thinking that my next one will be made in a proper ring bezel and maybe even have some decoration, like the beading in the inspiration photo.  Or maybe a felt ball that's striped or something cool like that?  But in the meantime, I'm thrilled with this one!

Balzer-RingPincushion-wm
Even if you don't sew, it's a cute little ring to wear around (minus the pins)!

Thanks for stopping by!

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