11th Day of Christmas: Holiday Lighted Earrings

I was so excited to find these stand alone LED lights on Amazon.  I had only seen them on strings with a little battery before this.  I was doubly pleased when I noticed the little hanger built right into them.  I was sure they would be perfect for fitting inside some art beads I have by Margit Boehmer

Art Beads by Margit Boehmer

Once the lights arrived I was surprised by their large size.  Apparently I had not read the measurement part carefully!!  Have you ever done that?  So I had to come up  with a different plan.

I thought I would like to combine them with my newly fired ceramic fir tree charms. 

Ceramic Fir Tree Charms by Mary Harding Jewelry

I tired quite a few ideas around  hanging them from their built in loop but none of the ways I did it looked right to me.  What I really wanted to do was have the trees hanging from the bottom of the light so it would reflect nicely on the shiny ceramic surface.  Finally, I realized what I could do. I could drill a hole in the bottom of the light and drop in a head pin and make a loop for the tree to hang from.  And that is what I did.

1.  I took the light apart by unscrewing it and dumped out the insides which consists of 3 LED batteries, a circuit and an O ring. ( there is also a plastic wrap tube around the batteries but I did not put it back in when I reassembled the parts and they worked fine anyway.)

                                       Contents of a stand alone LED Light

2.  When I looked at the plastic tip of the light I saw that I could easily drill into it with my pin vise and a 1/16 inch drill bit. ( You could also use a 1/16 inch drill bit in a hex shank.)So I marked the spot and began drilling the hole by hand.  I was leery of using my dremel for fear it would be hard to hold onto since it was so small.  With a few turns of the drill bit I was able to make a divot and then with quite a few more turns I had a hole.  It was a small enough hole that my head pin did not drop through.

3.  Then I began the wrapped loop and added the fir tree charm before I closed it up. I had to make a fairly large loop to accommodate the pointed top of the charm.  I could have also made a much smaller loop and then added the tree with a jump ring.  

4.  Now you have your lighted fir tree earrings to wear for a Holiday occasion or just for fun anytime. The batteries in these lights don't last very long but you can control when the lights come on by turning the top back and forth.  But sometimes they come on anyway!! 

I wore mine for the first time when we visited my grandchildren for an early Christmas get together.  At dinner I was wearing them but had not turned the lights on yet.  Out of the blue my older grandson said I like your Christmas light earrings!!  I was so surprised that he had noticed them.  I asked how he knew they were lights and he said they were flashing!! 

With these basic directions, you can come up with all sorts of ideas for adding your own art beads and more!! Enjoy!!

Happy Holidays to all!!

Mary