Monday, December 10, 2012

Recycled Wine Cork Earring Card Hole Punch

Holiday time is so busy! I make tons of earrings as gifts and to sell at holiday craft shows. And all those earrings must be professionally presented on earring cards. 

I make my own cards rather than buying commercial ones, so I must punch holes in them myself too. Here's my easy and recycled material two-holes-at-once hole punch. Since my earring lengths vary, I do not like using a jig which puts the holes in the same place on each card; sometimes I need holes way up close to the top of the card, sometimes lower. I eyeball my position of the holes depending on the length of each pair of earrings. Make yourself a little guide if you don't feel comfortable doing this by sight.
Cork earring card hole punch with push pins
Cork earring card punch closed
HOW TO MAKE THE CARD HOLE PUNCH
1. Slice a wine cork in half lengthwise. 
2. Glue (any craft glue works) or use double sided tape to adhere two push pins to the flat sliced side of one half of the sliced cork.
3. Place the card on a soft board (I use an inexpensive cork hotplate)
4. Eyeball where to center the holes between the card sides. My visual guide is to align the holes under specific letters in my name at the top of each card.
5. Keep the push pins parallel and find the best place for the holes that allow enough room for the earrings to hang from the earwire when they're in the holes without lying too low on your card.
6. Push the pins through the cards.
 
TIP: You may want to make more than one of these and vary the distance between the push pins to suit the scale of your earrings, with holes father apart if you make larger earrings.

I hope this tip helps you spend less time making gifts and more time giving them! (Or selling them!)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS–and check out the Little Cogs Earring Kit on www.sleeplessbeader.com for a fun earring project!