Saturday, May 11, 2013

The Great Gatsby DIY: Daisy's Earrings

Before I saw the new movie version of The Great Gatsby I was a little unsure how I would feel about it, given that it's my favorite book of all time.  (Did you know that I majored in English in college?  I read a lot.)  Anyway, I saw it yesterday and I absolutely loved it!  I loved that the script stayed so true to F. Scott Fitzgerald's words, I loved Leonardo DiCaprio's portrayal of Jay Gatsby, and I loved, loved, loved the aesthetics of it all!  Oh, the costumes!  The jewelry!!  The headpieces!!!

Image via Tiffany & Co.


I was particularly taken with the earrings that Daisy (a.k.a. Carey Mulligan, shown above with director Baz Luhrmann) wore for most of the second half of the movie.  Aren't they lovely?  I did a little digging and it turns out that Tiffany & Co created all of the jewelry for the movie in conjunction with Catherine Martin, who designed the costumes for the movie.  No wonder everything was so insanely sparkly.

Obviously I can't head over to my neighborhood Tiffany's and pick up a pair of those earrings, but I couldn't get them out of my mind.  I decided it was time for a good old fashioned DIY and I ended up making myself a pair of similar earrings for less than $10.

Supplies:
-  2 sparkly buttons (I got mine at Joann Fabrics where all buttons are on sale for 40% off right now.)
-  Silver lever earrings from the jewelry findings section of any craft store
-  Tape... I'll explain that in a minute.


Directions:
1.  Start with two buttons and two lever earrings.
2.  Place each button onto each lever earring, as shown.
3.  If the hole on the back of the button is significantly larger than the circumference of the earring like mine was, you'll need to use something to make the hole smaller so that the button doesn't flop around on the earring.  I tried several different fixes and realized that tape is the best option.  Roll a small log of tape with the sticky side facing in, then wrap that log in another layer of tape with the sticky side facing out.  Force the tape into the button hole.  Cut off the excess tape.  Push the earring through the tape-filled hole.  Now the button won't slide anymore.  There's an arrow pointing to the tape in the button hole in picture #3.  See it?
4.  Put on your earrings and feel glamorous like Daisy!


I thought it would be fun to model my new DIY earrings dressed in a full 1920s outfit like Daisy, but it just didn't feel authentic without a bob, and I am way too attached to my long hair for that.  I just modeled the earrings dressed as myself instead.


Have you seen the movie yet?  Did you like it?  How did you think it compared with the book?

Happy button shopping!
xoxo
Laura

11 comments:

  1. This is so clever! They look really good. :)


    Sydneydoesdiy.blogspot.co.uk

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  2. I REALLY like these buttons! And your new blog looks so sleek and pretty. Nice work, button!

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  3. I love your redesign, it is so pretty! Thanks for sharing this DIY, it's such a great idea...I'm hoping to see the film this week!

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  4. These are so pretty! I haven't seen this movie yet, but I did see a promo video by Tiffany and Co. about their jewelry designs for the movie and all of the pieces were stunning! BTW, I was so excited to see that you are an ice skater! I am terrible on skates but ice skating is one of the few professional sports that I love to watch on TV. Hope you're having a great weekend, Laura! :)

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  5. I can't wait to see the movie and I'm already in love with the costumes and jewellery that have been popping up in news and online! Carey Mulligan seems like a perfect fit to play Daisy Buchanan and oh the Tiffany's pieces looked absolutely gorgeous! And what a lovely way to recreate those earrings - well done!

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  6. Super cute Laura!! I might have to go out and make myself Daisy like earrings!

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  7. Hi! I saw this on craftgawker recently and made them today. They are so cute - what a great idea! Thanks for posting this.

    A note: I couldn't get the tape to work quite right and was getting impatient, but I remembered that I had some J-B KwikWeld and used that instead. It held nicely.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the J-B KwikWeld tip! I'll give that a try next time I'm making a project similar to this one. =)

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  8. You're so clever to use buttons as earrings! I love reading your blog so much.

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  9. Awesome Laura! love the button earrings and I will definitely try this as I saw the movie and I couldn't stop thinking about these earrings either! thanks!

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