DIY Kintsugi Earrings

Follow Vein studio through the traditional Japanese ceramic restoration technique of transforming glass fragments into adornment. The technique continues our story with objects in a unique manner.

[Please note]

Sea glass: Sea glass: Sea glass forms from the repeated scouring of sea and sand; hence, the surface is not as transparent and smooth as the glass seen in the market.

Power tack: It is highly malleable and suitable as an auxiliary prop.

1. The power tack can be used as an auxiliary prop for bonding sea glass. (do not stick power tack and sea glass too tight; otherwise, it won’t be easy to clean, and it affects the firmness of the work.)

2. If the glass is too small, use the power tack as a small handle for holding the glass.

3. The power tack can prevent the ear clip from collapsing when glued on the sea glass. (see step 8)

A.Lap joint

Some sea glasses are curved. Therefore, it is needed to find a consistent arc to do the overlap, which should be more than a third (1/3) of the glass.

B.Butt joint

The two sides of the glasses should be as close as possible. (The slimmer of the junction is, the weaker of the firmness.)

Step1.Pick the sea glass

Choose the sea glass according to your style of wearing earrings.
[Please note] Be sure to use at least two pieces of sea glass for the base of the earring, and make sure the size is bigger than the base of ear studs and earring converters.

Step2.Piece together

With the technique of lap joint, the sea glass above is easy to dump. Then, the power tack can help to lift the upper plate.
Avoid approaching the joint where the junction is.
The position of the power tack should not be close to the joint point, otherwise when the glue dry, it will stick together.

For the technique of butt joint, the sea glass should be raised first and to check whether the glass is inclined from the side and to avoid the power tack near the joint.

Step3.Mix A and B glue

Extrude A glue and B glue with a 1:1 ratio and quickly mix them. You can observe the color becoming even or wait for 10 seconds.

Step4.Gluing
A. Lap joint: Firstly, glue the lower glass and follow with the upper glass. glass.

B. Butt joint: Firstly, glue the bigger glass and follow with the small glass.ass.

[Please note]

1. If the glue is too thick to stir, do not use it again.
2. Gluing action needs to be as slow as possible. When the glue starts to have a wire phenomenon, you can rotate the picker and glue it. If the picker is broken, please replace it with a new one.

Step5.Wait for glue to be semi-dry

[Please note]

Although AB glue is a 5-minute fast-drying epoxy, the temperature affects the speed of hardening. Moreover, there will be some deviation when squeezing the glue; it won’t be a perfect 1:1.
After gluing the sea glass, you can wait for 3 minutes and touch the rest of the glue on the celluloid plastic. The glue is a little sticky and can leave a fingerprint on it, which means you can start to sprinkle. If the glue remains sticky, please wait for a few minutes.

Step6.Sprinkle gold powder

[Please note]

After gluing action, you can carefully touch the sea glass to check stability.
Dip a lot of alternative gold powder in the bonding place within the two pieces of glass.
Brush the powder on the glass lightly, and let it stick on the bonded joint because the glue is in a semi-dry state at this time; if brushed too hard, marks will stay on the glue.
After sprinkling alternative gold powder, brush off the surplus powder. The sea glass surface has a frosted texture; the powder is inevitably stuck in the glass. Afterwards, the powder will automatically peel off. You can also use an alcohol pad to wipe off the surplus powder.

Step7.Wait

After cleaning, wait for 1-2 minutes, and get ready to do step 8. If the glue is not firm, you can put more glue; even if the glue overflows, it does not matter.

Step8.Gue ear studs / Ear clips

[Please note] The position of ear studs

The glass for gluing ear studs: you can select the middle position; if the glass shape is rectangular, it needs to be divided into three equal parts, glue on the top 1/3 and placed in the middle.
Do not get too close to the top of the glass when you glue the ear clips!

[Please note] The position of ear clips

Fix it with a power tack in advance and glue it in the center of the sea glass.

Although it is five minutes of quick-drying glue, please wait for the glue to dry before wearing.