Recycled Bicycle Tube Feather Earrings

The other day my bicycle tire got a flat. I went to the store got a new inner tube and changed my tire. Now I was left with an inner tube that had a huge gash in it. Useless right? Not quite.

I'm one of those people who hate throwing things away because I might be able to find another use for it. So I got online to see get some inspiration for old inner tube up-cycling.

It was so fun to see all the things that people had made. I saw a few earrings some had made with the rubber and I knew I had found my project. One thing I love is that there is so much rubber from just one tube that I have made many earrings and still have so much left to craft with!

What you will need:

• old bike tube
• paper
• pencil
• fabric pencil or light colored pencil
• scissors
• 2 earring hooks
• 2 jump rings
• pliers
• a small hole punch and hammer OR a tapestry needle

To start off, draw the shape of your feather on the paper. It took me a few tries to get it to look how I wanted but that's the beauty of an eraser!

If you are having trouble you can print off a feather shape and use that instead.

Cut out your shape. Don't worry about making two, you will just need the one to trace for both feathers.

Grab your tube and cut a section that is long enough for your feather. Mine was about 5" long. Then cut along the tube so you can open it and lay it flat.

Get your paper template and place on top of the rubber.

Note: I like to line up my two points of my paper template with a ridge on the rubber. (see photo) This gives the feather what looks like a stem.

Take your fabric pencil or colored pencil and trace around your feather. If you don't have room for both feathers on the same piece cut another one for your second feather.

Note: Since my feather template wasn't symmetrical I made sure to flip the template over when I traced my second feather. That way I had two complementary feathers.

After you cut out your shapes wash them with warm water and soap to remove any dirt and get them nice and clean.

Now you will cut the slits in the side to give it that feather look.

Start at the bottom and cut slits upward toward the middle of your feather leaving a small space in the middle. If it's helpful you can use your fabric pencil to draw some lines as a guide.

I drew lines on my paper to show how I cut mine. I also like to cut out a few small triangles on each side as well to give it some more character. Feel free to play with it and make it your own!

Now you need to make a whole for the earrings. If you have a small punch then use it and a hammer to make a little whole at the top of your feather.

If you don't have one then don't fret! You can use a tapestry needle. Just poke it into the top of your feather and gently pull it all the way through. You might not see a hole afterward but don't worry, it's there.

If your earring hooks are like mine you are going to need to twist the bottom loop so that it is perpendicular to the hook that goes into your ear. This way your feathers will hang straight when you wear them.

Take your pliers and grip the loop on the bottom. Gently twist the earring hook until it is perpendicular to the loop.

Now we get to attach the earrings.

Hold your jump ring with the pliers right next to one end. Use your fingers to separate the ends a little bit. Put one end of the jump ring through your hole in the feather then put the earring loop onto the jump ring as well. Make sure the earring hook is facing the right way for when you wear them.

Next grip both ends of the jump ring with your pliers and slowly clamp them back together.

Repeat for the other feather.

That's it! Now go out and enjoy your new earrings! And don't be surprised when you get tons of complements on them. Thanks for reading!