Meeple Earrings are a great board game accessory for those who love board games and want to show it off
I recently realized that I did not really have any board game accessories. I have plenty of tricked out components, but I wanted something I could wear. Then I realized that meeple earrings would be a great way to express my love of board games.
But I wanted to make them a little extra. Because I am a little bit extra. I decided to add some glass and semi-precious beads instead of just having the meeple dangle. I like having the extra beads because it allows me to express myself a little more than just having the meeple.
These earrings will be available in the MCG store or in the MCG Etsy store soon! Check out the Craft section of MCG for more unlimited ideas. Leave a comment below and let me know what you think and how the craft works for you!
Supplies
I did not need much for this project, but I did collect quite a few items. For this section, I am going to narrow my supply scope down to one earring. Why one earring?
I have worn a chain on my left ear which goes from the top of my ear to my main piercing for the last few years. I typically do not take it out, so I only need one earing for my right side… Anyway, I got sidetracked, the supplies I needed for this project are:
- 1 Meeple, any color
- 1 Head Pin, silver or gold
- 1 Earring, silver or gold
- 3 Beads, same color as meeple
- 3-4 Beads, silver or gold
- Needle Nose Pliers
- Wire Cutters
- Very very Small Drill Bit & Drill
I wanted the finished earring to be about two inches when dangling. The meeple is about ½ to ¾ inch so I wanted the beads to make up for the rest of the length.
Process
Prepping the Meeple
The first part of this project is honestly the hardest part: drill the meeple. I needed to be able to thread the meeple through the head pin. This means that the meeple needs to become a bead. I needed a drill bit that was bigger (or the same size) as the head pin but smaller than the cap at the end of it.
Drilling a straight whole through the center of the meeple proved to be a difficult task. Especially considering the head of a meeple is round, the drill did not take well to drilling through the center of the head. This process was a little to much for me so I got some help doing it (shout out to Guerric!).
Since I had the meeples prepped for my meeple earrings, it was time to put the bead together.
Threading the Beads
The next step was threading the meeple and the glass beads onto the head pin. I was really able to be creative when it came to the beads. I wanted to keep it simple for this project and do a kind of uniform design but there was really a lot I could do.
For some of the meeple earrings, I decided to do a decreasing size of beads. This put a large bead next to the meeple and then they decreased as they got closer to the top. It created a tear-like effect. I also decided to disperse silver bead between each of the colored beads. I thought this created a nice effect.
But I did realize that I did not have to stick with one color of beads. And I didn’t have to match the beads to the meeples. I want to make some samples of these because I love playing with the color.
Finishings
The last thing I needed to do was add the earing clasp. This required bending the head pin to have a loop at the top. The needle nose pliers were the perfect tool for this job. I then used the wire cutters to cut off any extra parts of the rod that was not being used.
The loop on the top of the earring was attached to the loop on the earring clasp. I prefer using hinged back earring clasps because I love the interlocking mechanism. There is less of a fear of losing the earring since they are like a closed circle.
Reflections
I really do love how these meeple earrings turned out. The blue meeple earrings is my favorite, which is not surprising considering that is my player color. I do love the effect that the beads gave them. The extra length just makes them all that more fun! Definitely something I would like to continue making.
Lessons
Drilling Safely
Drilling a small piece (like a meeple), is very difficult. I either was holding the meeple or drilling it down onto a hard surface. The issue with drilling while holding the piece is you run the risk of drilling into your hand.
Drill down means that you might drill into the surface below. Always be aware of where you are drilling and what is on the other side. Putting holes in random places is not always desirable.
Quick Recipe
Meeple Earrings
Equipment
- 1 Needle Nose Pliers
- 1 Wire Cutter
- 1 Drill plus a very small drill bit
Materials
- 1 Meeple any color
- 1 Head pin silver or gold
- 1 Earring silver or gold
- 3 Beads any color
- 3-4 Beads silver or gold
Instructions
- Drill a hole through the meeple from the head through the legs.
- Thread the meeple onto the head pin. Place any desired beads on top.
- Using needle nose pliers, create a loop at the top of the head pin. Attach this loop to the look on the earring clasp.
- Wear and enjoy!
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