https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/pierced-chopstickshair-sticks • Posted by Vermin Jerky
These inexpensive bamboo chopsticks become pretty fierce when you add some hardware. Pick up your food, pin up your hair, or defend your person with these quick and easy sticks of awesomeness. *The metal beads should be spherical and have holes the right size to be threaded onto the jump rings, so you can mimic the look of cartilage rings. The little beads that come on pre-made French hook earrings are perfect for this. **Real ear studs. I had a pair of small piercing studs that I can't wear. (Don't let anyone tell you that you can't be allergic to palladium. Oh yes you can.) Piercing stud backings lock on firmly, but if you use regular studs, you'll need to glue the back on so they won't fall out.
These inexpensive bamboo chopsticks become pretty fierce when you add some hardware. Pick up your food, pin up your hair, or defend your person with these quick and easy sticks of awesomeness. *The metal beads should be spherical and have holes the right size to be threaded onto the jump rings, so you can mimic the look of cartilage rings. The little beads that come on pre-made French hook earrings are perfect for this. **Real ear studs. I had a pair of small piercing studs that I can't wear. (Don't let anyone tell you that you can't be allergic to palladium. Oh yes you can.) Piercing stud backings lock on firmly, but if you use regular studs, you'll need to glue the back on so they won't fall out.
Grab a chopstick. The cheapest chopsticks, the kind you might get at Panda Express where you have to break the pair apart, aren't really appropriate. These bamboo chopsticks came from a dollar store, five pairs for a dollar. They're surprisingly nice, very smooth with clear acrylic on the thick end.
Grab a drill. Electricity really makes this project much faster and easier, but a small hand drill will work. (My hand drill came in a printer ink refill kit.) . I have a very small bit to use for one hole, and I'll use the hand drill as my bit for the larger holes.
Drill some shallow pilot (guide) holes in the thick end of the chopstick. I prefer to use the hand drill for this. If you've already done one stick, you can use it for comparison if you'd like them to match.
Drill using your first bit. I have this one smaller hole for my real ear stud, which is tiny and would slip out of a larger hole.
The larger holes MUST be big enough that you can slip the jump rings through them. The jump rings, being curved, will NOT fit through a very small hole.
You probably have some slight splintering in your holes, so using the blade of your scissors (or a pen knife), clear the edges of the holes, then sand them thoroughly. Lightly sand the entire surface of the stick for a uniform appearance. . You can spray paint your chopstick if you'd like. (ONLY if you're not going to use it for eating.) Now would be the time for that.
Add your hardware. Open your jump rings with your pliers, thread the beads onto some of them, put them through holes, close them. Put a ring or two on without beads. Stick the ear studs in the small holes. You get the idea. . That jump ring through two holes? That was a neat trick. It's harder than it looks. Good luck with that if you try it. ;)