Erica Magrey makes earrings with a clear vinyl backing to create the illusion of floating shapes. She writes:
I’ve recently been making 60s, 70s, and 80s-inspired earrings out of leather, plastic, and yarn. I made earrings as a kid – one memorable pair was made of paint-spattered paper and another a painted toy car tire cut in half – so this is a fun return to my roots.
I used a bunch of different adhesives but none seemed to work too well. I tried Duco cement, a leather/fabric glue, and Wellbond. Eventually I ended up using Petronio’s, a very toxic contact cement that I use for shoemaking. So it’s really not ideal. I’m sure there is something better out there for this purpose – I just couldn’t figure out what that was. Also it’s important to score the plastic and the leather with a few short strokes of a blade in the areas where the adhesive will be used so it’ll bond better (esp. the plastic). I got that plastic at a tag sale (yard sale) but it’s available at most fabric stores. It’s like a flexible clear vinyl.
Read about the earrings at Erica’s blog, and see them all in her Flickr set.
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