I have tried to find a decent earring tree for my daughter this Christmas, but could not find any that she would like. So I decided to make my own for her. I had some left over Sintra from my samurai costume that i made, so I decided to use that material. (the costume is on here!) I did not take as many pictures as I like because I forgot to take them at certain steps, but you will get the idea.

Step 1: Rough Cut

At first, i had to come up with an image that I could use to trace the pattern onto the Sintra. Once I found the image, I printed it our and traced it onto the plastic. I used my handy dremel to do a rough cut around the figure. The picture quality was not that good, but you get the idea.

Step 2: Finer Detail and Sanding

After I had it rough cut, I used the dremel sander to further shape and smooth the outer edges. The part that i forgot to take a picture with was cutting out the mirror center that the lady is near. You can see it in the final picture where the screen is inserted.

Step 3: Base and Angle Piece

I did not get pictures of the base, but I did a few diagrams to show how I did it. I cut 3 identical pieces to make the base of the earring holder. I had a couple HUGE washers that were heavy enough to give it some weight. I did not want an earring tree that would fall over easy! Sintra happens to also be a thermoplastic. So I was able to heat a strip in boiling water and form it to an angle. this angled piece would connect the base to the earring tree.

So I apologize for not having the actual pics, but i tried to accommodate with my mad MSPAINT skillz!

Step 4: Glue and Paint

The next step was to put it all together and paint it. I use super glue to put the pieces together. It ended up being the best glue to use for the material, as epoxy just kind of breaks off of it. i think the super glue actually melts them together a bit.

The paint I used was designed for plastic and it makes a nice finish that really looks professional. It was the Krylon Fusion. Once it was glued and dried, painted and dried, I went onto putting the screen in.

Step 5: Forming the Screen

To put the screen in, I used hot melt glue. It holds it really well. I used a metal screen from a splatter screen designed for cooking. You can pick these up cheap from the dollar store or something. It is metal, so it does conform and hold a shape. I say that because, if you want it to fit nice into the frame, you can use the upper cutout from step 1 and 2 to form the screen into the center area of the mirror.

Be careful though, the screen will prick you since its metal. So get your screen formed and insert it into the mirror to be glued in place!

Step 6: A New Earring Tree! ! !! !

It is done! i am surprised how well this actually turned out. My daughter loves it and she loaded it up with earrings right away. The sintra is quite durable and once all together should last for quite some time.

Hope this gives you some ideas for making a gift this year!