With Prince's death I found several of my friends where quite shocked and upset. To them Prince defined their 80s. So I made these earrings so they could have their own little memento. The wood? Purpleheart of course! Included are patterns and directions to make you own earrings

Step 1: The Love Symbol

I have included my version of the love symbol in both PDF and DXF format. I had to simplify the swirl on the left arm to make it less delicate. The pattern is 1" wide and 1-1/4" tall. The pattern was designed for earrings but you can resize it for whatever project you have in mind.

Step 2: Purpleheart

Purpleheart is a hardwood that is native to Central and South America. It is a hard dense wood that is now plantation grown. You can find it in any store that caters to woodworkers. You will want pieces that are 1/16" to 1/8" thick. I used a 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" x 3" turning block that I sliced up into eight, 3/32" thick pieces. This size of block is used by turners to make wine bottle stoppers and is quite popular. I got enough material to easily make eight pairs of earrings.

Purpleheart Block.

Warning, when you cut or sand purpleheart the new exposed surface turns brown. Don't worry, leave it in the light for maybe 30 minutes and it gets purple again.

Step 3: Cut Earrings

You can either cut out the earrings on a scroll saw using the PDF pattern or with a laser using the DXF pattern. I chose the laser because it is about 10 times faster.

Step 4: Sand

After cutting you will need to sand both the front and back of each earring. With a piece of 180 grit sandpaper on a flat hard surface, sand each side of the earring for about 10 seconds.

Step 5: Assemble Earrings

To assemble the earring you will need fish hook earring findings and 7mm jump rings. For each earring, use a pair of needle nose pliers to open up a jump ring and insert it into the hole at the top of the love symbol. Then add the finding and close up the ring. Do it again and you have a pair. Do it 14 more times and you have earring for you and seven friends. All that is left is for everyone to put them on and go crazy!

RIP Prince Rogers Nelson