You Can Make Your Own Insta-Worthy Earrings For Less Than $20

My recent statement-earring obsession started with 2016's hoop resurgence: All of a sudden, it seemed like everyone had big gold circles dangling from their ears (and I immediately regretted tossing all the pairs I had in high school). In the months that followed, I started to notice an obvious trend evolving beyond classic hoops: Edgy, gold and silver links, chains, and other bold, hardware-focused baubles by designers like Justine Clenquet, Them Bones, and Common Muse had taken over my Instagram feed.

The only problem was, the pieces I'd fall in love with tended to cost upwards of $100. And while I'm still saving up for the real deal, I had an inkling I could achieve a similar look using supplies found at my local hardware store. So, I headed to Ace Hardware, where I picked up some silver wire, a pair of wire cutters, and a handful of screws, nuts, and bolts, to see what I could come up with. And for what ended up being three pairs of awesome, on-trend earrings, I only spent $20 (and I had supplies left over).

Click on to see the results. You don't need to be some kind of D.I.Y. extraordinaire to pull this off — just a free afternoon and a little inspiration. (PS: Be sure tag me in your creations on Instagram if you end up trying these for yourself).