“Three Rings for the Elven-kings…”

Have you ever had one of those days where you just had to be Elvish? Where putting on your flowingest clothing and braiding your hair into complex patterns didn’t help? Where it just felt … incomplete, and you didn’t have the time, the energy, or the money to buy yourself an Elven ring or to get out the wire, clay, and fake gems and make one yourself?

Here are instructions on how to make your own temporary Narya, Vilya or Nenya with stuff you probably already have. And it only takes a few minutes from start to finish!

Are you ready? Go get:


  • A package of stick gum – flavor doesn’t matter, you just need the wrappers!
  • A colored permanent marker – dark colors work best, like purples, blues, greens, blacks, and reds.

That’s all you really need, but to get a better effect, you may want:


  • A gold or silver paint-pen. The paint-pen is preferable (as real Rings of Power wouldn’t say WRIGLEY’S on the band) but a metallic permanent marker will do as well.
  • Double-stick Scotch tape OR superglue OR a hot glue gun OR a bottle of white glue. NO GLUE STICKS! Superglue is the #1 choice here but the others will work if you are out of that.
  • Clear nail-polish

And for specific color-schemes, you’re going to need:


  • Vilya, the Ring of Air: Blue permanent marker, gold paint-pen/marker
  • Narya, the Ring of Fire: Red permanent marker, gold paint-pen/marker
  • Nenya, the Ring of Adamant: This one’s a bit tricky, as it’s made of mithril and diamond. My suggestion would be to use a silver paint-pen on the band if you have one and to let the band alone if you don’t, and then to dab the top with a mixture of white and silver paints. Alternatively, you could go out to the store, buy a bag of plastic diamond-looking gems, and glue them to the “band” of your ring. But these aren’t really meant to last that long, so I’d make Narya or Vilya instead. But for those of you dead-set on being Galadriel, then I’m sure there’s a way.

INSTRUCTIONS

1) Unwrap two pieces of gum. Flatten the wrappers and fold them in half “hot-dog style” with the silver on the OUTSIDE. Crease and unfold.

2) Take one of the wrappers and fold one of the jagged edges down toward the center. Then fold the other one just past the center fold, over the first folded edge. Fold the whole thing in half. You should now have a thin piece of gum wrapper with silver exposed and the two long jagged edges overlapping within it.

3) Wrap this around the finger that you want to wear your Ring on. You want it to fit well enough so that it will slide up and down but not fall off, and you also want it to be somewhat loose. Trust me on that last one. Use your fingernail to mark where the ring will fit you. Then slide it off – don’t bend it out of shape.

4) This part is the trickiest bit. You have to loosen the fold on one end and then slide the other end in between the two halves of the loosened half until you have a band of a suitable size. Then, you must pinch it back together and try it on. It should be loose but not come right apart. Take it off and set it aside.

5) Take your other gum wrapper. Follow step 2, except don’t overlap the sides of the wrapper while folding. You want this second piece to be wider than the first.

6) Take your band. Put one edge of the second piece OUTSIDE of the band just on the line where the two edges of the gum wrapper overlap. Wrap it around and around the band. The end of this second part (the setting, for lack of a better word) should end up inside the Ring. If it doesn’t – unwrap it and try again.

7) If you want your ring to last, try it on after you put the second wrapper on. If it fits suitably, very carefully remove the second wrapper, then pry apart the layers without removing them and put a dot of glue on either side of the inserted end. Press together and let it dry, then rewrap the second one and put a dab of glue where you put it on and again under the loose end.

8) Now the fun part! Flatten your Ring so you have a stable surface to work on, and color/paint to your heart’s content. Don’t use regular coloring markers, they don’t work. Permanents do a good job, but if you’re planning on using these for any length of time, then you’re going to need to do something else. Something worth trying for this purpose is coating it with clear nail-polish and letting it dry. Color the band with your paint-pen if that’s what you’re going to do. Fine-tip markers work well for detailing.

9) Reshape your Ring and put it on. You’re done! Go out and dazzle your friends with your newfound Elvishness.

Care of your Elven-Ring

a. DON’T GET IT WET! It will break! Take it off before you shower or wash your hands, then put it back on.

b. If the marker comes off, simply recolor it.

c. If the band breaks, you can make a new one.

Variation: One (gum-wrapper) Ring to Rule them All.

Having a sudden urge to be a renegade Maiar? Here’s the simple Ring for you

You need … one gum-wrapper, glue, gold permanent marker or paint-pen, fine-tip permanent marker in black or red, a printout of the script on the Ring.

1) Color/paint your gum-wrapper gold.

2) Use your fine-tip marker to write the Elven lettering on it if you want to. If you don’t, skip this step.

3) Follow steps 1 through 5 as well as the first half of 7.

4) Hang it from a chain around your neck, or wear it and pretend to be (a) invisible or (b) Sauron.

5) Avoid the Gondorian nobility.

~ by Michaela

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