Pink Elephants Everywhere

Brief: Tune my new 3D printer (Creality Ender 3 Mk1).

My girlfriend likes elephants, my 3D printer needs tuning... SOLUTION: 3D printed elephant earrings!

I found these elephants on thingiverse and decided to use them to test the overhang capability. So I individually printed five little elephants, at the end of each print I would look at the belly and neck of the elephant and adjust the printer accordingly after each print.

After five iterations the printer was adequately tuned, but I had five little elephants - with no use for them. Rather than add to the ever expanding plastic waste issue we are facing today, I wondered what I could do with them...

After finding an assorted pack of Stirling Silver jewellery making pieces, I thought I

could turn them into earrings for my girlfriend.

Knowing the characteristics of PLA, I put my trusty soldering iron on to warm up and started straightening the loops on the earring hooks. I slowly inserted the heated end of the earring into the elephants backend secured it in place with a dot of superglue. I then sourced some pink paint and some paint brushes and set to work. Once the paint had dried, I put the earrings in a nice box and waited for the opportune moment to give them to my girlfriend.

Genevieve, my girlfriend, was over the moon when she saw these two elephants sitting there in the box.

"These are so much cooler than what I can buy in the shops!" - Genevieve