Guest Post: Earring Making Tutorial

Hi everyone! I’m Kate, the newest member of the Greenberries team, or as I like to say the ‘greenest’ Greenberry.  I am a really crafty gal, so when offered the chance to post on our blog, I knew I wanted to share something creative. 

Today I’m going to show you how to make a cute pair of drop style earrings.  These can be personalized with birthstone beads as a last minute gift, and are simple enough to make several pairs at once.  So, let’s get started!

For this project you will need:                              

 1 pair of earwires in your choice of finish               

Several 2” long head pins – at least 1 per bead, plus a few extras just in case – in a matching finish

1-4 matching pairs of 6mm round glass beads – 2 to 8 beads total ( I chose 3 pairs of pearls, in complementary colors)

1 pair of round nose pliers

1 pair of wire snips

A sheet of felt, or hand towel (optional) – This helps to keep your beads from rolling around as you work.

Step 1 – Thread your bead onto the head pin, then holding the round nose pliers horizontally, make a 90-degree bend about 1/8” above your bead.

Step 2 – Grip your head pin at the 90-degree bend with your round nose pliers. You will want the pliers facing vertically so that one barrel of the pliers is above the wire and the other barrel is below the wire. Using your index finger, push the wire over the top barrel of your pliers to start forming a loop.

Step 3 – Reposition your wire around the bottom barrel of your pliers and continue to bend until a complete loop is formed, with the wire facing backward.

Step 4 – Without moving your pliers, wrap the excess wire around the straight length of wire just below your loop approximately three times. This can be done with the index finger of your opposite hand.

Step 5 -  Trim any excess with your wire snips and use the round nose pliers to wrap the cut end of the pin for a finished look. This is called a wrapped loop.

REPEAT Steps 1-5 for all of your remaining beads.

Step 6 – Using your round nose pliers, open the loop end of your earwire, then string each of your wrapped loop beads onto the earwire, and use the pliers to bend the loop closed. Repeat for both earwires.

And now you have a great looking pair of earrings to keep for yourself or give as a gift.  As I said I like to do these for Moms with their kids’ birthstone colors, or for friends with colors I know they like.  You can find all the supplies for this project at your local craft store for around 20 dollars.  I hope you had fun making these earrings with me.  If you liked this post, be sure to comment with other DIY ideas you’d like to see on our blog in the future!