Today, I got a package from Fire Mountain Gems and Beads! Wooo!!! I made a pair of earrings and a bracelet. The bracelet was simple--I just used jump rings to connect some gem connectors and added a clasp. Here's a picture of it:
Here's how I made the earrings:
1. Gather materials:
-pliers-just a simple pair from the toolbox to help open the jump rings
-jewelry wire-pliable enough to bend to the shape you want it, but strong enough to hold
-leaf and flower dangly beads-The brand is "Cool Chaser." These look fancy, but they're actually kids' plastic beads. You can't really tell the difference from fancy beads, and they're lightweight and cheap!
-ear wires-I like the shorter ones because the longer ones make the area behind my ear on my head itchy.
2. Lay out beads in sequence to see how the earrings will go together.
3. Cut about 4 or 5 inches of jewelry wire--enough to double up, hold all the beads, and put twisty space between each bead (Keep reading. This will become more clear!)
4. Put the bead that will be on the bottom of the earring in the center of the wire and twist the wire around twice. This creates a little home for the bottom bead. I left a little wiggle room so it can sort of sway around, but it's still secure, and it is a little bit separated from the next bead.
5. Pull the wires a little bit apart from each other, string one bead on the left, twist the wires twice, then string one bead on the right and twist the wires twice. Repeat for the remaining beads.
6. Add the ear wire. I just slipped it down one of the wires, twisted the wires together, then folded the twisted part back down and retwisted it around itself, leaving no pokey wires anywhere!
7. Finally, you can admire your finished product!!
The earrings only took about ten minutes to make, and I would estimate my cost to make them was about $1 for the pair. Plus, it was super fun!
Great Job on the Earrings!
ReplyDelete