How to Make Your Own Earrings

Making earrings is one of the easiest jewelry projects you can do. Whether you want the perfect earrings to compliment a new dress or you just want to add a new accessory to your summer wardrobe, making earrings is fun and simple. Who knows, maybe you'll enjoy it so much you'll turn your new hobby into a home-based business like I did?

Before you begin you will need to decide whether you would like sterling silver, silver-plated, gold, or gold plated. Silver is very popular today. I suggest sterling silver. Your next decision will be whether you would like posts, wires, or leverbacks. The posts are basically a small silver or gold ball post earring that has a loop underneath the ball for you to attach your earring dangle to. The wires are like a hook that goes through your ear hole. They have a loop in front and just hang straight in back. The leverbacks are similar to the wires, except they close in the back and are therefore a bit more secure. Leverbacks are my favorite. Lastly, you will need a pair of flat nosed pliers, round nosed pliers, and cutting pliers. There's a good chance you have some flat nosed pliers around your house. You can purchase round nosed pliers and cutting pliers for about $5 each. If you are going to purchase your beads from a bead shop they will let you use their tools in the shop for no charge.

Next is the fun part: selecting your beads. There are endless varieties available. You can check out your local bead shop or you can do your shopping on line. For a beginner it is easier to go to the bead shop because you can actually try out your design before you make your purchase. It is a little harder to order beads on line if you're a beginner and aren't real familiar with the different bead sizes. If you do decide to order on line, I suggest www.artbeads.com for beginners because you can usually buy individual beads instead of whole strands, which is great when you're only making earrings, and they also offer free shipping with no minimum purchase. This will help keep your costs down when you are just making a single pair of earrings.

For a beginner, I would suggest choosing from two to four beads per earring. A gemstone or crystal with a couple of silver accent beads would be pretty. You might choose beads in the 3mm to 9mm range. Next you will need two head pins. These look like straight pins but are flat on one end. The size you will need will depend on how many beads you are using for your earrings, but a 1 ½' headpin will probably be sufficient for 3 or 4 beads. If you are at the bead shop, you can pick up the headpin and drop your beads onto the headpin to see how your design will look. Often beads of graduating sizes with the biggest on the bottom look nice. Or you can try a smaller bead on bottom with a larger one in the middle and a smaller one on top. The possibilities are endless. Keep experimenting until you find the configuration that you like. If you are ordering on line, you might want to check out www.firemountaingems.com. They have a virtual bead board that you can use for free. This way you can see how different beads will look together and you can design your virtual earrings and make any adjustments before ordering and assembling your actual earrings.

Once you have your pair of earwires (posts, wires, or leverbacks), two headpins, and your beads selected, it is time to assemble your earrings. Take one headpin and assemble the beads onto it in the desired configuration. There should be some extra length of headpin at the top with no beads. Use your cutting pliers to trim this part of the headpin down to ¼". Next, take your flat nosed pliers and place them just above the top bead and bend this part of the headpin into a 90 degree angle. Then, use your round nosed pliers to bend the headpin into a loop. This is the tricky part that may take a little practice to make a perfect loop. If all goes according to plan, you will have your beads stacked onto the headpin with a little loop of wire at the top. Next, use your flat nosed pliers to open the loop a tiny bit, then attach it to your earwire and close the loop. Repeat the process to make the matching earring. Now you have your very own handmade earrings!

Once you have mastered these basic steps, the possibilities are endless. You will look at all the earrings in the stores and think to yourself, " I could make those earrings". So, why not give it a try?