Guest Post: Beaded Hoop Earrings

DIY Beaded Hoop Earrings by The Silly Pearl

Today I am thrilled to have Steph from The Silly Pearl here to share with you a fantastic beaded hoop earring tutorial.   She is a multi-talented crafter for sure, but I especially love her jewelry tutorials.  She was in the handmade bridal jewelry business before her twin girls came along, and her experience shines through her projects.  Might I just add that I am all over these earrings.   Thanks Steph!

Hello! My name is Steph from the blog The Silly Pearl, where I write about crafting, thrifting, cooking (and a teeny bit of gardening!), along with my 5 year old twin girls. Thank you so much to Johnnie for having me today on your blog. I was so honored when she asked me to guest post for her this week.

Hope you are having a great Labor Day weekend! Though ironically, my tutorial today doesn’t take much work at all! I’m going to show you how I made these Beaded Hoop Earrings.

Here’s what you’ll need:

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  • An assortment of beads. This depends on the look you’re going for. I have a large focal bead in the middle, so I have two of those. Then I have three other types of beads, symmetrically strung on either side. I got all my beads at a local bead store, but you can find similar beads at Michaels or Jo-Ann.
  • Two pieces of jewelry wire cut to 6 inches each. I used Beadalon 24-gauge round wire, available at Jo-Ann. I would not go any thinner than 26 gauge or thicker than 22 gauge (too thin…it might break with wear, and too thick…too hard to work with).
  • Something cylindrical in shape, like a spool. This will be your template for bending the wire into a round shape. The finished diameter of the earrings is about 1.5 inches, so if you want bigger/smaller, then use a bigger/smaller template.
  • A pair of ear wires. I purchased these from Michaels as well.
  • Jewelry making tools: Flat nose pliers, Round nose pliers, and Wire cutters.

1. Wrap one piece of wire around the spool, so that there is an equal amount of length sticking out, if that makes sense. Then 2. Pinch the wire together so it’s the same circumference as the spool. You’ll be left with a little less than 1 inch of both the ends.

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So when you remove the wire from the spool, it will look like this, with two kinks in the wire.

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3. Now you’re ready to start threading on the beads. Use your fingers to gently straighten one of the kinks, enough to allow the beads to thread on. If you’re using a focal bead in the middle, thread that on first. Then 4. Thread on the small beads on one side of the focal bead, until there are enough beads to reach the kink. Next, 5. Repeat the same pattern on the other side, again straightening out the kink a little bit so you are able to thread on the beads.

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So when you have all your beads threaded on, it will look like this. For the next few steps, get your round-nose pliers ready…now I’ll teach you how to wire wrap, but you’ll be wrapping both those end strands (instead of just one strand as usual). To see a better tutorial on wire wrapping than I could ever do, visit BeadStyle Magazine’s wire wrapping tutorial, or check out the last few pages of every paper issue.

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6. Grasp both strands with the round-nose pliers. Then 7. Twist your wrist to one side, bending both wires at 90 degrees.

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8. Using your fingers, grab both the ends, and loop it around the top of the round-nose pliers. Then, 9. Wrap the wire under the round-nose pliers, remove your pliers from the loop, and insert only the bottom point of the round-nose pliers into the loop.

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10. Now we’ll start wrapping the ends around the base of the loop to secure the loop. Grasp both ends with flat-nose pliers while you still have the round-nose pliers inside the loop, as described in step 9.

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11. Wrap the wire around the base of the loop (there should be a teeny length of vertical wire at the base of the loop, where you formed the kinks earlier, which is where the wire will wrap around).

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12. Keep wrapping a few more times until…

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13. You are left with a short length of the wire ends. Next you’ll use your wire cutters…

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14. …to cut off these ends as close to the base of the loop (i.e. where your wrapped wire is) as possible, without snipping anything else!

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15. Then use your flat-nose pliers to flatten and tuck in those ends so you don’t have anything scratchy or pointy sticking out. 16. You can also use the flat-nose pliers to neaten-up the loops, which you want to try to make as uniform as possible but it doesn’t always happen! It’s ok…it looks rustic, right?

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16. Finally, take your earring wires. On the left in the picture below is a closed one. Usually with ear wires, you can open the loop to slide on your finished piece. Slide open the loop with your flat-nose pliers, like you would open a jump ring (see the BeadStyle Magazine link above for another tutorial on how to open jump rings with a sliding motion, which you would also use to open the earring wire loop).

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Repeat for the 2nd earring, and you’re done.

Beaded Hoop Earrings

You could also make a pendant…instead of using earwires, just thread a chain through the loop.

Beaded Hoop Necklace

If you enjoyed this tutorial, I hope you’ll stop by my blog, The Silly Pearl, for more! I not only make jewelry, but enjoy almost every other type of craft.

TheSillyPearl

Again, thank you so much Johnnie for having me on your lovely blog today!

-Steph-

Video Tutorial: Make Cut Wine Bottle Vases

Cut wine bottles and make adorable Vases/jars/candle holders.  Video DIY at savedbylovereations.com

Need a beautiful, quick gift that is free to make?  This recycled wine bottle craft is just the thing.  It is super fun, you will see in the video.  It only takes a few supplies and a minute to make.  Stick a paper rose in there (see this paper rose tutorial) and you have a lovely centerpiece or house warming gift.  I was completely intimidated by this project.  I can’t believe how easy it is.  Gather up some empty wine bottles and lets go!

PLEASE be careful and wear goggles and gloves.  This project is very easy, but involves fire and glass.  The edges after cutting were dull enough that my fingers were fine after running them along the rim, but I did decide to sand with 120 grit sand paper before giving as gifts.

Cut wine bottles and make adorable Vases/jars/candle holders.  Video DIY at savedbylovereations.com

 

Cut wine bottles and make adorable Vases/jars/candle holders.  Video DIY at savedbylovereations.com

Video Tutorial: Button Bracelet

Make an #upcycle button bracelet with @savedbyloves #jewelryI was looking at my piles and piles of buttons, when it hit me that I have a serious problem.  I don’t want to end up on an episode of Hoarders.  Not a goal of mine.  That is when I decided to use some of them up by creating this easy, 5  minute bracelet.  I even shot a little video.  All you will need for this project is some buttons, a bracelet blank (I got mine at Hobby Lobby on clearance for $1.47) and some E6000 or other strong glue.

DIY Button Bracelet

Quick Video:

Want more Button Crafts?
50+ Button Projects

Find it, Cut it, Put a Candle in it

 

 

This is another project made from materials I found while running.  Someone had discarded a perfectly good 4×4, and when I saw it, I immediately drew to mind this DIY votive holder from Jen at Tatertots and Jello.  I made my own version, decorated with scrapbook paper and flowers, embossed and cut with my Sizzix.  I didn’t have access to a drill press, so mine are more than imperfect.  Still, they look great.  I am gifting them to my stepdaughters.

TUTORIAL:

DIY Votive Candle Holder From 4x4

Getting rid of the leftover hole was not easy.  It look pretty bad, and was uneven, so I poured resin in to level the surface for the candle.  After doing this project, I learned about spade drill bits.  I have since purchased one from Lowes that is 1.5 in, and have not yet used it.  I will update this post when I do.  It seems like it would be way easier for this type of project, since it gets rid of the middle circle area.

To decorate the candle holders, I used Mod Podge to adhere paper that I had embossed with Sizzix.  I attached paper flowers I made with my Cricut.

Picture courtesy of http://electrical-maintenance-guide-and-tips.blogspot.com

DIY Twig Flower Pot

DIY Twig Flower Pot

Bring some of the outside in, with this eco-friendly twig vase DIY at Nini Makes.  What a cheap, creative way to display your wildflowers, or gift that gorgeous bouquet.

Video: DIY Beaded Macrame Bracelets With Mod Podge Charms

Beaded Macrame Charm Bracelet Tutorial

Make Beaded Macrame Charm Bracelets

Have you had a chance to play with Mod Podge’s new Podgeable Papers and Shapes?  I used the nature pack to create these cute charms, which I attached to beaded macrame bracelets I made.  This video tutorial shows you how to make the charm ready bracelets and the charms.  Attach a clip to the jump ring to make them interchangeable and swap them out to fit your mood.

Any kind of charm will work, if you aren’t interested in making custom pieces.  Here are a couple of metal charm macrame bracelets:

On to the video:

Macrame Beaded Charm Bracelet Tutorial

DIY Crafter’s Clay Flowers

As much of a polymer clay fanatic as I am, I was a unsure how Martha Stewart’s Crafter’s Clay would compare.  I finally got my hands on some, and I am loving the stuff.

There are several differences between this clay and polymer clay.  Like polymer clay, this is pretty easy to use, and you can mix some amazing colors.  It doesn’t fingerprint as easily as polymer clay, which is nice.  You don’t have to condition it, so prep time is essentially zero.  Just mix the color you want and start creating.  It has a different, lighter, spongy kind of feel compared to polymer clay.  One down side is that it starts to dry pretty quickly when exposed to air, even though the instructions say to let it dry for 24 hours.  I would say the working time is about 25 minutes before it becomes to dry to shape.

The kit I got came with instructions for making these lovely hydrangeas, a color mixing chart, crafter’s clay in white, brown, yellow, red and blue, detailing tools, 4 silicone molds, floral tape and floral wire.  Read on to see how to make your own hydrangea bouquet.

Crafter's Clay Tutorial

Crafter's Clay Tutorial

Aside from what comes in the Martha Stewart Crafter’s Clay kit, you will need craft glue (I used Glossy Accents).

TUTORIAL:

Clay Hydrangeas Tutorial

I bunched my flowers into groups of 4 by wrapping the wires together and placed in a glass jar from Goodwill that I spray painted white.

Clay Hydrangeas

If you get a chance to work with this, take it.  You can easily make your own lovely bouquet.  I got my kit from Michael’s recently, using my 40% off coupon.

Clay Hydrangeas

Leather & Thread Easy Bracelets

Leather Bracelet DIY

These lovely leather & thread bracelets from Trinkets in Bloom are on my shortlist  for girls craft night.  With my patriotic mood that is infiltrating all of my recent projects, I may just need to make one of these bad boys in red, white and blue.  Whatever the color combo, these work up quickly and easily.

Tutorial:  DIY Leather Friendship Bracelets

DIY Quick & Easy Dad Gift

Dad Gift Idea

If you need a last minute handmade gift idea for Dad, check out this easy “Dad” keychain you can make in no time.  If you are like me, and you stalk your local Michael’s  store, you may have seen the new, so so so cool product line from Mod Podge.  I will be telling you a lot more about it next week.  For this project, I used some of their new paper craft supplies:

New Mod Podge Products

You will need:

  • Decorative scrapbook paper, with a good guy print (I used the travel themed Podgeable Paper)
  • Acrylic Podgeable Shapes
  • Rub-on transfer, dad themed
  • Mod Podge Dimensional Magic
  • Craft Scissors
  • Key fob and jump ring
  • Sand paper

Handmade gifts for guysDad will love it.

Make a Father's Day Gift

Keep your eyes peeled for upcoming projects using this fun new line all over the craft blog world!

 

Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful Subway Art

Beautiful Subway Art

This print is now hanging in my stepdaughter’s bedroom and she loves it!  I made it in Photoshop and you can download the full res 11×14 at Printable Decor; Be Beautiful Subway Art Printable.  I had mine printed on regular paper at Staples for less than $1, and put it in a frame I had on hand.

Be Beautiful Printable

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