Spiral pearl Ear Rings

These pearl and crystal ear rings were created with uneven pearl subtly complemented with a purple crystal hand wrapped with gold filled wire. There is a natural contrast between the focal bead and the accent crystal. While the pearl has a subtle shine, the crystal has higher gloss. You can dress up or dress down with this lightweight earring.

Materials

One foot - 18 gauge round dead soft gold filled wire

Two - 8 mm uneven pearls

Two - end caps to match to the size of the pearl

Two - 4 mm rounded crystals

Tools

Flat nose pliers

Round nose pliers

Chain nose pliers

6-step Barrel Pliers

Wire cutters

Ruler

Instructions

Straighten and then cut the one foot - 18 gauge round dead soft gold filled wire into two 6" pieces. At the end of each wire, use round nose pliers to begin and flat nose pliers to create a spiral with 4 turns.At the end of the last turn, use flat nose pliers to bend the wire up at a 90° angle.

Thread your pearl, end cap, crystal on to the wire, so they are sitting on top of the spiral. Immediately above the crystal, use chain nose pliers to hold the bead wire and use your fingers to bend it at a 45° angle towards the front of the earring. Don’t forget to turn the spirals, so that one is facing left and one is facing right. 

Just above the bend, use the 5th largest step on 6-step round nose pliers to hold and form the ear "wire" toward the back of the earring.

Cut ¼" from the end, and use an emery board to file the ends.

Use flat nose pliers to slightly bend the ear wire end away from the main structure.

Now make the second earring.

Kumihimo Necklace

Kumihimo is a Japanese braiding technique that creates beautiful cords made by interlacing strands of ribbon or yarn. You can make super cool friendship bracelets using this technique. It was really fun and relatively easy to do. You can get very addictive too.

To get started, you need a Kumihimo disk; I paid about $15 for mine. You can use yarn, silk ribbons or silk embroidery floss available in stores like Michael’s or Joann’s. The possibilities are endless! 

The disk is a must. It is lightweight and made of foam; mine is round and has 32 notches. You can even add beads to your pattern and make some amazing things. So many possibilities! Look for videos on YouTube. They are very helpful.

My 11 year old daughter got hooked to Kumihimo.! As advertised, it is truly quite addictive…..and in our case, keeps our daughter engaged and away from the TV. She did all these in one week.

This necklace is made of fine silk ribbons. 

This necklace is make by silk thread (I brought from the Silk City Kancheepuram India)

The red yellow and blue is made out of cotton thread.

Indian outfit – ‘Chooridar’

I had lot of fun sewing this chooridar.

Purple Lace Ear Ring

Lace is such a romantic and feminine thing to use in jewelry. So if you have never considered the idea, here are some awesome tutorials to inspire.

Cut out your lace trim in the shape you want.

The lace I have used is very thin so I socked the cut lace in the Elmer glue both sides and let it dry well. Then iron it good.

I used a thick sewing needle to put a small hole at the top of the lace trim.

Use an ear ring hook of your choice of color.

Put your ear ring through the hole and fix the hook.

Put it on and enjoy!