My version of $400 earrings--Instructions Included

[angiepinkal]

About a year ago I seen a pair of earrings I loved in one of those glossy celebrity gossip magazines (my guilty pleasure).  The price of the earrings were $400.  Granted they were made with gold but I'm not a fan of gold anyway, so I decided to make a few pairs up.  I've included some instructions.  Please excuse my long windedness.     If you get lost or need help, please let me know.









I searched the catalog of my favorite jewelry supplier and found what I needed.  The hoops I used started with 10 or so of the loops at the bottom.  I cut the extra ones off, cut some of the excess hoop on the end I removed the loops, and finally filed where needed until smooth.  Next I attatched the chain with 3 mm split rings, being sure to close them up and make them as flush as I could, since I was using very fine chain.  I attached my beads with headpins to the chain, and then the frustrating part began. 

I took a split ring (don't recall the size, I think 5 mm), opened it up, then strung the ends of the chain on starting at the end without the earring post (where I cut off the extra loops).   Once the chain is on, close up the split ring, making it as flush as possible.  It may take you a few tries, it did for me on my first pair, to keep the chain from falling off as I worked on closing the split ring.  Lastly, I took another split ring, (I think 5 mm), opened it, put on the split ring with the chain and attached to the earnut.  I hooked it to one of the little "curly" pieces on the backside.  This works two-fold, if the earnut falls off, you won't loose it since it's attached to the chain.

The tricky part is how to store these earrings, since there's so much chain it can get tangled easily.  I have to have mine on earring cards on all times, even when I'm not doing bazaars.  I learned the hard and frustrating way not to just toss them in a baggie.   

Thanks for looking!
Angie C. Pinkal

Oh and the price (rounded up to nearest dollar) to make the earrings in order from top to bottom were
$21.00, $18.00, and $23.00.  I used all sterling silver, cultured freshwater pearls, and Swarovski Crystals.
 

[april again]

Cute! Thanks for the tutorial

[angiepinkal]

Your welcome!   

[socalheather]

Love these! They're just so pretty! More girly than I am most of the time, but still want to wear them... I'm getting rusty at making jewelry but if I see hoops like the ones you used, I might just make a pair. Ooh, in purple, green and blue would be great!

[angiepinkal]

Thank you, Heather!    I appreciate your compliments.
They're a bit too girly for me too...Your color choices would be really pretty! 


Thanks again!
Angie C. Pinkal

[freeli]

Oh they are beautiful! I think they are glamurous in a very elegant way, if that makes any sense. And thanks for sharing how you made them. 

[brightshadows]

Very cool, not a bad  price either for sterling!