Drop earstuds with rhinestones

This tutorial will show you how to make your very own earrings in trendy colours with faux turquoise drop beads and luxurious rhinestones.
Last year I made a set of faux turquoise drop bead earrings, and these earrings are a sequel to that series.
The base for each pair is the same, namely a faux turquoise drop, an oval rhinestone connector and an earstud to which you can attach a rhinestone. I will show you 6 different colours, but you can easily adapt the design to your own liking. For example, use a different earhook, a different beadcap, or use contrasting colours for a fresh and completely different effect.

What do you need

• Gold coloured earstuds with room for a 5 mm rhinestone.
• Neon acrylic rhinestones, size 5 mm. One portion of this mix contains over 100 different stones, which means you have more than enough options to pick from.
• Connector setting for a 14x10 mm oval rhinestone.
• Oval rhinestones size 14x10 mm, such as this turquoise stone.
• Small beadcaps. I have opted for a filigree cap, but I think these would be very cute as well.
• Faux turquoise drop beads. One strand contains enough beads to make 8 sets of earrings in different colours.
• Headpins, size 30 mm.
• Open rings, size 4 mm.
• Glue. I have used rhinestone glue, particularly because of the applicationtip. If you use Hasulith or E6000 you might want to use a headpin to neatly apply the glue onto the earstud.
• Earnuts. To secure the back of the earstuds.

How do you proceed?
1. Make the drop pendant by placing the bead onto the headpin, finishing with a beadcap. I have cut off half a millimetre of the pin, because for me that is the ideal length to make an eyelet.

2. Place the rhinestone into the setting. It might feel a bit uncomfortable if you have not yet worked with rhinestones, so make sure you take your time. I prefer to hold down the stone at the sides while gently, one by one, pressing the little prongs down over the stone by using a set of pliers. Bear in mind, practice makes perfect!

3. Glue the rhinestone into the earstud. A small drop really is enough to do the trick – the rhinestone glue is quite liquid, which means you easily end up using too much of it!

4. Connect the separate parts with the rings.

5. Your earstuds are finished!

Here are some examples of earrings in different colours:

Items

Earnut for earstud gold 5x4 mm DOP006

Rhinestone glass oval topaz 14x10 mm PNS-OV010S

Rhinestone glass oval virtrail 14x10 mm PNS-OV010R

Rhinestone glass oval turquiose 14x10 mm PNS-OV010L

Rhinestone glass oval emerald green 14x10 mm PNS-OV010N

Rhinestone glass oval ruby red 14x10 mm PNS-OV010G

Jump ring gold 4 mm OR-G001

Headpin gold 30 mm NS-G001

Prong setting 2 loops oval brass 14x10 mm KLZ-OV002B

Faux turquoise drop beads in mixed colours 20x8 mm FTQ-DR001

Filligree beadcaps brass old gold 8,5x6 mm KK026

Acrylic simili rhinestones neon mix 5 mm PNS-R006

Earstuds gold with loop and room for rhinestone 5 mm OS009C