Tutorial exchange - Blukatkraft - DIY Earrings Jewelry Tutorial for Beginners

Recently we had the opportunity to work together with Heather O'Cain. She writes a lovely blog called BluKatCraft with all kinds of jewelry making tutorials.

Galactic earrings

Space: stars, planets, moons and comets. People have always looked at the sky and wondered about all that beauty. This collection of Galactic earrings were inspired by the grand cosmic mystery.

Hot air balloon earrings

These large resin beads really speak to the imagination! Are they sweets? Beach balls? I was pondering the endless the possibilities when, suddenly, an image of these antique hot air balloons popped into my mind! All they needed was a filigree bead cap as a basket, and voilà: you have a beautiful set of 19th century Jules Verne hot air balloons. If you follow my instructions you can make these earrings in a blink of an eye.

What do you need for one pair of earrings

• 2 large resin beads
• 2 headpins, at least 4 mm in length, I used 5 mm headpins
• 2 large bead caps to make the basket
• Small bead caps to finish off the top and bottom
• 1 pair of ear hooks
• Pliers to put the individual pieces together

How do you proceed?'
Place the parts onto the head pin in the following order: 1 small bead cap, 1 large bead cap, 1 resin bead, 1 small bead cap. The small bead cap at the bottom will prevent the whole lot from sliding off the head pin.
Cut off the head pin approximately 8 mm above the bead and shape it into an eyelet.

Now all you need to do is attach the eyelet of the ear hook to the hot air balloon and your earring will be finished.

Items

Bead cap metal flower filigree bronze 17x11 mm KK017

Headpin bronze 50 mm NS-B001

French Earring hooks Bronze OH001A

Large resin bead with purple stripes 19 mm KSK-R023F

Large resin bead with lime green stripes 19 mm KSK-R023J

Large resin bead with black stripes 19 mm KSK-R023L

Filligree beadcaps antique bronze 10 mm KK027

Jewelry set with anemones

This is a unique set of jewelery made of gold colored metal and glass cabochons with anemones. The combination of the gold with the ruby and emerald gives the set a luxurious feel. This set consists of a bracelet and two pairs of earrings, both decorated with rhinestones.
The large glass cabochon is the centrepiece of this bracelet. Around it I have used some ornaments and smaller cabs in lace edge settings. The lace edge settings can be turned into connectors by bending open one eyelet at each end of the setting. The bracelet closes with a toggle clasp. Now in general, getting the right size is pretty important with bracelets – you might want to vary the different parts a bit, in order to end up with the desired length. In this case I would recommend not to make the bracelet too loose, since the centrepiece is pretty big.
For the first pair of earrings I used gold colored earwires that already have a rhinestone embedded in them. Here I chose red ones. The oblong connector can be fastened to the earwires directly, with another lace edge setting with anemones cab underneath.
For the second set of earrings, I used vintage rhinestones. Take a look at this article on making earrings with vintage rhinestones for some additional tips and trics on working with rhinestones and prong settings. For the emerald rhinestones I used prong settings with two eyelets, so that it can function as a connector. Under these I fastened the cabs with the anemones. And under those, finally, the vintage ruby rhinestones in prong settings with a single eyelet, so they will hang nicely at the bottom of the earring.
At the bottom of this article you'll find a handy overview of all the materials that were used in this jewelery set. Click on a product to view them directly in the shop.

Used parts

Prong setting 2 loops octagon brass 8x6 mm KLZ-OC003B

Setting with 1 loop for navette rhinestone brass 15x7 mm KLZ-NV001A

Vintage pointed back rhinestone emerald glass octagon 8x6 mm PNS-OC002C

Vintage rhinestone navette ruby red 15x7 mm PNS-NV003

French earring hooks gold OH015

Connector in Art Deco style gold 26x7 mm CON008B

Gold earwire with garnet red rhinestone OH013A

Lace edge setting raw brass for cameo 18x13 mm Z032

Basic raw brass lace edge setting for cameo 40x30 mm Z036

Jump ring gold 4 mm OR-G001

Connector round with flower decoration gold 17x11 mm CON010

Connector antique gold with floral decoration 18x10 mm CON013

Toggle clasp gold 15 mm SL008A

Glass cabochon with anemones print 18x13 mm CABG002F

Glass cabochon with print of anemones 40x30 mm CABG001F

Jewelry set with Morning Glory and Hollyhock

This is a jewelry set with glass cabochons depicting morning glory and hollyhocks, made with silver coloured metal parts in the Art Nouveau style.
The settings for the earrings can be connected to the ear hooks directly. These ear hooks have open eyelets, so you can just bend them open and hang the connectors into them immediately. Then you bend open one loop of the lace edge setting in order to turn it into a pendant, and fasten this to the connector. It is a good idea to bend open the loop on the setting first, before gluing in the cabochon.
The long necklace is made with a silver chain with flat links. You do this by attaching a bail to the large setting and then you can just slide the chain through the eyelet. Finally, you finish it off with a nice clasp. Of course the chain can be adjusted to any length you prefer.
The adjustable ring with the oblong ornament is a nice base for these small cabochons. This way the openwork metal forms a nice background for the flowers.
At the bottom of this article you'll find a handy overview of all the materials that were used in this jewelery set. Click on a product to view them directly in the shop.

Combinaties

Earring hooks Art Nouveau style silver OH011A

Toggle clasp silver 15 mm SL008B

Zilver chain with flat link K012

Pendant with loop bail om te stringing antique silver 16x7 mm BA006A

Lace edge setting silver for cabochon 18x13 mm Z038

Setting antique silver art nouveau style for cameo 40x30 mm Z025

Ring silver metal filigree ornament 31x20 mm RNG009

Glass cabochon with morning glory and hollyhock print 18x13 mm CABG002D

Glass cabochon with print of morning glory and hollyhock 40x30 mm CABG001D

Connector in Art Deco style silver 26x7 mm CON008A

Jump ring silver 4 mm OR-Z002