These earrings are one of my favorite DIYs to date. They weren’t planned—I was just rummaging around in one of my many craft boxes this weekend and happened to pull out these crystal beaded balls that I bought awhile ago and squirreled away for future use. They immediately made me think of these Rebecca de Ravenel earrings so I was inspired to quickly design some statement earrings of my own.
A few skeins of colorful embroidery thread and about one hour later, I had three pairs to show for my work. Truly, these were so easy to make that even those who don’t any any experience with jewelry making will be able to confidently put a pair together in the time it takes to get through one episode of The Bachelor. Now go forth and craft!
For this project, you’ll need the following:
• beaded balls (I found these on the sale rack at my local craft store, but you can find similar ones on etsy here, here and here)
• earrings posts
• earring backs
• E6000
• small gold jump rings
• embroidery thread, one skein for each tassel
• a piece of cardboard, cut 2 3/4″ high
• scissors
• needle nose pliers
1. Start by making your tassels. Wind a full skein of embroidery thread around the piece of cardboard, leaving out about 12″. Trim off the extra 12″ and cut it in half so you’re left with two 6″ piece of thread. Thread one of the pieces through the top part of the tassel and tie tightly.
2. Slide the thread off of the cardboard, then use the second piece of 6″ thread to tie about 1/2″ from the top of the tassel. The, use scissors to cut through the loops at the bottom of the tassel and trim off any straggling threads.
3. Using a pin, your fingers or a fine-tooth comb, brush through the ends of the tassel so you separate the threads. Once more, take your scissors and trim off any stragglers.
4. Use your needle nose pliers to open one of the jump rings. Then, thread the jump ring through the thread you used to tie the top of the tassel and thread it through of of the loops of the beaded ball. Use your needle nose pliers to close the jump ring, making sure it’s really well aligned so threads can’t slip through it.
5. Apply a small amount of E6000 to the back of an earring post. Place it on the back of the beaded ball and hold it firmly for 30 seconds. Let dry completely according to package directions then finish with an earring back.
Check out more of my DIY jewelry projects at AllFreeJewelryMaking.com.
