We are crazy for kitsch, dotty for donuts and flipping out for fruit! Yes, these earrings are almost edible. The best part about these earrings are that they are easy to make, whether you want to make a few to wear or make a lot to sell. If you are reading this post, it’s safe to assume that you are into handmade and supporting indie businesses.
What if I told you that this DIY does both? You see, the supplies for these were bought from indie sellers on Etsy and eBay. Yep, you can buy jewellery findings from big craft stores but can be very pricey if you need more than a few (and you will because even making for yourself is addictive!). Buying online is waaaay cheaper for bulk. The big craft store near me sells posts and backs separately and to have the parts for 5 sets of earrings would run you $6! But online (from an Aussie indie) I can get the parts for 50 sets for $15. I bought both kinds and the online set was better quality and stainless steel, the others from the craft store didn’t say. Not to mention, a big craft store will have a seriously limiting selection of earring fronts…
Or cabochons are they are often called (actually a cabochon is a curved but non faceted gem but in broader crafting terms it refers to all manner of embellishments, usually with a flat back). If you search the term ‘cabochon’ on Etsy, you’ll see what I mean! Of course your earrings need not be limited to cabochons, check out laser cut wood or resin. Or do as we have and use fabric covered buttons or actual cute buttons. Or work with found objects like shells or seed pods. Use our shrink plastic tutorial from issue 1 to create some wearable art. Or go nuts and do a ‘from scratch’ DIY and get busy with some polymer clay – there are some youtubes that will blow your mind!
As you see the choices are many! The only thing you need is an attachment point for an earring post or an earring hook. This tutorial shows you two ways to go about that, gluing the post on the back of the earring and using a bail to attach a hook. A bail is an attachment finding, you often see them for pendants, it has a flat section that you can glue onto and a loop at the end that protrudes. Don’t worry if that is not clear, the how to photos will set you straight! When you are searching for various supplies online, make sure that your earring posts have a little round of metal (for the glue) which is often called a glue pad. And if your crafty heart has led to a DIY earring front, just make sure you have a loop or use the attachments I’ve mentioned.
When we are making things that need to survive the rough and tumble of real life, like hair pins and earrings and other wearables E6000 glue is the only choice. If you leave it to cure for 24 hours, it will hold up to all sorts of conditions. One of us has road tested these earrings by sleeping in them, showering in them and exposing them to good use. And they are just the same as the day they were made! We only buy really small tubes because things can get gross and hard and imprecise and you will never use a huge tube before things go south. It seems eBay is the best place for buying that way. Some other glues will probably work but may not stand the test of time. If you are making for yourself, it probably doesn’t matter but sellers who want to keep their good standing should spring for the good glue! Lets make some earrings…
For the Earrings You’ll Need:
- Assorted cabochons
- 38mm or Size 20 fabric button kit
- Scrap fabric
- Earring posts and backs
- Small bails
- Earring hooks
- Jump rings
- Small pliers
- E600 Glue or similar
Bring on the Buttons
- The first thing to do is to remove the metal loop of the button shank with pliers because you won’t need it.
- If you bought a covered button kit, it will often come with template for cutting the fabric. If not, just cut a circle bigger than the button. You can try it in the next step to see if it’s big enough.
- Using hand needle and thread, sew a running stitch around the edge of the fabric circle. The sewing doesn’t need to be neat because it won’t be seen.
- With the needle still attached, place the right side of the button front on the wrong side of the fabric. Pull on the needle to gather the stitches to fit around the button, knot and trim the thread.
- Place the button front face down in the tool and centre the backing over the top. Use the other part of the tool to firmly press into place. Repeat as needed.
Glue it Good
- Before we glue we like to set up a gluing station to keep things from getting too messy. An area covered with paper towel to glue on, a few toothpicks for manoeuvring glue, a pot with earring posts and a tray for finished items that need to dry.
- We also like to lay out our cabochons or buttons in pairs, especially when making asymmetric pairs.
- Grab a pair and decide where to place the post (and check that it fits without showing). Add a dab of glue and place the post.
- With the covered button earrings, you may wish to glue something flat over the holes where the button shanks were removed. If you were using small buttons, you could place the post over the hole instead but these are much, much too big for a central post.
- Carefully set aside on the drying tray and cure for 24 hours.
Do up the Dangles
- For the dangly earrings, the process is much the same as above but this time you need to glue on the bail, ensuring the loop extends off the edge of the cabochon.
- Carefully set aside on the drying tray and cure for 24 hours.
- Once the glue has cured, you can finish the dangles and add the hooks. Use pliers to open a jump ring and thread it through the loop on the bail and also through the loop on the earring hook. Close the jump ring with the pliers and you are done!
Now, let’s get to the displaying and selling! These are a super cute craft to sell and they are pretty quick to make. I think most makers that head out to the markets to share their wares could benefit from these. We are not sure that they are a get rich quick plan but they certainly look enticing. If you are looking for another way to draw the eye to your table, this could be it. So lively and colourful! We assume that makers are gonna make, so we have three ways to put these out on your market table. Easy, pretty and eye catching. No joking, this is how we store our own bling at home! So don’t feel like the display portion is all about sales, you could have a blinged out dressing table too.
Fabric Hoop Display. Oh how we love this one! So much so, that one of us has on their wall at home. All this needs is some non-stretch mesh, net or lace fabric and an embroidery hoop. Unscrew the hoop and remove the smaller inner ring, lay the fabric right side up on top and lower the larger hoop over the top of that. Tighten the screw and pull the fabric taught and trim. If you are a seller I recommend not gluing the fabric down because someone will probably tear it eventually and then you can easily replace it. For at home use you can glue it at the back to prevent the fabric slacking over time. Your hoop can be hung on a hook or propped up on plate stand. Either way we think it looks so sweet!
Divided Box Display. This is so wonderfully easy, all you need it a divided box and some filling. This is a smaller jewellery box but a tea box would work in a sales setting. We left ours just as we bought it but you could paint the box or add washi tape to make it your own. We chose basic white rice as a filling but there are loads of options, dried beans, sand or coloured aquarium gravel would look cool. We love that this is neat and tidy but still allows people to pick things up and see them from all sides.
Prettily Packaged. We used Ask Sarah business cards, stamped with our stamp but this would be very pretty on cardstock with some fancy washi tape. To keep things neat, we drew up a template that we used to mark where to hole punch (make sure you use a tiny hole punch, so the earrings don’t fall through!). Put the whole thing in to a cellophane bag and you have a sweet presentation.
I hope you are buzzing with ideas! So many earrings to make, wear and sell. We are all about plastic fruit (we even made some fruits & flowers hair clips and headbands that are posted on Ask Sarah) but there are so many amazing cabochons and fabrics out there to play with. The world is your oyster and you might even find pearls. Happy Making!
This article was first published in Indie Love Magazine Issue 5
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