Kitty spotted a pair of plain gold earrings at the craft store that she knew we could dress up in a flash. They already had the earring wires attached and everything! So we created a vertical bar down the center of each oval out of wire, and we beaded the wire with Delica seed beads and gemstone briolettes. So pretty and soooo easy!
Here’s a step by step video to show you how we dressed up the earrings with the seed beads and briolettes. Follow along then use the steps below to make your own!
Video How-to : Beaded Leaf Drop Earrings
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How To Make Beaded Leaf Drop Earrings
Materials
2 Marquise shape findings, gold, 18mm x 36mm
2 Earrings wires (if earrings didn’t come with them)
6 Faceted briolettes, top-drilled, Green Aventurine, 6mm
26 Delica seed beads, mixed metals, size 11/0
26-gauge wire, gold
Tools
Steps
1. To bead the first earring, start by cutting a piece of wire about 7” long. Hold one end of the wire against the bottom edge of the marquise-shaped finding, leaving a 1” tail sticking out.
2. Wrap the longer end of the wire around the bottom of the marquise starting from the outside then coming up through the middle.
3. Continue wrapping the wire tightly around the marquise until you have 3 wraps. If needed, push the wire-wraps together and scoot them down to the point or end of the marquise.
4. Feed 7 of the Delica seed beads onto the wire. (It helps to experiment ahead of time by sliding some seed beads and briolettes onto the wire to see how many seed beads it will take to get the briolettes centered in the finding.) We think it works best to pour the seed beads into your palm and “fish” each bead out of your hand with the wire. Try tipping each bead onto the end of the wire, then sliding it/them down to the bottom of the marquise finding.
5. Next, slide 3 of the gemstone briolettes onto the wire. Because they are top-drilled, they will sit sideways on the wire, and the triangle at the top makes them go back and forth when they sit side by side. Slide the briolettes down to the seed beads on the wire.
6. To finish beading the wire, feed on 6 seed beads. Hold the wire up to the top of the marquise and check to see if you have enough beads to fill the space. Add another seed bead or two if needed.
7. Pull the beaded wire through to the back of the finding so you can start wrapping wire from the back.
8. Feed the end of the wire through the hole at the top of the marquise and pull it tight so the beaded bar is vertical through the center. If your marquise finding doesn’t have a hole in the top like ours, simply wrap the wire around the top edge of the marquise like you did at the bottom.
9. Wrap the wire around the marquise then feed it through the hole a second time. Again, if yours doesn’t have a hole, just wrap the wire around the top of the marquise. Repeat until you have wrapped the wire around the top 3 times.
10. Use the wire cutters to trim the wire at each end of the marquise finding. Repeat to bead the second earring.
Isn’t that a fun transformation?! Now we’re on the hunt for all kinds of earrings to glam up using this technique. Have you ever embellished store-bought earrings? Write in and let us know what you did. We love hearing your creative ideas!
Happy Crafting,
Jennifer & Kitty
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