Copper Wire Earrings Tutorial

First off, ignore the messier earring on the right. There was a cat on my desk that decided it needed attention. Cats. Always needy at the most inconvenient times. At least the left one is pretty! Just pretend they both look like that.

Materials Needed:

• 20 gauge copper wire 
• white nail polish
• wire cutter
• round nose pliers
• 4mm earring posts (You can get 6mm posts in a smaller pack from Joann's. I use the posts from Ring&Things, because I like to use either titanium or stainless steel for posts and hooks.) 
• third hand tool (optional)
• extra piece of scrap wire
• super glue or E6000 (I use super glue because I am less paranoid about it giving me cancer. I worry too much. I know.)

Cut two equal pieces of wire. Begin by creating a loop at the end of the wire. I overlap the wire a little bit before moving onto the next loop. Create a loop, move your pliers out of the loop and begin wrapping another loop. When I bring the wire around the pliers, I push the wire behind the previous loops so that the loops appear slightly stacked together. I hope that makes sense...if it doesn't, check out the pictures. If those don't make sense, then you may have to wing it. Yay for winging it!

I created seven loops total. Once I got to the last loop, I cut off the excess wire. Keep in mind that the last loop of your design needs to be flat and the same size as your earring post pad. Before you cut the extra wire off of your design, double check that the loop will fit flush on the post pad. This way, you can adjust before cutting. Repeat this for the other wire. Once both earrings are done, I put the wires into the third hand clamps. It made it easier for me to take pictures. Also, you don't want to set the wire down on a flat surface while the nail polish is still wet, because the nail polish might run out of the loops and all will be ruined! Ruined, I tell ya!

Dump a little bit of nail polish onto a scrap piece of paper. I use an extra piece of 26 gauge wire to apply the nail polish to the wire loops, but the 20 gauge will work too. Dip the wire into the nail polish until a little droplet collects on the wire, then gently put the wire into your first loop. I use a light circular motion to deposit the polish onto the wire. If the polish doesn't hold tight across the loop, you might need to add a little more. If it still doesn't form a tight surface after adding more polish, then your loops might be too big.

Once the nail polish is applied, let it dry completely. Once the polish is dry, put a drop of glue onto your earring post and stick it to the flat loop on the end of the copper wire. I started off with my posts stuck into cork board, but it makes so much more sense to place the pad on top of the wire rather than the other way around. Lesson learned. Let your glue dry for a while (according to the directions on whichever glue you choose). Then enjoy!

In case you were wondering, yes I photoshopped my jaw/ear area. I took pictures in bad lighting, and when I zoomed in on this portion of my face I thought "Holy crap! Look at those sideburns!" There is some legitimacy to the my grade school moniker, Chewbacca.

Anywho, let me know if you have comments or questions! If you enjoyed these earrings you may also enjoy my Faux Stained Glass Earrings or these simple Nail Polish Earrings. Can you tell I like nail polish lately?