Scrapbook Paper Earrings Tutorial w/Wire Accents

Have a bunch of cute scrapbooking paper lying around? Don't know what to do with it? Well, here's a project you might like.

I don't scrapbook much, so I have a bunch of paper left over from previous projects. I saw a tutorial on making paper bead earrings from this site, and wondered if I could do something similar, but more my style.

Paper isn't exactly the most durable material for jewelry, but coat it with enough glue and it seals up nicely.

Materials Needed:

• paper
• cutting implements: scissors and eighth inch hole punch
• glue (Tacky, Elmers, Mod Podge, or anything that dries clear)
• jump rings (or make your own with 20 gauge wire)
• ear hooks (I used these from Rings & Things)
• flat nose pliers
• wire cutter
• round nose pliers 
• 20 gauge copper wire, or any colored wire of your choice

To begin, I cut two rectangular pieces from a sheet of scrapbooking paper. I glued the pieces together so that the pattern is on both sides of the earrings. If you have double sided scrapbook paper, then you can skip that step. 

I used Tacky glue and a small paint brush to evenly spread the glue before putting the pieces together. Once the glue dried, I cut the rectangle in half, and stacked the two pieces. Then I cut leaf like shapes from the paper. Using an eighth inch hole punch, I put holes in the ends of the paper leaves. 

Now, if you want a pair of temporary earrings, you can put them together from this point. Just don't get them wet, and they may last a little while. But, if you want something a little more durable, you will need to seal the paper. For these earrings, I took a small brush and spread Tacky glue on each side. Brush one side with glue, let it dry, then brush the other side and let it dry. Go ahead and add a couple of coats if you have the patience for it.

If you want a glossy surface on your paper, you can use a dimensional glaze, like this one. I've used this glaze on other paper earrings and like it better than the tacky glue. (I will post another tutorial later.)

Cut two equal piece of copper wire, roughly four inches. Using your round nose pliers, bend each piece of wire in the middle so that it forms a shape like the third picture. Check to see if the wire is matching up with the size of your paper cut outs, like the third picture. Adjust if you need to.

Grip one end of the wire with your pliers, and curl it into the design like the fifth picture. I trimmed a little wire off each piece to make the next step easier. You may or may not need to do that.

Sorry about the crappy seventh picture, but it get's the job done. Kind of. Gripping the other end of the wire with your round nose pliers, curl it into a loop like the eight picture. To assemble your earrings, you will need jump rings. If you would like to make your own, follow the pictures below:

I made four jump rings out of copper wire. I made two larger rings to put around the paper leaves and wire design, and two smaller rings to connect the first jump ring to the ear hook loop. To open your jump rings, use your round nose pliers and your flat nose pliers. Close them the same way.

Now you've got a pair of paper earrings! If you have any questions or comments, please let me know! As you can see from the picture below, these earrings work without any wire design. I only used the two jump rings per earring to assemble the pieces.