If you have been following my blog, you would have seen my last tutorial for an abstract art pendant. As promised, I will show you how to make the matching earrings for the pendant. Now, the picture shows a purple pair of earrings instead of blue, but the technique is the same. I just wanted to switch up the colors, because I like variety. What do they say? Something about that being the spice of life...
Anywho, I have really fallen in love with this technique to make paper earrings. Pretty much, if you cover any paper in enough glue/mod podge/sealer of your preference, you can have a durable material for jewelry. I made a pair of earrings using scrapbook paper and it worked out perfectly, so was inspired to try using art as well.
Materials Needed:
- Oval/circle punch of your choosing
- dimensional glaze and/or Tacky glue/Mod Podge (I like to use a gloss finish)
- small brush
- 1/8 inch hole punch
- four jump rings or 18 gauge wire, wire cutter, and round nose pliers to make your own (I will include tutorial for jump rings below)
- Earring hooks (I use titanium ear hooks since I am allergic to nickle based metals)
- art (follow this tutorial to make your own abstract art)
- cereal box or cardstock (I recommend anything higher that 100lb weight)
- flat nose pliers to assemble pieces
As you can tell, I like to throw in some shimmer paint to make things sparkle. To make this purple art sheet, I used a purple acrylic paint, mixed with a silver paint. I usually get most of my art supplies from Dick Blick, but you can get quality acrylic paints from craft stores as well. You might pay a little more, though, so always use a coupon!
To begin, take your circle/oval punch and punch two pieces of cereal box/cardstock, and four pieces of your art paper. You will sandwich the cereal box piece between two pieces of art so that your earrings have art on each side. Using a small brush and tacky glue or Mod Podge, spread a little glue on one side of the cereal box and press your art onto it.
Repeat this step with both sides of each earring. I let the four sides dry for about 15 minutes before moving on to the next step.
From the second picture you can see that the earring is pretty thick. This will prevent the paper from warping when it dries. I made a test pair of scrapbook paper earrings without a thick center and it warped really bad and just looked ugly. Nobody wants that.
Once your glue dries enough, then take your 1/8 inch hole punch and put a hole in each earring piece. Next, using your dimensional glaze, spread a thin layer onto one side of your earrings. You could also use Mod Podge. It's up to you whether you want a glossy or matte finish, but I prefer glossy at this moment.
Let the glaze/glue dry completely before covering the back sides with more glaze/glue. I wait a couple of hours and work on other projects between glaze applications. Yay, multitasking!
Once your pieces are completely dry, you can begin assembling your earrings. If you want to make your own jump rings. Follow the pictures below.
Using your flat nose pliers. or whatever tools you prefer, open the jump rings and begin connecting your pieces. I use two jump rings per earring.
And now you have a pair of abstract art paper earrings! If you have any questions or comments please let me know. I would love to hear what you think of this tutorial. Have you ever tried making paper earrings?
I also made a pair from more scrapbook paper as you can see from the second pair of earrings pictured.
If you enjoyed this tutorial, you might also be interest in the following posts:
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