Tourmaline Sunset Earrings
The tourmaline faceted beads are so beautiful and come in a wonderful array of muted berry, heather and watery green colours. We complemented these soft colours with handmade gold earwires.
These earrings are easy to make and only require a few basic wireworking skills, something that is easy and fun to master.
Step by step instructions
You will need to master a neat wire wrapping technique, to individually wrap each bead - we did this by making a small loop at one end, wrapping the wire around to secure, then adding the bead and making a slightly bigger loop at the top of the bead and wrapping the remaining wire a little further down the bead to make a neat cap.
These individually wrapped beads can then be hung from a jump ring.
To make the large earwires, you will need to cut your 20cm length of wire in half so you can make two earwires the same size.
Start by bending a small loop in one end, then using your pliers to smooth the wire into a gentle curve and bend half way so you get a nice even marquise shaped earwire.
Use a flat-sided hammer to flatten the front side of the earwire, starting just above the loop and up to the top of the earwire.
After a quick polish you can construct the rest of the earring.
Note - You might prefer to buy a whole strand of the tourmaline beads as it is much cheaper to buy by the strand and then you will have some additional beads to make a matching piece of jewellery (double win - better value and more jewellery!)
Suggested tools for this project
Snipe nose pliers - essential for wirework, opening and closing jump rings etc
Round nose pliers - for bending loops in wire
Ball pein hammer - a versatile hammer, used here for flattening the front side of the earwires
Polishing papers - for a quick way to add polish the wire hoops to a high shine - not essential but will give you a nicer finish (this is a large pack so will last a long time)
Cup burr and Pinvice - used to smooth and round the end of the earwires so they are comfortable to put in and have no sharp edges.
Customise your kit
Make the design your own by using your favourite jewellery supplies.
Jewellery Making Books
'The Encyclopedia of Wire Jewellery Techniques' by Sara Withers
'The Basics of Bead Stringing' by Debbie Kanan
'Beading Design' by Kim Glover
The suggested products used in this project are suggestions to inspire you. Products used were compatible at the time of making but do be aware that gemstones are natural and hand cut stocks can vary, so do use your own common sense as to the compatibility of each item when making.
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