JEWELRY TUTORIAL: Basic Stud Earrings

My daughter got her ears pierced in May. She's now at the point of healing where she can easily switch out her earrings. I bought us (I have 6 ear piercings) some stud bases and backs, so I can make us some unusual stud earrings. These are super easy to make. This tutorial will make you look at little lightweight flatish items in a different way. You'll want to turn all sorts of things into earrings.



SUPPLIES:
  • Small flatish decorative things - I used googly eyes left over from these shoes, and little scrapbook elements. Buttons, bows, flat-back gems, metal studs, flat beads, tiny cabochons, minatures...etc could works too. You just have to make sure it's small, so it won't be too heavy for your ears and will look nice as a stud
  • E6000 glue - This glue is the best for adhering pretty much anything. Use it in a well ventilated area
  • Stud backs - I bought a pack from Etsy. Craft stores probably carry these too, but Etsy was a better deal
  • Circle earring backs - You might already have some extras around. I bought a pack from Etsy. There are 3 different kinds for studs...bullet, curls, and bullet with a clear circle. The bullet with the clear circle are great for stabilizing heavy or large studs against your ear
  • Wax paper - This is handy for protecting your work surface

OPTIONAL SUPPLIES:
  • A wood skewer - Handy for spreading glue onto the earring backs
  • Mod Podge Outdoor - My scrapbook elements had glitter on them. I coated them with Mod Podge Outdoor to seal the glitter and make it waterproof
  • Small flat paint brush - This is to help apply the Mod Podge evenly on the tiny scrapbook elements
  • Pliers or wire cutters - If you want to use something with a shank (buttons commonly have them), you need to take that off 1st, before you can make the earrings. Use the cutters to remove the shank
  • Sandpaper - To smooth any roughness from removing the shank
  • Fine glitter - To make your basic decoration into something sparkly

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) If your scrapbook elements (or what ever you chose) have any sort of dimensional adhesive on the back, you want to remove that. Mine had a foam dot that was sticky on both sides. I scrapped them off with my fingernails.

2) Lay a piece of wax paper down on your work surface. Glue is messy, but your work area doesn't need to be.

3) Lay out the decorative elements and pair them with earring backs, so you know how many backs you need.

4) Open the glue. Squeeze it a little, so glue appears at the top. Apply the glue to the earring back. Place the earring back onto the decorative element back.

5) Make sure the decorative element is face down, and the stud back's post is straight up for drying. This will make sure the earring drys correctly, and is comfortable later when worn.

Repeat step 4 and 5, for all the earrings. Let them dry for a few hours.



6) After the earring have dried, if your earrings have glitter already, you need to seal that on. Dip the small flat paint into the Mod Podge Outdoor, and apply a thin even layer to each decoration that has glitter already on it.

7) If you need to add glitter, follow this step. Get a paper plate to catch the excess glitter. Paint an even layer of Mod Podge Outdoor onto the decorative element, where you want the glitter to be (all over is easiest). Sprinkle the fine glitter onto the decorative element before the glue dries. Let the piece dry. After it's dry, seal the glitter with another layer of Mod Podge.


OTHER OPTIONS:

Decorate the earring with paint, foils, fabric, glow in the dark stuff...etc. You can layer lightweight items, like papers. Make sure you seal them with the Mod Podge Outdoor, so they can survive rain or sweat.

Here is what the googly eye ones look like on me. Also, this photo is a sneak peek of my new hair cut. More on that later.


This is a great way to turning tiny things into something wearable. Have fun, and happy makery!

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