*Affiliate links are included in this post.
Today’s tutorial is for a pair of beautiful boho style festival earrings!
I’ve been wanting to make these for a very long time, ever since I came across some gorgeous artisan flower and leaf beads from The Curious Bead Shop on Etsy. I bought them ages ago and finally, I’ve been able to do them justice!
What I love about these beads (and art beads in general), is that they are wonderfully unique and high quality. Both the flower and leaf beads have a Picasso finish, which darkens them in all the right places to give them depth and definition. I’ve also used some hand-antiqued wire for this project to make all of the wire components, which I bought from the same store.
If you’d like to have a go at this earring project, here’s what you’ll need!
- 2 x 11mm or 12mm Crimson Lil’ Bloom beads (red flower beads).
- 2 x 16mm Autumn Picasso Leaves (green leaf beads).
- 12 x Toho red seed beads size 11/0.
- Hand-antiqued Copper Wire – 21 gauge should work well.
- Jewellery making pliers (round nose and chain nose pliers plus wire cutters).
Step 1: Wire wrapping the leaf beads
Trim off a length of wire around 4 inches long. The leaf beads are top drilled from side to side, so thread the wire through the bead as shown in the photo above.
Twist the two ends of the wire together a couple of times…
And then use your round nose pliers to make a loop with each of the wires. Curl the wires inwards towards the centre of the leaf bead.
Trim off excess wire and bend the ends in so that you won’t have any sharp edges sticking out! Your component should look something like the above when you’re done, with a double wire loop above the leaf bead.
Step 2: Making a beaded wire component
Trim off another piece of wire around two inches in length. Make a loop at one end with your round nose pliers, then thread on three red seed beads, before making a loop at the other end and trimming away any excess wire.
Step 3: Making the flower component
Do exactly the same as before, but with the flower bead this time!
Step 4: Making the earwire
Did you know that you can make your own earwires rather than buying them? Trim off a length of wire that is around 3 inches. Make a loop at one end and thread on three red seed beads. Place the tip of your round nose pliers right above the last seed bead and pull the wire over to one side.
Then take something round to form the shape of your earwire. I’ve used the handle from an old pair of jewellery pliers, as you can see in the photo above! Simply bend the wire around the handle and trim off any excess wire. Make a slight bend in the opposite direction at the other end of the wire to give the earwire a nice shape.
Once you’ve done that, all you need to do afterwards is link the components together! Then repeat steps 1 to 4 to make the other earring.
Finally…
This is a good project to do if you want to start working with wire, as you’ll be able to create a few different shapes / components as you move through the steps involved. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial – if you did, please take a moment to share this post online!
Before you go, you might like to check out these tutorials too:
- Mini Tassel Earrings (30 Minute Make).
- Beautiful Waterfall Earrings Project.
- Autumn Leaf Earrings DIY.
*Affiliate links to Etsy are included in this post. This means that if you make a purchase through one of my links, I will earn a small commission at no cost to you. I only ever recommend products that I think are great and any commissions help me to keep this site up and running. Thank you for using my links if you’re able to.
*Images © Craftaholique.
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