A few weeks ago, I did an unboxing video for Affordable Jewellery Supplies where I unboxed some beautiful glass daggers.
I was so excited when the box arrived, that I couldn’t help myself. I had to take some of these amazing beads for a test run – so was born my dragonfly earrings.
Today, I’m sharing with you the step by step instructions to make these wonderful silver dragonfly earrings.
These Czech glass daggers come in a variety of colours. I can imagine the Crystal Capri Gold daggers making a great pair of gold dragonfly earrings.
Here are the supplies you need to make these earrings:
I’ve made a video so you can watch, and I have also written the steps out below.
Feed onto the ball pin the sterling silver balls followed by the black plated balls.
Cut the ballpin approximately 1cm from the end of the black plated balls.
Place the cut end of the ballpin between the jaws of your round nose pliers, making sure that the end is flush with the jaws (doesn’t poke out over the top).
Rotate the pliers away from you until your wrist won’t go any further.
Reposition the pliers so that the loop is on the lower jaw and rotate again until the loop is closed. It doesn’t matter if the loop is not centered.
Using your bent nose pliers, squeeze the loop to make it smaller.
This completes your tail component.
Add beads to the wire in the following order:
Move the beads to the centre of the wire and cross the ends of the wire to make a loop. Make sure you get the loop nice and tight so that there’s no space between the beads.
Bend the wires so that they are straight up, then take one wire across on top of the other. Pick the work up, holding the crossed wire between your finger and thumb, twist a few times until the loop is really well closed and the dragonfly wings are firmly in place (not drooping). Be careful not to twist so tightly that you break the wire.
Trim off the excess wire.
Feed the vacuum bead onto the wire, making sure it covers the wrap.
Bend the wire at right angles to the bead.
Place your round nose pliers on the wire close to the bend and rotate as far as your wrist can go.
Reposition the pliers so that the loop is on the lower jaw and rotate again.
Take the long end of wire you have just bent and cross it over so it’s on the other side of the bead, parallel with the plier jaws.
Remove the pliers. It should look like this.
Holding across the loop with your pliers, wind the wire around the wire coming out of the bead twice, ending on the back side.
Trim the excess wire and ensure there are no ends sticking out. If there are, just give them a squeeze with the pliers.
Open the loop at the bottom of the earhook by grasping it along the side with the pliers. Rotate up towards the ceiling. Never open a loop to the side or you will lose the nice round loop.
Place the loop of the earring component onto the loop of the earhook and close the loop by rotating down toward the floor, making sure the loop is closed. Rotate back and forth with a little pressure if necessary, to get it to sit nice and tight.
There are a lot of steps in this project, so I suggest you watch the video to ensure you don’t miss anything. If you would like to see more projects like this one, please subscribe to my mailing list – that way you won’t miss a thing.
Also, if you like these earrings or if you have any questions, please leave me a comment below.
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September 22, 2020
Hi, my name is Carol Karl. I live in little old New Zealand. My family and I strive to live the most ‘real’ life we can – by that I mean that we eat real food, we live real lives and just generally be our most authentic selves.
