If you are looking for information on how to make beaded earrings, you have come to the right Mahalo page. On this page you will find step by step instructions on how to make earrings from beads. You will learn about various sources for jewelry patterns and you will also find information about the materials and tools that you will need.

Nowadays earrings are worn as a fashion statement by both men and women. However, earrings have been around as far back as 2500 BC when only royalty and the wealthy people could afford them. They were considered a status symbol. Earrings nowadays come in many shapes and materials. You will find everything from hoop earrings to chandelier and button earrings. http://www.jewelry-paideia.com/reference/ref-jewelry-jewelry-8.php

Making beaded earrings is not only an activity that the whole family can get involved in, but it will most likely save you some money. Making your own jewelry is much cheaper than buying them in the store. If you plan on using the earrings you make as a gift, it will usually be much more appreciated because of the time and effort that you put into making them. Homemade jewelry can be used as a gift for celebrations such as birthdays, baby showers, anniversaries, and Christmas. If you really enjoy making earrings and other beaded jewelry, you can even consider starting your own home based jewelry business. You can even make money by planning a jewelry party.

Hopefully the information below will help you when making your beaded earrings.

To make beaded earrings there are several materials and tools you will need. Following you will find a summary of these together with a short description:

Beads:

The beads you use for your earrings all depends on your personal taste. Beads come in a wide variety. Beads can be made out of glass, bone, shell, clay, metal, pearls, seeds, and even paper. Some people like using special gemstones for their earrings, but you can really use any kind of beads. If you are trying to achieve a certain look to go with a new outfit, make sure you choose beads in a color that will match the outfit.http://www.beadage.net/supplies/beads.shtml

Spacer Beads:

These are beads that separate the regular beads that you use to make your earring.They basically break up the colored beads.

Ear wires:

This is basically the hook shaped part of the earring that goes into your ear piercing. Ear wires come in different finishes such as gold filled, brass, silver plated, or steel.http://www.beadage.net/supplies/findings.shtml#frenchwire

Headpins or Eyepins:

Headpins look like nails and are basically used to hold the beads together. They make up the dangling part of the earring. Eyepins are the same thing as headpins, only they have a loop in one end. If you don't have eyepins, you can always loop the end of a regular piece of wire.http://www.beadage.net/supplies/findings.shtml#headpins

Pliers: When making earrings, round nose pliers can come in handy when you have to make loops in wire.http://www.beadage.net/supplies/wirework.shtml#roundnose<ref>

To make the beaded earrings described in step 3 on this page, you will need all the material and tools mentioned above.

If you are a beginner trying to make beaded jewelry, it is a good thing to look for ideas and inspiration from various sources. There are many different patterns for beaded earrings. There are basic drop earrings, Wire briolette earrings, cascade earrings, chandelier earrings and many more. Each can be made from various different beads. Try looking for various books on the subject of jewelry making. Some titles you might like include:

• ■ "100 Beaded Jewelry Designs"
• ■ "Jewelry Making and Beading for Dummies"
• ■ "The Beading Answer Book"
• ■ "Easy Beaded Jewelry"http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog/category.jsp?subCatName=jewelry%20making%20books&_DARGS=/joann/catalog/category.jsp.bottom_resultsnavhttp://www.how-to-make-beaded-jewelry.com/beaded-earring-projects.html

If you are on a tight spending budget and don't want to spend a lot of money on jewelry making books, try looking for books at your local library. You can just borrow books and get ideas from them before returning them. The Internet is also a great source of information. There are numerous websites about beaded jewelry making. You will find numerous different patterns and instructions on how to make certain pieces. Conveniently the Internet is 'open' 24/7, so you can search websites at your own leisure. You will find patterns for everything from bracelets and earrings to necklaces and ankle bracelets.

There are many patterns for earrings available online. The one described below is an easier way to make beaded earrings. The steps below are to make simple dangle earrings. Once you master this technique you can start exploring more difficult patterns. You can make different shaped earrings and use various different materials to make your earrings.

For the dangle earrings described below you will need all the materials that were described in step 1 on this page:

1. To start these earrings, you want to take one headpin. Mind you that headpins do come in different thicknesses and sizes. Choose a size that you think will flatter your face. It might take some experimenting.
2. Add some beads onto the head pin. You can use different sized beads or you can use spacer beads in between your colored beads. Try to find nice color combinations.
3. Use your round nose pliers to bend the headpin above the beads to 90 degrees.
4. The part of the headpin that you bend should be made into a loop.
5. Take a hook shaped ear wire and attach it to this loop.
6. Repeat all the steps to make the other earring so you end up with a complete pair.http://www.beadage.net/drop_earrings/drop.shtml