September 11, 2012

Easy DIY beaded hoop earrings

My practical self tends to buy only silver earrings since they match everything. But it would be good to add some color, so I made a few beaded hoops to add to the mix. These only cost a couple bucks, so you could do a rainbow array.

Find seed beads and plain wire hoops at a craft store or on Etsy. These hoops were $1.50 a pair at a local hobby shop, but you can probably find them even cheaper.

To make the earrings, thread beads onto the hoop. I found it fastest to cup the beads in my palm and pick them up with the wire hoop, the same way you'd stab peas with a fork.

Then with a pliers, bend about 1/4" of the end of the wire back at a 90 degree angle. (Don't make the angle any sharper, or it will be too difficult to feed the corner through your earlobe.) Hook the bent end through the "loop" end of the earring to close it.

It might be fun to have a ladies jewelry party some night (with cocktails, if you really want to test your hand-eye coordination). Buy hoops in bulk, get a rainbow array of seed beads, and invite everyone to make zillions of pairs for themselves or to give as gifts.

Download a printable tag for these right here for gift giving.

28 comments:

  1. Well, that is really simple and clever and attractive. Like usual!

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  2. How clever you are! And of course I like the practical part. ;)

    Mum

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  3. and if you get small hoops, you can use them as wine glass charms, too!

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  4. Love this idea! What a perfect gift to give friends during the holidays.

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  5. You know I read your blog just to see your mum's adorable comments! This is a great idea and I know my almost 14 y.o. daughter is going to love it.

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  6. I pay Mum money to comment on here.

    Just kidding. I don't think I could stop her if I tried.

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  7. Hmmm... maybe since I'm so popular, you SHOULD pay me! How 'bout that idea? Huh???

    Mum/theonlyreasonsomepeoplecomehere!

    LOL

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  8. wow, these ear rings are gorgeous. i love them!

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  9. Mum, I pay you in fun. Isn't that enough?

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  10. http://www.brit.co/introducing-the-pantone-holiday-gift-guide/
    Knew you'd love this - guess it shows how much I read your blog!

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  11. Neat idea! Along w/ the gift tags...must do this for a ladies clothing swap we're doing next month. Also, I see a ton of these on ebay pretty cheap!

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  12. the same way you'd stab peas with a fork. <3

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  13. WOw... love these pics.. especially their jewellery!
    Thank you for sharing these pics.... i've pinned few of them to my boards!

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  14. my beads doesn't fit my hoop , what am i to do?

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  15. Get beads with larger holes, or get thinner hoops.

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  16. Great idea! I would love to make some. I got beads here, so I just need to get wire hoops. And do you need nothing else to put it in your ear and close it?
    Thank you!

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  17. I don't use anything else. But if you wanted to, there are little silver or gold posts with a tiny loop at the bottom that you could put the hoop through. Example here. I prefer the look of just the hoop going through my ear, though.

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  18. Hello,

    I just had a question...I've looked for plain wire hoops to no avail. Did you happen to use memory wire? Or did anyone try that? I'm so excited to give this a try!

    Thanks!

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  19. Hi Brooke,
    I don't know what memory wire is. I just bought the hoops. Good luck!

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  20. Brooke - Memory wire works great! I make several pairs over Christmas and they all looked fantastic.

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