I love homemade gifts and for Christmas 2015 I made candles and pins. This year I took on the overly ambitious project of making earrings, similar to Les Bonbons by Rebecca De Ravenel that are available for purchase here: https://rebeccaderavenel.com/. It was harder than it looked, so unfortunately I did not finish in time for Christmas, but alas - I am now complete and here are the results!

For this project the supply list is incredible, because it is cheap and basic. You will need:
1) Styrofoam balls (4 / pair): I used 1" smoothfoam balls found here, http://www.smoothfoam.com/product/balls/10010.html
2) Styrofoam half balls (2 / pair): I used 1" half smoothfoam balls found here, http://www.smoothfoam.com/product/10612.html
3) Gold acrylic paint, or color to match silk thread
4) Gold silk thread, or color to match paint
5) Clip-on earring flat back findings: I used something like these, http://www.firemountaingems.com/itemdetails/h20b4401fn
6) Gold wire, jump rings or chain: can also find at Fire Mountain Gems
7) Needle-nosed pliers, wire cutter (for jewelry), Glue, Toothpicks.... scissors, and, that's it!

The first step is to drive a hole through your smoothfoam balls with a toothpick and paint them gold. You can use the toothpick to hold the ball in place as you paint.

Painting the smoothfoam ball gold with acrylic paint.

I ended up painting a few different sizes to experiment. The larger balls, 1" diam., were my fave.

Smearing on glue with a free toothpick and tucking the tail of the silk cord in place - glue and wrap.

Keep gluing, keep wrapping and watch out for dirty fingers!

Once you reach the end, tuck in the string with some glue and let dry.

If you are still with me, you are golden. The hard part is done!

Repeat steps above with your half smoothballs.

Time to assemble. Using a headpin or gold wire (as pictured), use a needle nosed plier to loop the end. This is to keep the bottom bead in place.

Using the needle-nosed pliers, make a loop.

Attach a short length of chain. I ended up only using one single loop.

Put it all together! Yes, it is possible. :)

Apply glue to your half smoothball and cover with felt circle backing.

Glue on the clip-on with tacky glue and assemble. These earrings weigh almost nothing!

So I appreciate that this project is probably too hard for most to want to take on. If you love these earrings, but don't love the crafting component - you can always splurge for the original that is available for sale here: https://rebeccaderavenel.com/

If anyone decides to give it a go - please post your comments below! Would love to hear how it worked out!

A trip to the bead store landed me with a strand of blue Jasper stones and a project on my hands! I turned it around quick so I could wear this necklace to work this week. There are so many beautiful pieces of jewelry that you can buy in the store or make yourself for so much more fun!
To make this project at home you will need: 1) strand of beads (mine are blue jasper), 2) beading wire, 3) small silver spacer beads (if preferred), 4) 2 crimp beads, 5) a clasp, 6) needle nosed pliers (to crimp the crimp beads, and finish the necklace)

Jasper beads unfinished and fresh from the bead store

I chose a fun snake shaped clasp with silver spacer beads.

To begin the necklace, thread the tail of the beading wire up through the spacer bead, the crimp bead (very small), around the clasp and back down through the crimp and spacer bead. Using your needle nosed pliers, squeeze the crimp bead shut. This will hold the clasp in place and allow you to move forward stringing the beads.

I used some extra small silver spacers to fill in gaps that were caused by angled stones. This is optional and they are not evenly spaced, but they fill the gap where wire would otherwise show.

To finish the necklace repeat the same steps from how you began; string large spacer bead, crimp, clasp and back down through crimp and spacer bead. Use your needle nosed pliers to pinch the crimp shut and weave the remaining beading wire back through the strand, clipping when you are a few inches away from the clasp.