Silver wire wrapped statement hoop earrings with antiqued beads

I got a call from a friend the other day, who said he'd found a box full of old costume jewelry in an attic. Naturally, he thought of me and figures I can take the pieces apart and use the various elements.

My first instinct was to say, "No, thanks," because I've been making more and more of my own focals and pendants. But then I thought, well, I still buy ready-made beads and it isn't like I've never re-used parts from another piece of jewelry.

<> A few months ago, I got a message from a customer who asked if I could make her a pair of statement hoop earrings. She'd had a favorite pair which she'd damaged and wanted me to create something similar. I get this type of request often and told her if it would be helpful if she sent a photo of the old pair. She did, and I got to work.

The earrings were a pretty simple hoop design with a series of silver beads in the center. The problem was, I don't own many silver beads. I just don't work with them that often. I prefer using colorful crystals so I literally only have one bag of silver pieces.

Still, I wanted to see if I could make these earrings without having to order extra materials. I found the bag of antique-style heads I'd purchased years ago. I actually think these might have been the very first beads I bought when I got into jewelry making in 2010. I took out a few that I thought would work for these earrings, but many of the beads didn't have a matching twin. The beads would look similar, but were noticeably different -- which just doesn't work for earrings.

I managed to find a few matching pairs, but still didn't have enough beads to make the pattern she liked. I then remembered the beaded necklace my aunt and uncle had given me a few years ago. This was a beautiful necklace with blue crystals and little silver spacer beads. I haven't worn the necklace in a long time and well... I cut it and took off the silver bits. They're encouraging of my jewelry career, so I knew they'd understand. Sure enough, they just laughed when I later told them.

I ended up creating the following earrings and hoped the customer would like them. They didn't really look like her old pair, but they were a similar style. It would suck if I'd destroyed my necklace for nothing!

Happily, the woman loved the earrings and sent me thank-you note saying how she was "obsessed" with my design and liked it better than the original. She then went on to explain that the earrings she'd damaged were part of the collection of a well-known reality star-turned-designer -- and that she thought I could compete with said designer. I guess this is a compliment? I'm not really into imitating popular items, though. I much prefer doing my own thing.

These earrings are pretty, though, and have a very classic look. I'm glad I wasn't able to find the exact beads so I could at least add SOME originality to them.

Check out the rest of my handmade wire wrapped, enamel and glass jewellery at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations.

Silver wire wrapped chandelier earrings with sapphire blue teardrop crystals, spirals and filigree design

Wow, that's a looong title, but there's a lot going on with these wire wrapped chandelier earrings. These statement earrings were a true labor of love, but I like ho they turned out.

First, I made the filigree pattern - and that was the easy part. I then had to make every spiral, altogether 28. And then I had to made the links with the sapphire blue crystals. Sidenote: these crystals are not Swarovski; they're Celestial Crystals, which are available at Fire Mountain Gems. I love Swarovski, but they can get pricey. Celestial Crystals are also really pretty, but cost a lot less. They also have some different colors and shapes from Swarovski so I like to mix and match.

Anyway, once I had all of the parts, I put together the earrings. I then had to get all of the spirals to hang evenly, which took a lot of cutting and tightening and adjusting.

It took me a couple of weeks to finish these, but it was worth the work. I'm trying to make more complex, challenging pieces and I'm proud of these.

To purchase my jewelry, head to Naomi's Studio or Naomi's Designs.

Heart Of Gold Earrings: Silver Chandelier Statement Earrings With Gold Swarovski Crystal Hearts And Sterling Silver Beads

These silver chandelier earrings are super-luxurious. They're the type of jewelry that you wear to a wedding or a prom. I'm not kidding when I say they're statement earrings: they're over four inches long and just skim the shoulders. They're MEANT to be noticed.

I got the idea for them when I purchased these gorgeous gold Swarovski crystal hearts. Who knew they came in gold? By now you must know how much I love, love, love Swarovski hearts and I just had to do something special with golden ones. Talk about being a gold standard, ha ha.

I used my famous lattice design for both parts, only the top has nine loops and the bottom, sixteen. I then attached the hearts and sterling siver saucer beads to long strands of wire. The result is these crazy, over-the-top chandelier earrings. I'll be honest, I was tempted to add a third layer with a 20-loop lattice, but stopped when they hit my shoulder. There's that old saying about wearing jewelry, about how you should always remove one item. I think that goes for making jewelry, too!

To buy my jewelry, check out Naomi's Designs on Etsy.