My latest jewelry experiment involves making something pretty simple: stud earrings. I've gotten many requests for stud earrings, but haven't yet tried to make them. This weekend, I decided to try my hand at it and am happy with the results.
Most people who've had their ears pierced have started out with simple stud earrings before moving on to hoop or dangle earrings. I personally like studs because they don't weight your ears down as chandelier-type earrings sometimes can. Plus, they just look very chic and elegant.
I figured that these would be pretty easy to make; after all, I'd just be wire wrapping a stone, right? Well, not really. The challenge comes in making the post part of the earring, the portion that you actually stick into your ear. For one thing, you can't make the post too short or long; if it's too short, the earring will fall out and if it's too long, the post will poke into the side of your head. So I had to keep trying post sizes until I came up with a good length, about a half inch of wire.
I also had to angle the post correctly so that the earrings hung nicely. You don't want the earrings to droop or to stick up too far. Plus, you need the post to remain stable as you put on and remove the earring. So I had to arrange the post in the right way to do all of this -- and it took a few tries.
That said, a simple stone or pearl works best for this design. I tried to make stud heart earrings, but the design was too flimsy to work; the wire kept bending as I manipulated the post into my ear. I think the stud design would work, though, if I kept the stud portion simple and then attached something *below* the stone. It would be an interesting alternative to my typical chandelier earrings which I attach to a French hook, so I'm planning to try it sometime soon.
To purchase my jewellery, head to Naomi's Designs. To purchase my children's jewelry, head to MayaGirl Creations.
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