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One of the best Ear Cuff Tutorials

Shealynn's Faerie Shoppe...offers one (actually 3, scroll to the end of this post) of the best ear cuff tutorial(s) I've seen! 

I urge you to go directly to her her blog "Shealynn's Faerie Shoppe" and see all the great work she is creating. 
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Ear Cuff Tutorial: The Double-Loop Technique




It's been a bit since I've done a proper tutorial, hasn't it? Don't worry, I'll be doing some craftsy
ones soon-- but fellow jewelers are in luck today! I've photographed the making of another kind
of ear cuff (which I'm calling the "Double-Loop" because you kind of loop it twice... I'm having
a really hard time coming up with names for these different ear cuffs!)

For those unfamiliar with ear cuffs, they are awesome and comfortable pieces of jewelry that
simply wrap around the cartilage of the ear-- no piercings required! They are easy to put on and
really stay put!  If you aren't up to making some yourself, be sure to visit my Shoppe, where I sell 
some and also do custom orders.

Before you begin, I recommend that you check out my tutorials on the basic ear cuff 
and the swirly ear cuff. You should be able to create both styles proficiently. You can also 
check out the bow-tie ear cuff tutorial (which is about the same difficulty as this ear cuff). 

Now then. With a few cuffs behind you, it's time to get started with this fun technique! 

We are creating a left ear cuff. Simply mirror the design to create one for the right ear.

This particular design is a bit more understated than the other ear cuffs because the decorative 
are limited to the bottom of the cuff!



You will need:
- 8 inches of 18 ga wire
- needle-nose pliers
-a marker (see my discussion of the type of marker or mandrel you will need)
- (optional) beads, other wire for decorative wrapping, headpins to add dangles, etc.




Cut a length of wire at least 8 inches long.



Bend it at the three inch mark. Make sure that the small loop this creates is actually a loop
-- it's not as comfortable to wear ear cuffs in which the wire is pinched together tightly.



This is where the "double loop" comes into play.

First, bend the wire into a 1 inch zig-zag (just as you did with the swirly ear cuff). The next
part is a bit tricky if you are working with tough wire like me (hard copper is not recommended to
begin with). Take the tail end of the wire on the right-hand side and fold it down and 
around the right-hand loop. 

Did that make sense? Here's a picture of the finished double loop:



The next few steps are just like the other ear cuffs, so I won't narrate these photos...







Okay, now you get to have fun. How do you want the ends of the wire to look? What beads will 
you add? What loops and swirls and decorations will you make with the wire? Have at it!



I found that I had a bit of a hard time keeping mental track of the placement of the ear cuff, so
I kept putting it on the marker (or my ear) as I designed, in order to make sure the swirls and 
beads were just perfect.

If you are adding beads, be sure to very, very slightly bend the wire just above and
 below the beads in order to hold them in place.



I only recently perfected this design, so I don't have any more double-loop ear cuffs to show you. 
Soon!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Please be sure to leave a comment if you used it!

Also, please note that you may use this tutorial to make your own jewelry to sell, but only if you 
credit me for showing you how. It does take time for me to make these tutorials! Thanks!

How to Wear an


Simple Ear Cuff

Fancy Ear Cuff

Wire Cages an Alternative to Drilling Jewelry Elements

I love this technique and the results it produces. So I've re-posted the article that this video was a part of.  Re-posted from The Beading Gems Journal: Jewelry Expression in Bloom.

When it is too cold to go outside is a good time to reminisce over your previous summer holidays and maybe plot your next one. Even better if you have a project to do to preserve summer memories.  Here are more sea glass jewelry tutorials for all you hoarders out there!

If you can drill holes in the sea glass pieces yourself, try making a wire crochet necklace (above) as shown by Cyndi Lavin's tutorial over on Beading Arts.  You canpurchase frosted fake sea glass beads too if you don't have any real ones on hand.

One way to avoid having to drill is to wire wrap large pieces of sea glass.  I have covered the tutorials before (see links below) but here is a lovely video tutorial by Gayle Bird. 

She demonstrates a really easy way of making a wire cage by using wire twists.  Just make sure you start off with a generous length of wire because it is difficult to predict how much you need with such an informal method. She introduce kinks in the wire which are necessary to tighten the "cage". They do add charm to the design.




Not everyone can drill holes in sea glass nor do they wire work, so check out this even easier solution!  Just glue the pieces onto a disc and loop bracelet. This works also if the sea glass fragments are too small to drill or wire wrap.  The idea is from Martha Stewart.com

Before You Go:

• How to Drill Sea Glass
• How to Wire Wrap Sea Glass Jewelry
• How to Tumble Glass to Make Faux Sea Glass

Other "Wire Cage" articles on this blog;

• necklace made with undrilled nuggets of  red jasper 
• "The Earth has Weight" a collar I made with a 1-3/4" Green Aventurine  undrilled cabochon.