Awareness Earrings

Awareness Earrings These lovely awareness earrings are easy to make, needing only basic wire wrapping skills. Crafters making jewelry in bulk for fund raising will appreciate how quickly these go, and the relatively low price tag for the materials. Basic Wire Wrapping

Parts List: Swarovski® 4mm Light Rose Bicone Beads You'll need eight to complete the project as pictured. Swarovski® 4mm Rosaline Crystal Pearl Beads You'll need six to complete the project as pictured. TierraCast® Pewter Awareness Charm in Antique Silver You'll need two to complete the project as pictured. TierraCast® Pewter 4mm Bali Style Spacers Antique Silver You'll need eight to complete the project as pictured. 3mm Seamless Sterling Rounds You'll need eight to complete the project as pictured. Sterling French Hooks You'll need two to complete the project as pictured. 20 Gauge Artistic Wire® in Non-Tarnish Silver You'll need about 12" per pair of earrings. Notes: One spool of wire will make many pairs of these earrings - you should be able to get at least 18 pairs per spool. Proper tools are a must! You'll need round nose pliers, bent nose pliers, and a good pair of wire cutters. These instructions are rather wordy and geared towards beginners. Once you get the hang of it, these earrings go very quickly. How to Make: Cut a 6" length of 20g. Artistic Wire® - smooth it with your fingers, or zip it through a polishing cloth a time or two to straighten it. String beads in the following pattern: 3mm Round 4mm Bicone 4mm Bali Style Spacer 4mm Pearl 4mm Bali Style Spacer 4mm Bicone 3mm Round Awareness Ribbon 3mm Round 4mm Bicone 4mm Bali Style Spacer 4mm Pearl 4mm Bali Style Spacer 4mm Bicone 3mm Round Using your ROUND NOSE PLIERS, make a 90 degree bend in the wire, about 2" away from the end of the wire. The beads should be on the long end of the wire. Gently curve the beaded wire around to cross at the 90 degree bend. Don't worry if it isn't a nice circle shape - we'll fix that shortly. Grasp the wires where they cross - use your thumb and pointer finger to get a firm grip. The short end that you made the 90 degree bend on earlier will be the straight piece going up. The long end of the wire will be the end that you wire wrap with - make two or three twists, and then snip off the extra String another pearl onto the straigt wire, make a loop, and slip the earring hook into the loop. Wire wrap the last loop shut, and snip off the excess. Hmmm.... Not quite finished yet. It needs shaped. This part may look intimidating, but it's not hard at all! Gently pinch the wire on opposite sides with your thumb and pointer fingers. Gently pull and manipulate the wire until you have an attractive circular shape. If the top part the earring, with the wire wrapping and extra pearl, is crooked - gently manipulate it into a straight line. Make another one, and you're done.