Carey Burns

I must admit, I love how this pair of earrings turned out. Too bad I don't have much blue in my wardrobe. Supplies: 2 sterling silver ear wires 2 sterling silver components (these, sadly, seem to be discontinued) 8 sterling silver headpins (2 inch) 8 Round Swarovski crystals in Montana (4 mm) Tools: Jeweler's pliers (one or two pairs, depending on your preference) Flush cutters Instructions: 1.  Slide a Swarovski onto a headpin. 2.  With the tips of your pliers, make a 90 degree bend in the headpin just above the bead. Repeat for the other seven headpins. 3.  Trim a headpin so that it is just under 1/2 an inch long. 4.   Use your "scrap" piece of headpin as a quick-and-dirty way to trim your other headpins. Line it up with an untrimmed headpin and cut so they are the same length. Repeat for the rest of the headpins. 5.  Now you'll make your loops. Line the very end of a headpin up with th...

 Another Maker's Monday, another pair of earrings! I'm using gold-filled findings this time and some lovely Swarovski rondelle crystals in Denim Blue. Variations on this basic jewelry project are endless! I linked to where I purchased my supplies but you can buy them elsewhere.  A dainty pair of earrings A note about gold findings: When I first started making jewelry, I didn't want to use gold because it was expensive and the findings I could get locally were gold-plated and just looked cheap. Gold-filled findings have more gold in them as compared to gold-plated so they should wear longer, be less prone to tarnishing, and the gold won't "flake off." A brief explanation can be found in this Artbeads.com article.  Supplies: 2 gold-filled headpins (2 inches long) 2 8x6 mm Swarovski rondelle crystals in Denim Blue 4 gold-filled saucer beads 2 gold-filled ear wires Add caption Tools: Jeweler's pliers (one or two pairs, depending on y...

What a whirlwind the last few weeks has been! I've been writing and doing a major purge of the office/craft room and this morning before work, I started working on a few pairs of earrings. I had very simple direction from the recipient: the colors to use were green, purple, and a melon/salmon. After sorting through my beads and clarifying that silver was the metal of choice, I just studied beads and findings until ideas formed. Beads I had on hand It was nice to just play around until something worked. Very therapeutic. Beads and findings ... what will become of them? So far I have completed two pairs of earrings and am almost done with a third. Onward and upward! Prehnite beads and sterling silver spacer beads Amethyst beads, sterling silver wire, and "upcycled" sterling silver toggles This weekend, I should have a lot of time to get back to those artsy WIPs. What are you working on?

I had a citrine chip memory wire bracelet in my Etsy store and sold it to a friend and she wanted matching earrings to go with it to give as a gift. With the recipient in mind, I came up with this sweet pair of earrings and decided to post the how-to for Maker's Monday! Can't find citrine chips? Substitute with a different crystal. Supplies: 2 sterling silver headpins (2 inches long) 6 citrine chips 4 sterling silver beads (3mm) 2 sterling silver ear wires Tools: Jeweler's pliers (one or two pairs, depending on your preference) Flush cutters Instructions: 1.  Look through your chips/beads to get six that are similar sized/shaped . Slide on a silver bead, three chips, and another silver bead. 2. Make a 90 degree bend in the headpin. Repeat for the other headpin. 3.  Line up two headpins and cut them about 1/8 inch from the tip of the tail. 5.  Now you'll make your loops. Line the very end of a 90 degree bent headpin and bead...

Happy Independence Day and Maker's Monday! This week, I decided to plan a little bit better. I had a handful of gold-filled headpins and beads left from a class I taught, so I thought I'd use them up. I also had a few wonderful Swarovski crystals in Turquoise that I just love with pretty much any metal. As always, I've linked supplies to where I have purchased them but you may buy them elsewhere. Supplies: 6 gold-filled headpins (1.5 inches long) 2 6mm round Swarovski crystals in Turquoise 4 gold-filled saucer beads 2 gold-filled ear wires Tools: Jeweler's pliers (one or two pairs, depending on your preference) Flush cutters Instructions: 1.  This pair of earrings is a bit different in that we'll use different lengths of headpins. Slide a Swarovski onto a headpin. With the tips of your pliers, make a 90 degree bend in the headpin just under 1/2 of an inch from the end of the tail. Repeat for the other headpin. 2.  Line up two h...

It's Maker's Monday! Today’s project is a pair of natural brass and Swarovski pearl earrings with a simple loop cold connection. Some people have sensitive ears so they may not be able to wear brass ear wires. Please substitute accordingly. I've linked supplies to where I have purchased them but you may buy them elsewhere. Supplies: 2 natural brass fishhook ear wires 2 8mm Swarovski pearls in Night Blue 2 Vintaj Wandering Pathway embellishments 2 lengths of Vintaj 20 gauge Artisan Copper wire (about 5 inches each) Tools: Jeweler's pliers (one or two pairs, depending on your preference) Flush cutters Instructions: 1.  With the tips of your pliers, make a 90 degree bend in the end of one wire, roughly 1/2 inch from the end.  2.  Line the very end of that 90 degree bend up with the mark on your pliers. Make sure the mark is facing up and clamp the pliers around the end of the headpin—hold the rest of the wire tightly with your other hand.   Line th...