Rippling river earrings

Make Jo Tinley’s pretty lampwork bead earrings with handmade findings.

This project is ideal for beginners who’d like to start making their own findings. The clever design used a single piece of wire to create both a hammered style headpin and earring wire in one. These earrings match Jo’s necklace as featured in the December issue of Beads & Beyond magazine.

GATHER THESE SUPPLIES

• 2 lamp work beads
• 4 4mm Indicolite bicone crystal beads
• 13cm of 0.8mm sterling silver wire
• Chasing hammer and block

Here’s how
NB Make the earrings together to make certain that they match exactly.

1. For each, cut 6.5cm of 0.8mm sterling silver wire. Hammer the wire on a bench block using a chasing hammer to flatten and widen one end.
2. Thread a 4mm Swarovski crystal on each wire. Make certain that the flaring of the wire stops the bead from falling off and that the two wires are even.
3. Remove the beads, neaten the flared sections with files and texture both sides of the wires. The texturing should go 3.5cm up the wire.
4. 4 Thread a Swarovski crystal, a lampwork bead and a second crystal on each wire. Wrap the untextured section of wire around a mandrel to shape it into an ear wire.
5. Lightly hammer the front of the ear wire section to harden it, being careful to avoid the beads. Round of the end of the wires with a file and use pliers to ‘flick’ out the end couple of millimetres.

SHOPPING GUIDE
Lampwork beads from Crafted Gems – www.craftedgems.etsy.com
Swarovski crystal beads from The Bead Shop –          www.mailorder-beads.co.uk – Tel: 0115 958 8899
Sterling silver wire available from Cookson Gold – www.cooksongold.com – Tel: 0845 100 1122

To see Jo’s matching Rippling river necklace see the December issue of Beads & Beyond magazine.