Earrings with Antiqued Gold-Plated Steel Connectors and Friendly Plastic®
Instructions by Michelle Wood, Jewelry-Making Expert, Exclusively for Fire Mountain Gems and Beads®
CB79
- Jumpring, brass, 5mm round, 20 gauge (4 jumprings)
- Earwire, antiqued gold-plated brass, 10x2mm plain leverback with shield and open loop (2 earwires)
- Hobby knife set, steel
- Non-stick art sheet, Teflon
- Beads and components, butterfly
- Plastic stick by Friendly Plastic
- Pliers, flush-cutter
- Pliers, chain-nose
- Pliers, round-nose
- Scissors
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Focal, antique gold-plated steel, 33x19mm single-sided fancy butterfly (6 focals)
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Candle warmer
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Teflon®
-- Designer --
Jude, Exclusively for Fire Mountain Gems and Beads®
STEP 1
Using flush-cutters cut one loop from the right wing on two antiqued gold-plated butterfly focal connectors.
Repeat to remove one loop from the left wing on two additional butterfly focal connectors.
STEP 2
Lay one butterfly connector on a stick of Friendly Plastic® and trace the shape onto the plastic. Using scissors cut out the traced butterfly shape.
STEP 3
Lay a sheet of Teflon® on a flat heat source such as an electric griddle and turn to a medium low heat setting.
Tip: Never leave Friendly Plastic unattended on heat source. When melting Friendly Plastic, avoid temperatures that are set too high as it can cause scorching and undesirable color changes.
STEP 4
Place the Friendly Plastic butterfly cutout on the Teflon sheet. Once the plastic is soft, lightly press the antiqued gold-plated butterfly connector into it so that the plastic oozes slightly through the holes of the butterfly wings.
STEP 5
If the Friendly Plastic melts to exceed outside of the butterfly edges, carefully trim the edges with a craft knife.
Tip: It is much easier to trim the Friendly Plastic while it is still slightly warm.
Repeat to add Friendly Plastic to the remaining five butterfly connectors.
STEP 6
Use a craft knife to remove a small amount of the Friendly Plastic to bottom right cut out on one of the two loop butterfly connectors to allow a jumpring to pass through.
Repeat to remove Friendly Plastic from bottom left cut out on the second two loop butterfly connector.
STEP 7
Using round-nose pliers and chain-nose pliers open one brass jumpring. Pass jumpring through top right loop on one two loop butterfly connector and the top right loop on a one loop butterfly connector. Close the jumpring.
STEP 8
Open one jumpring and pass it through the bottom right cutout on first two loop butterfly component and the top right loop on a second one loop butterfly connector. Close the jumpring.
STEP 9
Open the loop on one antiqued gold-plated leverback earwire and pass it through the top left loop on the first two loop butterfly connector. Close the loop.
Repeat Steps 7 - 9 to create a second earring in the mirror image of the first for right and left facing earrings.
The pieces featured in the Gallery of Designs are copyrighted designs and are provided for inspiration only. We
encourage you to substitute different colors, products and techniques to make the design your own.