Spiral and Gemstone Chip Earring Tutorial

Oct 22

Written By

I have been hoarding two strands of these gemstone chip beads for a while. I love the color and I had an idea of what I was going to make, but I just never quite got inspired to make that big design. I really wanted to use these beads, though, so I created these earrings. They take just 6 chips each and have fun spirals. Plus, I also designed a pendant to match!Here's how to make the Spiral and Gemstone Chip Earrings:Materials and Tools:

Amazonite Chip Gemstone Beads (you'll just need 12 total, so you'll have plenty left over for other projects!) - the link takes you to these beads on Happy Mango Beads, my favorite bead store.
20 gauge wire
Earring wires (or make your own using my tutorial here)
Wire cutters
Round nose pliers
Chain nose pliers
Another pair of pliers
Nylon or Rawhide hammer and metal block or anvil

Step #1Cut a piece of 20 gauge wire about 6 inches long. (You'll need 2 for the pair of earrings).Step #2Hold the wire in the round nose pliers. The wire should be at the top, but not poking through the top.Step #3 Twist your wrist away from you, wrapping the wire around the barrel of the round nose pliers. Go as far as you can and then readjust the wire and complete the loop. It should look like a P.Step #4 Hold the loop in chain nose pliers. Start the spiral by pushing the wire up. Continue readjusting the wire/loop and continuing in the same way.Step #5You can make your spiral as large as you want just as long as you make both the earrings the same.Step #6 Use your chain nose pliers to bend the wire so it's straight.Step #7Gently hammer the spiral with a nylon or rawhide hammer.Step #8Slide about 6 gemstone chips onto the wire. (You can use more or less.)HINT: All chips are not created equally. When I made my second earring I slide 6 chips on and finished the earrings to realize that the the earrings were not equal lengths. So measure the 2 earrings next to each other before completing the earrings.Step #9Hold the wire above the beads with your round nose pliers.Step #10 Wrap the wire around the barrel of the pliers.Step #11Straighten out the loop so it's straight on top of the beads.Step #12 Hold the loop in chain nose pliers and use the other pliers to continue and finish wrapping.Step #13 Trim the excess wire.Step #14 Either make your own earrings or open a pair of earring wires.Step #15Close the earring wire.Step #16Repeat for the second earring. (It is easier to just do each step for both earrings as you go along.)Enjoy your pretty new earrings.