How to Make Earrings With Pre-made Pendants

This instructable will demonstrate how to decorate and connect laser-cut acrylic pendants to earring hooks to make a pair of earrings.

**Warning: This does not include how to use a laser cutter to make the acrylic pendants.

The next page will include a list of tools and materials you will need for this project.

Here is a list of tools and materials that you will need for this project:

• Pre-made acrylic pendants OR any other pendant you would like to attach to an earring hook.
• Sterling silver wire (approx. 4 inches)
• 4 sterling silver jewelry crimps
• 2 sterling silver earring hooks

• Scissors
• Needle-nose pliers

• OPTIONAL: Metalic gold Sharpie brand paint pen

Note: Sterling silver is used here but any other jewelry metal can be used. Just be careful for people who may have allergies to certain types of metals and metals that may rust/break easily.

These pendants here were made using white acrylic plexiglass that were laser cut with the paper adhesive left on for better results on the laser cutter.

First you must carefully remove the paper adhesive from both pendants. Go slowly to try and remove the paper in one go instead of having to keep scratching the surface with your nails. Continue until the paper is removed from both sides of both pendants.

Second, shake the paint pen vigorously to mix the pen. Then holding one pendant by the hoop, paint onto the top surface. Go with the lines and not against them with the paint pen to ensure that the paint does not drip, run or splatter onto the sides. This gives it the effect of looking gold from the front but seeing the white plexi from the sides and back. Finish painting the front of one pendant and continue onto the next.

Cut about 4 inches of sterling silver jewelry wire off.

Fold in half, creating a crease to cut from.

Cut the wire into two parts at the crease, creating two 2 inch long pieces of wire.

Using the needle nose pliers, begin to create a loop by holding onto one end and circling the wire back gently to create a loop. Be careful to leave a bit of room for the plexi to go through and fit inside the loop. There should also be a slight neck on the loop for a crimp to fit on. In short, it should look like a shepherds hook.

Poke the long end of the wire through the loop into the pendant and let the pendant drop into the circle hoop you created.

Then thread a crimp onto the long end of the wire so that it sits on top of the pendant AND thread the small straight end of the hook into the crimp as well. The crimp should now have the long end of the wire and the short end of the circle INSIDE it. So that means the crimp is now creating a ring and holding the two wires inside it.

Using the needle-nose pliers, squeeze down on the crimp tightly. This will make sure that your loop doesn't come undone and the pendant doesn't drop out.

Prep the top part of the wire for the earring hoop by again using the pliers to create a loop. Make sure that the loop lies flat, parallel to the face of the earrings. This makes sure that your earrings will face forward when in your ears.

Cut off the extra wire on the end so that you have a loop similar to the one you created in Step 3.

Thread a crimp on first, followed by the earring hoop.

Making sure the earring hoop is in the wire loop, thread the short/straight end of the loop into the crimp as well, similar to the first crimp that was done in Step 4.

Make sure the earring hoop is in the loop part and that both sides of the wire are snugly inside the crimp BEFORE you press hard on the crimp.

You now have done one earring!!

Step through Steps 2 through 5 again, this time for the other half of your earring.

Some things to look out for are

• Make sure that the pendants are mirrored images so it doesn't look like you have two of the same side on.
• Make sure that you paint the proper side.
• Make sure the earring hoops are facing forward when you attach them.
• Make sure that the length of the wire once the loops are made are the SAME LENGTH so that one earring doesn't sit lower or higher than the other.
• Touch up any paint that may have been applied lightly or scratched during the making.

You're finished!!