Beading Daily Earring Exchange - Tutorial

Beading Daily is doing an earring swap! The earring swap is to celebrate Denise Peck's new book, 101 Wire Earrings.

Here's what ya do -
Make a pair of earrings, mail them in, include a SASE, and they will send you a pair of earrings created by another artist! By participating you also give permission for photos of your earrings to be used by Interweave, as they choose, in publications, on their site or in their shows, EXCITING! - details -

As I was making earrings this morning, I thought I would create a little tutorial on how these came about. This is my first time using a Wig-Jig. I wanted to play around with it, so come along with me on this maiden voyage.

Here is what I used -
8" 18 ga sterling wire
4" 24 ga sterling wire
2 8mm bicone crystals
6 4mm swarovski bicone crystals
2 6mm faceted quartz roundels
2 4mm bali sterling spacers
6 sterling head pins

Cut two pieces of 18 ga wire, 4" long

Place the 10mm round pegs two spaces apart.




Place one end of the wire at the 9 o'clock position on the bottom peg on the wig-jig board. Hold the end in place with one hand and take the wire up and around the top peg in a counter clockwise direction. Bring the wire around til it is pointing to the right.


Slide on your beads - spacer, 8mm crystal, spacer



Bring the end of the wire (that is pointing to the right) completely around the bottom peg in a clockwise direction till it is pointing back to the right again.




Push the end of the wire that is pointing to the left up so it completes the circle around the top peg and push the end of the wire pointing to the right down and around to complete the circle around the bottom peg.


Remove the wire from the Wig Jig board. Use your chain nosed pliers to create a wire wrap, making one or two wraps with the end of the wire near the spacer beads. Repeat with the other end.


Give the loops a couple light tap tap's with your hammer on your anvil to strengthen the loops.







Make some charms to liven them up.


Put bicones on a head pin. Grip the wire with the tips of your round nosed pliers. Bend the head pin to a right angle at the top of the bead.



Rotate the pliers a quarter turn up, counter clockwise, and bring the wire around the top tine of the pliers.


Rotate the pliers a quarter turn clock wise, and take the wire around the bottom of the tine til it is pointing away from you. Snip the tail close to the bottom of your loop as to keep the edges flush.



Gently pry the end away from the base of the loop and attach it to the form you just created on the Wig-Jig.



Push the end closed and your charm is secure. Make two more charms for this form.



Cut a 2" piece of wire. On one end create a wire wrapped loop. Slide on the facted quartz.


Start your wire wrap by creating the inital bend around your pliers. Before committing the wire wrap, slide the wire form (oppisite end from the crystal charms) on the end of the wire, resting it in the bend.


Hold the bend of the wire and the form with the tips of your chain nosed pliers and finish the wrap working down toward the quartz bead.


Attach your earring wires to the other end of your wire wrapped loops and there you have it!

Wig-Jig wire formed earrings!!





10 bonus points to who can tell me what is 'not quite right' with these images.