Dragonfly Earrings Tutorial

9 Materials
$8
30 Minutes
Advanced

A few weeks ago, I did an unboxing video for Affordable Jewellery Supplies where I unboxed some beautiful glass daggers.

I was so excited when the box arrived, that I couldn’t help myself. I had to take some of these amazing beads for a test run – so was born my dragonfly earrings.

Today, I’m sharing with you the step by step instructions to make these wonderful silver dragonfly earrings.

These Czech glass daggers come in a variety of  colours. I can imagine the  Crystal Capri Gold daggers making a great pair of gold dragonfly earrings.

Supplies:

A kit containing all the materials you need is available  here.

  • 16x5mm Czech Glass Daggers x8
  • 11/0 Seed Beads x12
  • 2mm Sterling Silver Ball x8
  • 3mm Black Plated Ball x6
  • 6mm Vacuum Bead in Black AB colour x2
  • 3.5cm Ballpin x2
  • Silver Earwire x2
  • 20cm 26 gauge silver wire x2


Tools:

  • Round nose pliers
  • Flush cutters
  • Chain or bent nose pliers


Instructions:

If you prefer to watch the video, click here to go to my YouTube Channel.

Tail


Feed onto the ballpin the sterling silver balls followed by the black plated balls.

Cut the ballpin approximately 1cm from the end of the black plated balls.

Make The Loop:


Place the cut end of the ballpin between the jaws of your round nose pliers, making sure that the end is flush with the jaws (doesn’t poke out over the top).


Rotate the pliers away from you until your wrist won’t go any further.

Reposition the pliers so that the loop is on the lower jaw and rotate again until the loop is closed. It doesn’t matter if the loop is not centered.

Using your bent nose pliers, squeeze the loop to make it smaller.


This completes your tail component.

Wing Section


Add beads to the wire in the following order:



  • 1 seed bead
  • 2 glass daggers
  • 2 seed beads
  • Tail component
  • 2 seed beads
  • 2 glass daggers
  • 1 seed bead

Move the beads to the centre of the wire and cross the ends of the wire to make a loop. Make sure you get the loop nice and tight so that there’s no space between the beads.

Bend the wires so that they are straight up, then take one wire across on top of the other. Pick the work up, holding the crossed wire between your finger and thumb, twist a few times until the loop is really well closed and the dragonfly wings are firmly in place (not drooping). Be careful not to twist so tightly that you break the wire.


Trim off the excess wire.

Head Section


Feed the vacuum bead onto the wire, making sure it covers the wrap.

Bend the wire at right angles to the bead.

Make A Wire Wrapped Loop


Place your round nose pliers on the wire close to the bend and rotate as far as your wrist can go.


Reposition the pliers so that the loop is on the lower jaw and rotate again.


Take the long end of wire you have just bent and cross it over so it’s on the other side of the bead, parallel with the plier jaws.

Remove the pliers. It should look like this.


Holding across the loop with your pliers, wind the wire around the wire coming out of the bead twice, ending on the back side.


Trim the excess wire and ensure there are no ends sticking out. If there are, just give them a squeeze with the pliers.

Attaching The Earhook


Open the loop at the bottom of the earhook by grasping it along the side with the pliers. Rotate up towards the ceiling. Never open a loop to the side or you will lose the nice round loop.


Place the loop of the earring component onto the loop of the earhook and close the loop by rotating down toward the floor, making sure the loop is closed. Rotate back and forth with a little pressure if necessary, to get it to sit nice and tight.



Repeat All These Step For The Other Earring.


There are a lot of steps in this project, so I suggest you watch the video to ensure you don’t miss anything.


If you would like to see more projects like this one, please check out the Create section of my Living a Real Life website.

Suggested materials:
  • 16x5mm Czech Glass Daggers x8   (https://www.affordablejewellerysupplies.co.nz/product/glass-daggers-cr)
  • 11/0 Seed Beads x12   (https://www.affordablejewellerysupplies.co.nz/product/no-11-seed-bead-)
  • 2mm Sterling Silver Ball x8   (https://www.affordablejewellerysupplies.co.nz/product/ball-925-sterlin)
See all materials

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