 |
| Earrings by GeltDesigns |
These earrings are easy to make and, unlike the past two projects (the vibrant, multicolored Glass Charm Necklace and the red Kiln Formed Bracelet), require no kiln.
Step 1
Cut the glass. We decided on a five sided shape. We sketched the shape on a piece of paper and then used the paper to trace our desired shape onto the glass. We used our favorite glass cutter
to cut the glass.Keep the glass cutter well oiled for ease when cutting. To keep your glass cutter in good shape, see our tutorial How to Add Oil to a Glass Cutter.
Step 2
Drill holes in the top of the glass for the findings. We used diamond tipped drill bits and a flex shaft , but you can use any type of drill to drill glass. For further instructions on how to drill glass, see our tutorial How to Drill Glass.
Step 3
File the edges of the glass with a diamond file. Then tumble the glass in a tumbler using real beach sand. (we collected the sand from the outer banks of North Carolina), water and a touch of dishwasher detergent. The tumbler made the job easier, but you can use diamond files and diamond sand paper alone if you do not have access to a tumbler.
Step 4
Make the findings. In this case, we found some leftover 20-gauge sterling silver wire
in our scrap bucket. We used a mandrel to make the ear wire. Here is a good time to confess that our very, very favorite mandrel used to be a block from my kids building block set. The block is the perfect size for hoop earrings and the block is a really nice color orange. |
| Straighten the Wire |
to straighten the wire. If you do not know how to straighten wire or you do not have nylon jaw pliers, see our tutorial How to Straighten Wire.To make the ear wire, we made a small loop at one end of the 20-gauge sterling silver wire
with wire looping pliers. over lapped the point of our loop. We bent the wire at an angle with so it will slip into the loop. We removed the formed ear wire from the mandrel and placed it onto a steel bench block and hit the wire with a rawhide mallet to harden the ear wire so it will stay as we shaped it when used and worn. We made a matching ear wire and then, out of an abundance of caution, we tossed the ear wires back into our tumbler this time using stainless steel shot, water and dishwasher detergent to burnish the ear wires so they are both hardened and shiny.Step 5
 |
| Scrap Sterling |
For more information on creating texture on metal with a rolling mill, see our tutorials How to Use a Rolling Mill or How to Make Charm Earrings with a Rolling Mill.
Step 6
Combine the parts to create the earrings. We fed the ear wires through the holes in the glass and the sterling silver disks to complete the earrings.
Further Reading
GeltDesigns Tutorials by Topics
Jewellery from Recycled Materials (Jewellery Handbooks)
Making Designer Mixed-Media and Memory Jewelry: Fun and Experimental Techniques and Materials for the Home Studio
Complete Metalsmith: Professional Edition
Jewelry: Fundamentals of Metalsmithing (Jewelry Crafts)
Other Tools
Rolling Mill
Day 7. Week 1. Jewelry from Found Objects. $ spent: 0
New Jewelry a Day. Join the adventure.
to fire the glass, but you can use any glass fusing kiln. The firing schedule to tack fuse the glass will vary depending on your kiln and the glass you are using. Firing is especially tricky when using reclaimed glass because you will not know the temperature for slumping, tack fusing or full fusing the glass you are using. Be prepared to experiment and stay close to the kiln to watch the progress of your glass as it fuses. Allow the glass to cool to room temperature before you remove it form the kiln.
, but we also have 
that we love. You can use any glass grinder or you can file by hand using glass hone, diamond coated files or diamond-coated sanding sponges.
) to cut the glass. If we were to make the bracelet again, we would fuse the four pieces the size we want rather than fuse one large blank and then cut it into pieces with the tile saw. 
) and our flex shaft (
) to drill two holes in each glass piece. We drilled one hole on each side of the glass and centered the holes. If you do not know how to drill glass, see our tutorials 
to form the bracelet links because it is a top loading kiln. We prepared our fused glass bracelet former by covering it with fiber paper. We placed the four glass pieces on the former so they were centered and would slump into exactly the same shape. 
