Pinwheel Earrings

Do you remember how cool these things used to be when you were elbow height? Wearing them is almost as cool.

You Will Need:

• Paper. Preferably the kind that has a different colour on each side
• Basic Hooks (see Vocab Tab)
• Scissors
• A needle/pin
• A Pencil
• A ruler

Note: The silver bead in the picture was already part of the hooks I used. If that's not the case with yours add two small beads to your list of necessary supplies.

How To Do:

First cut out two 3x3 cm squares of  paper. The earrings are going to stay roughly the same size as the original square. If you'd like to start with a different size you are welcome to adapt your own measurements. I'm certainly in no position to stop you.

Using your pencil and ruler, draw two lines connecting opposite corners diagonally so that you have an X shape.
Take your needle and stab a hole in the center of this X. 

Measure and mark and distance of 0.5 cm from the center of the X along each line that extends from it.
Cut along the line from each corner of the square up to that point.

Take a look at the picture as a better explanation. The zigzag lines show you where to cut.

Carefully erase the lines you have drawn. Next take a corner of one of your newly created triangles and bring it across to the center of your square without folding it, like this:

Put your needle back through the hole you made in the center of your square and use it to skewer the corner of the triangle and hold it in place. Try to get the hole you make as close to the very tip as possible but be careful to leave enough space around the hole that the needle doesn't tear through.
Do the same for each alternate corner like so:

Now take your earring hook and straighten out the loop at the end. Remove the bead if there is one and put it to one side.

Carefully push the square onto the straightened out loop end through the hole you made.

Thread on each of the corners you've pierced, in sequence to form the pinwheel shape.

Put the bead back on to the hook and make a loop in the end of the wire to secure it.

A word of advice:

One question I've got a lot while wearing these is "do they spin?". The first time I was asked I didn't actually know and so we tried it out and I ended up having to wipe someone's spit off my ear. To save you from this I will tell you now that the answer is "Yes, with enough air and the right angle they spin. Please don't blow on my ear."

Rating:

Patience required: 6/10

They are small and fiddly. Knowing that any rushed movements could end up ripping through the paper and force you to start all over again is kind of stressful but it's a good kind of stress- the kind where you get cool earrings in the end.

Durability: 1/10

All just part of the charm you know?

Cool Factor: 7/10

They are cute, functional and remind people of childhood? Score!

Paper Bead Flowers

This idea involves effort. Turn back now! I first learnt how to make paper beads as a cheap way to amuse children. I put some thought into how I could use them in making earrings and this is what I came up with:

How It's Done:

You will need:

• 2 sheets of glossy magazine paper
• A pen
• A ruler
• Scissors
• Craft glue
• A paintbrush
• Varnish 
• 2  4-holed Buttons
• Soft wire
• Basic hooks (See Vocab Tab)
• Wire Cutters (See Vocab Tab)

Method:

First the beads:

Chose the magazine pages in the colours you want. The stripy effect is going to happen with the rolling unless you manage to find a page of solid colour. I purposefully chose colourful pages for mine. The colour pen you use will also affect the colour of your beads so you can either use that to your advantage or measure them out on the back of your chosen pages.

Along the top of the magazine page measure and mark intervals of 1cm. Do the same along the bottom but start off 0.5 cm from the straight edge. Now join your marks together so that you have long strips that taper to a point. Check out this picture before you start to make sure you have the right idea: 

Once you've drawn your strips cut them out and we'll get down to the tough part. Take a strip of paper and roll it around the back of your paintbrush. If the end of your brush isn't round and narrow find something that is. Ideally you need something that's around 20mm in diameter. I used the end of a chopstick. Start rolling from the broad side of the strip and end with the point in the middle. Keep your rolling tight and neat. Add a touch of glue to the end to hold it in place. Making the beads is time consuming and can get pretty frustrating but you can look at this one for some motivation:

Once you have made 48 of these you can give them a coat of varnish and breathe a sigh of relief (but turn your face away first because they're pretty sensitive to wind).

Now for the earrings:

Start by making a loop with your wire and threading it through one of the button holes. Next thread 4 beads onto the wire, thread it through the next button hole and pull tightly so it makes a petal. Twist it a couple of times so that it holds the shape. Continue this process for the rest of the flower and to finish off twist the end of your wire around your loop. Once your flower is complete attach the earring hook to the wire loop and bam, you have an earring!

Rating:

Patience Required: 8/10

Making paper beads needs a lot of patience but one you get the hang of it it's kind of relaxing. It'll also give you an understanding of why people who sell anything made out of paper beads charge so much for such basic materials. 

Durability: 3/10

I made mine with copper wire so anything sturdier than that will improve this score. They do get bent out of shape by hugs, hair brushing or any kind of vigorous movement but can be restored just as easily. They also come with all the natural limitations of once-varnished paper.

Cool Factor: 7/10

They are big and beautiful! 

Hot Air Balloon Earrings

I got this idea after I made my sister's Christmas present, which was a mobile of hot air balloons. It occurred to me that they could make pretty cool earrings, even though the mobile was terrible and fell apart. 

You Will Need

• An old book you never want to read again. I guess you could also use newspaper, but I wouldn't recommend it because it isn't as durable.
• Normal paper
• Scissors
• A pencil
• Glue
• A needle or pin
• Basic hooks, jump rings and round-nosed pliers ( See Vocab Tab ) 

Method

Take your normal paper and cut out a rectangle that is the size you want your earrings. Mine are about 3.5 cm. Fold the rectangle in half and sketch half a hot air balloon/ light bulb shape. Cut it out and then unfold to ensure symmetry. This is going to be used as a template for the earrings.

Now take your book paper and trace the template onto it in pencil. Choke back your tears and pick up the scissors, you now need to murder the book. You need at least 5 balloon shapes per earring.The more shapes per earring, the more 3D the appearance.

Fold all of the shapes in half and take your first 5 to begin gluing. Remember that the book paper is super absorbent, so you're gonna want to put a lot of glue on there. Put glue on half of one balloon shape and stick it to half of  a second one. Make sure that the folds are pointing inward. Repeat until you have stuck on 5 of the shapes and then you just need to glue the last two sides together to complete the circle. Do the same for the second earring.

Once you have your two balloon shapes, take the pin and poke a hole on the top of each balloon, right in the middle by the folds. Open a jump ring, put it through the hole and attach it to your basic hoop. Repeat for the second earring.

Rating

Patience Needed: 4/10

The cutting gets pretty tedious and you get glue all over your hands, but overall I think these took me about 10 minutes to make.

Durability: 3/10

This is the sad part. Obviously they're made of paper, so they are pretty flimsy. Don't get them wet and watch out for anything like putting on and taking off of helmets or even of hugs because they get crumpled. But the plus side is that they're easy to repair.

Cool Factor: 7.5/10

Personally I would have given them at least 8, but my moany sister says that there's no way they're cooler than lemons. The number of compliments I have received about these definitely makes them worth the wear and tear. I love these because they go with just about anything and they cost virtually nothing to make.