DIY Lapis Lazuli earrings tutorial

I love upcycling and repurposing and I written about them many times on this blog. I also love using uncommon objects in jewellery. Particularly, after reading Julia Manheim’s book sustainable jewellery, I find myself critiquing concepts of value and preciousness whenever I make jewellery. The other day, I stumbled upon these gorgeous Copper tongue cleaners at the checkout counter at a home goods store. I was so excited by them and created a pair of stunning, lightweight earrings. Here is the DIY Lapis Lazuli earrings tutorials, for all of you to read and enjoy.

DIY Lapis Lazuli earrings

These copper tongue cleaners have a flattened middle and a rod like ends that make them highly adaptable to jewellery. I found very cheap ones (2 for half a dollar) but you can get 6 of them on amazon for $6 (see link below). You might ask me what made me put Lapis Lazuli beads on a tongue cleaner. I blame it this moment of pure genius (or pure crazy) on the all the critical discussions around contemporary art jewellery that I have been reading these days. For those interested in this topic, I highly recommend Contemporary jewelry in perspective by Damian Skinner.

Materials

• Copper tongue cleaners – 2
• Copper wire for wrapping –  26g
• Lapis Lazuli teardrops – 2
• Tools – Step nose pliers, Wire cutter, Nose pliers, cylindrical bottle cap or a mandrel

Method

1. Gently open out your tongue cleaner and wrap it around a mandrel or bottle lid on the curved side.
2. Press the sides so that you get a basket like shape when you take the mandrel away.
3. Mark 2″ on one side of the round (un-flattened wire) and 1.5″ on the other side. Using your wire cutters cut the excess wire.
4. Using your round nose pliers curve the end into loops.

5. Wrap both loops together as shown using 26g. Cut and tuck in the excess wire on the back.Your frame is now ready. Repeat steps 1-5 to make one more frame.
6. Cut 3+ inches of 26g wire. Thread a Lapis Lazuli bead onto it and wrap the wire an equal number of times on both sides of the frame. Cut and tuck in the excess wire. Repeat to create a pair of earrings.
7. Make your own ear hooks using 20g copper wire or add store bought ear hooks to the top loop of the frame to create a pair of lightweight copper earrings.

I hope you enjoyed my DIY Lapis Lazuli earrings tutorial. More tutorials will be coming in your way this holiday season, so stay tuned.

I hope you found it interesting
Cheers