DIY Mermaidcore shell earrings tutorial

When I saw images of gold shell earrings and gold plated starfishes at the end of June on the Jcrew website, I couldn’t believe myself. Why are people making and wearing shell earrings again, I wondered for the trend had lapsed in 2021. But a quick look at WGSN’s Instagram pointed me towards the Mermaidcore look that was trending on TiKTok. Since TikTok is banned in India and the movie “Little Mermaid” had very little influence here, this trend is just about hitting India. Regardless of where you live, if you want to try the trend, here is a quick tutorial on how to make Mermaidcore shell earrings for you.

Mermaidcore

Mermaidcore is a nano to micro trend that is about emulating the look of mythical sea creatures. Colours in the blue, purple, and green family along with iridescent, shimmery, and pearly finishes dominate this aesthetic. You can see the Mermaidcore influence in the first half of Barbie (2023) movie as well. Margot Robbie’s bed is in the shape of a shell, her blanket is made of iridescent spangles or paillettes and she wears a pink coloured shell jewellery set. Check out the trailer (and the movie) to see these and several more sea/nautical themed details. Earlier, WGSN had predicted underwater life and effects to be a dominating influence for apparel, accessories and jewellery for AW 23-24. Created to be free-flowing and organic, this trend is about embracing your natural sexiness and beauty.

DIY Mermaidcore shell earrings

While Mermaidcore or Sirencore as an overall look is about the wet makeup look, shimmering fabrics and under the sea aesthetic, mermaidcore jewellery is a rehash of classic oceanic treasures with a hint of glamour. You have your sea shells, baroque pearls and mother of pearl (shell) beads and components. However, they could be in their natural avatar or dipped in gold, rose gold, or silver. This DIY tutorial is for a pair of simple Mermaidcore shell earrings that you can wear even if you want to give the rest of the look a miss.

Materials

1. Pre-drilled 1 inch shells – 2
2. Golden tone metal cowrie charms with a loop on either side
3. Jump rings – 2
4. Ear hooks – 2
5. Tools – nose pliers
6. Optional – sealant

Method

Time required – 2 minutes to make, 10-15 minutes to dry.

1. Clean your shells and spray paint them (both sides) in golden colour. Let them dry. You can use a sealant to seal them if you want.
2. Use jump rings to connect the coloured shells to the metal cowrie shell charms. Cowrie shells are great accents to open sea shells and perfectly balance them.
3. Add ear hooks (use store bought or make your own).

Tip 1 – I used pre-drilled shells as I had them in hand. You can easily drill holes in shells using your dremel and a narrow drill bit. Keep them submerged in a container filled with water to avoid dust flying as you drill. Use packing tape to keep them in place when you drill.

Tip 2 – If you do not have metal connectors, use painted shells with double holes or use pearls/gold colour beads. Check the last photo of this post for inspiration.

Shell earrings from the archives

Here are a batch of shell earrings that I made in 2020 for a livelihood project for rural women. I have seen them make and sell them at various exhibitions.

I hope you enjoyed this beginner tutorial. There are several ways to jazz up shells. You can use different metallic colours or glitters on them. You can even bedazzle them. However, if you are an expert jewellery maker and looking for more ideas to use shells in mermaidcore jewellery, do take a look at this post on setting organic shapes in metal. I took a class on making Mother-of-pearl jewellery in Istanbul and I hope to share my learnings soon. Until then, wear some shells, take a trip to the beach and let your inner Goddess show.

I hope you found it interesting

Cheers