DIY Pinwheel Earrings

These pinwheel earrings are easy and inexpensive to make and they're simply perfect for spring! All you need is some scrapbook paper in a pattern and colors you like, along with some jewelry findings and Mod Podge, and you're well on your way to the cutest pair of handmade earrings!

What you'll need ~

• Scrapbook paper
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Tiny buttons
• Mod Podge
• Small paint brush

• 6mm jump rings (silver)
• 1" fish hook earrings (silver)
• 1-1/2" eye pins (silver)
• Czech glass beads in color(s) of choice)
• Round-nosed or rolling pliers
• Hot glue gun

How to make them ~

Start by choosing a scrapbook paper with a pattern you like. You'll want to make sure the back is plain white. Measure two 1-1/4" squares and cut them out.

Fold each square of paper corner to corner (forming triangles) and then unfold.

With your scissors, cut along the fold lines until you get about 1/3 of the way from the center.

Note: If you want both earrings to be the same, do the next steps with the pattern side of the paper facing up. If you'd like each to be different, do one square of paper pattern side up and the other with the white side facing up. (See first picture of earrings for example.)

Gently fold every other point into the center - you don't need to crease the folds. Now, heat up your glue gun and place a small bead of glue in the center of all the points and place your little button on top. Repeat with the other square.

Once the glue is dry, you can thin out your Mod Podge with a tiny bit of water and gently paint it onto each pinwheel with your paint brush. For my first pair of earrings, I did three coats per side, allowing plenty of time in between each coat for it to dry. You can do as many coats as you'd like ~ this is purely for durability and texture, so feel free to experiment with the Mod Podge.

Once both pinwheels are completely dry and the texture you'd like, it's time to turn them into earrings!

You'll need to create a small hole in each pinwheel for a jump ring to fit through. I used the tip of an X-acto knife (spinning it around) to make a small, delicate hole without tearing the paper. I recommend placing the hole one of the "folded" parts of the pinwheel rather than a point since it will be sturdier.

From here, you're just going to follow fairly basic instructions for making simple beaded drop earrings. I'm by no means a jewelry maker, so these directions might not be super technical, but they worked for me and got the job done!

Once a jump ring is in place on each pinwheel, you'll want to attach an eye pin. Use your pliers to close the jump ring once the eye pin is looped through.

Next, you can add the beads. On one pair, I used six Czech glass beads on each earring; on the other, 10 beads. I used clear, slightly iridescent beads for mine, but naturally you can do whatever you like - this is why these earrings are so fun to make!

Once you have your beads on the eye pins, use your round-nosed/rolling pliers to loop the end of the eye pin through the ring on the fish hook earrings. If any of your loops/jump rings are still open at all, you might want to get a different pair of pliers to gently clamp the shut.

Voilá! You now have some super cute pinwheel earrings for spring! Since they're so easy and cheap to make, feel free to create them to match any outfit!

--- This project was created by Erika Pitera, the managing editor and art director here at ZEST

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• diy jewelry
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• spring crafts