Birds Earrings

Earringology

Posted by GMC Group

About

Like the rest of the planet, I love birds. Here’s a playful pair I modeled from a similar set a friend gave me as a gift. (Hers were made entirely of real feathers and perched on little brass bars.)
Sweet and inspiring.

Dimensions
2 x 1 inches (5.1 x 2.5 cm)

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You Will Need (15 things)

  • 2 brass Bead Bars , 1 inch (2.5 cm) long
  • Brass Wire , 20 gauge
  • Blue Polymer Clay
  • Gold Acrylic Paint , plus other desired colors
  • Acrylic Varnish
  • Dictionary Paper
  • Decoupage Medium
  • 4 Tiny Feathers , to complement the clay birds

  • tools

  • Wire Cutters
  • Chain Nose Pliers
  • Round Nose Pliers
  • Toothpick
  • Small Paintbrushes
  • Clear, multipurpose jeweler’s Cement with a precision applicator tip

Steps (8 steps, 60 minutes)

  1. 1

    Roll some clay into two balls, each 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) in diameter. Pinch each ball into the shape of a bird. They don’t have to be perfect (mine surely are not!). Use a toothpick to poke a hole in the ends of the tails, where you will add feathers, and in the heads, for each of the birds’ eyes.

  2. 2

    Set each bird on a brass bead bar; then add a little bit of clay, to secure the birds to the bars.

  3. 3

    Bake the birds according to the clay manufacturer’s instructions. Paint the cured clay with watered-down acrylic paints. Sometimes I add two or three layers of paint, letting each layer dry between coats. Seal the pieces with a final coat of acrylic varnish.

  4. 4

    . Dab a smidge of gold paint on the beaks. Optionally, you can cut wings from paper and glue them to the sides of the birds with a decoupage medium. Seal the wings to the clay with the same decoupage medium.

  5. 5

    Cut about 4 inches (10.2 cm) of wire. Wrap one end of the wire to the end of a bead bar. Do the same with the wire’s free end at the other end of the bead bar. Make a twist or two at the top of the wire to create a loop.

  6. 6

    Slide one jaw of the round-nose pliers into the loop to perfect the shape. This is the bird’s perch.

  7. 7

    Use the cement to attach a feather in the hole at the tail end of the clay bird.

  8. 8

    Open the ear wire’s loop with the chain-nose pliers and attach it to the perch’s loop you made in step 4. Repeat steps 4 through 6 to finish making the second earring.