Tangerine Delta Earrings Tutorial

Designer's Tips, Continued

• Brass will naturally oxidize, which is great if you want a rustic look for these earrings. If you prefer a high shine, you have two basic options:
• If you're making just one or 2 pairs of earrings, use progressively finer grits of sanding sponges or polishing paper, and finish with an ULTRA polishing pad. (Or just jump right to the ULTRA polishing pad.)
• If you make a lot of jewelry, and you don't love hand polishing, sanding, filing, etc., then a tumbler is the way to go! Tumble just one type of metal at a time, or you may end up with strange results. (Trust me.) Toss your blanks into a tumbler with 2lbs of steel shot, a few drops of ShineBrite and just enough water to cover the steel shot, and tumble your components for approximately an hour (30 minutes to 3 hours). This removes small scratches and other blemishes, smooths any rough edges, and gives your patterned blanks a high shine. Rinse the blanks and dry them with a soft cloth.
• To seal your bright finish, follow the instructions on Ren Wax, or for the best, most durable jeweler-quality finish, use Nikolas Spray Lacquer.
• Allow the sealant to harden before assembling earrings.
• Add a Light Siam crystal and small bead cap to an eye pin, and make a simple loop. Create your eye pin loop perpendicular to the pre-made loop, to make the earrings hang straight. You may need to use 2 pairs of chain-nose pliers to turn the top and bottom loops perfectly perpendicular (90-degrees). New to jewelry-making? For looping instructions, and most secure way way to open and close jump rings, see Jewelry Basics 101 (PDF).
• Use medium-sized jump rings from the jump ring mix to assemble the earrings, making sure that all parts can swing freely. 

• 1 dozen (use 4 pieces)  #44-722-03-0  Brass Stamping Blank, Triangle, 17x15mm
• 2 each  #05-000-08-21  Swarovski 5000 Faceted Round Beads, 8mm - Light Siam
• 2 each  #01-122-12-421  Swarovski 1122 Rivoli Stone, 12mm - Tangerine
• 2 each  #41-865-912-GP  TierraCast 12mm Hammered Rivoli Frame, 1 Loop - Gold Plate
• 1 half-gross (use 1 pair)  #34-389-51-4  Gold Plated Leverback Ear Wire, Plain, 14x11mm
• 1 ounce  (use 4) #37-100-2  Yellow Plated Jump Ring, Round, Assorted Sizes
• 1 100-pack (use 2 pieces)  #43-132-AG  TierraCast Antiqued Gold Plated Bead Caps, Cast, Beaded
• 1 ounce (use 2 pieces)  #37-722-2  Yellow Plated Eye Pin, 2", Standard
  or
  1 ounce (use 2 pieces)  #37-715-2  Yellow Plated Eye Pin, 1-1/2", Thin
  (either size eye pin works fine for this design)
• Adhesive: E-6000 or GS Hypo Cement

• Ball Peen Hammer
• Metal Block
• Hole Punch
• Wire Cutters
• Round-Nose Pliers
• Chain-Nose Pliers
• Optional: Polishing supplies (see options in text above)
• Optional: Sealant

• Alcohol wipes, or cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol.

See Also:

Related Color Inspiration

More Jewelry Pliers & Cutter Options

More Jewelry Design Ideas