DIY Geometric Spike Earrings

I’ve been in love with these glass spike beads since they were added to Consumer Crafts and I’ve been trying to think of a way to make jewelry with them that doesn’t seem too edgy or punk, since that’s not my style. I think I finally came up with the perfect solution! These spike earrings are very ‘me’ – a mix of bohemian, geometric shape, metals with a splash of color and of course, the glass spikes. It’s eclectic and the type of thing you can wear with so many outfits. Let’s get started! (P.S. These spike earrings are an intermediate jewelry-making project.)

Supplies needed to make your own geometric spike earrings:

• Czech Glass Spike Beads
• Size 6 Seed Beads
• Spacer Beads
• Earring Hooks
• Small Loop Cable Chain (my favorite chain, I use it for everything)
• Head Pins (You could use eye pins. I generally don’t because there is no way I can perfectly match the loop that comes pre-made on an eye pin. I prefer to create my own two loops on either end of a head pin.)
• 3-in-1 Jewelry Pliers

Step 1: Using round nose pliers (or the three-in-one tool, as shown), bend a loop in one end of a head pin.

Step 2: Slide three glass spikes onto the head pin. They have a front and back (gold and clear glass) so make sure they all face the same way.

Step 3: Using wire cutters (or the middle of the three-in-one tool), snip the other end of the head pin and create another loop.

Step 4: Repeat this process for the seed beads and spacer beads. You’ll want all three of the beaded head pins to be about the same size, though the spikes might be a tad longer than the others, which is perfect.

Step 5: Decide how long you want the earrings to dangle and cut two lengths of chain.

Step 6: Find the middle of the chains and that’s where you’ll slide one of the chain links onto the earring hook. You can open and close the earring hook with your fingers or pliers.

Step 7: Now you’ll attach the three beaded head pins to the chain, creating a triangle shape. This looks simple but it is not. This step is the reason this is not a beginner’s project. I’ve made lots of jewelry with this technique and it still isn’t the easiest to get right. The biggest tip I have is to make sure the loops on the headpins are facing the same direction. (Meaning, you don’t want one loop that is horizontal on the pin and the other loop that is vertical. Look at your loops – do they look even and flat, not wonky? That’s what you want.) So use the pliers to twist the loops to match each other as close as you can get them.

After practicing with these earrings, I found it was easiest to start from the bottom, with the spike earrings. You use the loops on your head pins to attach to the chain. After the bottom row is attached, which is easy, then you move up two chain links and attach the next row. This is where it gets tricky and you want to make sure your head pin loops are doing the work for you, keeping the pins and chain straight. Move up two or three chain links and attach the final row.

And your spike earrings done!

I love how these spike earrings turned out! They are just edgy enough, don’t you think?

Also, I made each of these spike earrings at different times (one to practice, one to take photos of the process) and I accidentally cut the wrong length of chain on one of them and didn’t realize until I took these photos. It’s always best to cut all your chain lengths at once to prevent this! However, I’m going with it because you can’t tell at all when I’m wearing them. 🙂

Katie

Katie is the creative mind behind lemonjitters.com, a blog dedicated to all things crafty. Her interests are ever-changing and currently include: kitschy kitchen timers, digital design, eating lots of chocolate and paper crafting.