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Teardrop Window Earrings (Tutorial)

by Rena Klingenberg. © 2003-Present Rena Klingenberg. All Rights Reserved

These bead and wire earrings are quick to make – and have lots of wonderful swingy movement!

The beads and their teardrop-shaped hoops move independently from each other, so the motion is fluid and lovely.

These earrings are a great “wear with everything” style!

Supplies:

• 20 gauge round soft wire – I used Artistic wire (a craft wire), in “gunmetal” color:
  
• Teardrop or briolette beads – 1 pair.
  Choose beads that are drilled through the top.
  If your beads are flat (like mine), the hole should run from front to back (NOT side to side).
  I used flat faceted acrylic beads in “light red” color, 35mm x 10mm size:
  
• 4 Small jump rings – I used 5mm size:
  
• 1 Pair of Earwires – mine are from my Easy Fancy Earwires Tutorial:
  
• Wire cutter.
• Cup bur (wire rounder) – for smoothing wire ends.
• Round nose pliers.
• Flat nose pliers.
• Chain nose pliers.
• Ring mandrel or fat highlighting marker – for shaping the bottom curve of your wire teardrop-shaped hoops.

How to Make
Teardrop Window Earrings:

Jump Ring for Your Teardrop Beads

I used a jump ring on each of my teardrop beads.

We’ll start out by cutting two pieces of wire to make the teardrop hoops.

To determine the length of each hoop wire, multiply:

3.5 x length of teardrop bead including any wirewrap = length of each wire.

My beads are each 35mm long and have no wirewrap, so I multiplied:

3.5 x 35mm = 122.5mm .

So I cut 2 wires, each 122.5mm long.

We’re going to make these earrings one at a time.

Now we’ll make the first earring. Start with one of the hoop wires you just cut:

Use your cup bur or wire rounder to smooth and round each end of your wire:

Now we’ll form the bottom curve of the teardrop loop.

Find the midpoint of your wire, and lay it across your ring mandrel, somewhere in the size 10 – 11 range.

(Or if you’re using a fat highlighting marker as your mandrel, lay the midpoint of your wire across the widest part of the marker.)

Use your thumb to hold the midpoint of your wire firmly against the mandrel:

Using the fingers of your other hand, push both wire ends smoothly straight downward, so the center of the wire forms a smooth curve around the mandrel:

Your wire should resemble a long horse shoe:

Use the tips of your round nose pliers to grasp the tip of one end of your wire:

Make a smooth loop by rolling the wire straight downward:

Now your wire should look like this:

It’s time to make a loop on the other end of your wire.

Use the tips of your round nose pliers to grasp the tip of the straight end of your wire:

Just as you did with the first loop, make a smooth loop here by rolling the wire straight downward.

Now your wire should look like this:

If you have NOT wire-wrapped your teardrop bead, we’re going to put a jump ring in it now.

Use your flat nose and chain nose pliers to twist one of your jump rings open:

. . . and thread your bead onto the jump ring:

Use your flat nose and chain nose pliers to twist the jump ring shut:

Your bead with jump ring attached should look like this:

Now pick up the teardrop hoop wire you just made.

Use your fingers to bend the wire gently so that the two loops are closer together.

Then lay the wire down with the bead inside the hoop, and line up the two wire loops and the bead’s jump ring (or its wire-wrap loop):

Use your flat nose and chain nose pliers to twist open another jump ring:

Thread the opened jump ring through one loop of your hoop wire, then through the bead’s jump ring (or its wire-wrap loop), and finally through the other loop of your hoop wire:

String one of your earwires onto the jump ring.

Use your flat nose and chain nose pliers to twist the jump ring shut:

Now the first earring is finished!

Make the second earring the same way you made the first one.

Now your finished pair of teardrop window earrings should look something like this: