How to Create Stone Chips Cluster Earrings

Hello Citizens :),

Cluster earrings are so much fun that I feel like we should try to make cluster earrings of almost anything :). I had recently posted two very unique cluster earrings designs, both different from each other. If you have not yet checked out, you can check them here and here.

Oh and long back I posted this pendant which was also made up of stone chips :)

Last weekend I visited a small handicraft fair where local artists from various states in my country were gathered to show and sell their products. There was one guy from south India who was selling jewelry made up of real stones and stone chips. Luckily he was also selling stone chips, I couldn't resist buying a lot of it hoping to make some cluster earrings.

I have learned that working with stones chips is tricky because of extreme randomness in their sizes and also the hole inside them for beading purpose. But the beauty of stone chips also lies in their random shapes.

It took me a while to figure out how to transform their stone chips so that they can be utilized to make cluster earrings.

In this tutorial, I will show you how to make stone chip beads that dangles. Once you learn this technique, you can also use it for making other jewelry items like necklace, bracelet etc.

Let me show you How to create stone chips cluster earrings :)

Step 1: Material

To make stone chips cluster earrings, you will need:

1. Stone chips.
2. 10 Jump rings. Don't want to buy? Learn to make yours here.
3. 20 round head-pin
4. 2 Earrings findings
5. Flat nose plier
6. Wire cutter
7. Round nose plier

A note about stone chip hole and head-pin: When you buy stones chips, make sure the hole in it is big enough to let the head-pin pass through it, or find a head-pin of equal thickness. The headpins your are seeing in the picture above are actually called Surkha in India, it is made up of fine wire and used in traditional Jewelry for joins.

In case you do not find a head pin, then use the thinnest wire. In the next step I will show you show , how you can use wire to replace the round head.

Step 2: Making the Stone Chip Bead That Dangle

It took me a while to figure out this technique because I was thinking too traditionally like using a normal headpin or using one single stone chip to make the clusters. This technique can be extended to use in a variety of jewelry.

See images above and follow:

To make the cluster look full, we will make beads using multiple stone chips.

1. Insert 4 chips in headpin, try to insert in biggest to smallest order.
2. Grab your round nose plier to hold the remaining wire as close as possible to the last stone.
3. Bend the wire over the nose to form a loop.
4. Wrap the wire using your hands or flat nose plier around the wire next to last stone. This will lock the stone chips and make a loop which will be used with jump rings .
5. Cut any extra wire carefully without leaving the sharp end open.

NOTE on headpins: If you don't have headpins, use a thin wire or wire that suits the thickness of hole in the stone chips. Create a loop first as mentioned above and then start inserting the chips. This will act as the head.

Make 20 such beads, if you want to make the earrins look short or long, you can choose to make more or less.

Now since the tedious part is over, lets make some cluster.

Step 3: Making the Cluster of Stone Chips

Making a cluster is very easy. See images above and follow:

1. Insert a jump ring in the earring ring finding loop.
2. In that jump ring, insert a bead using it's loop, then another jump ring and finally another bead. the order is important..
3. In the jump ring added in previous step, insert a bead using it's loop, then another jump ring and finally another bead. the order is important.
4. Repeat #3, three more times or till you reach the desired length off the cluster
5. Don't insert jump ring in middle of the last pair of beads. Repeat 1-5 for another pair.That's it :).

There you go. You have just made a beautiful cluster earrings pair using stone chips :)

Having used stone chips like these , I am full of jewelry ideas using stone chips, get ready for more in near future :).

Thank you for taking time to visit and read this ible. Should you have questions or feedback, please leave in the comments section below. If you choose to make it, please share using the 'I made it button' and I will give you 3-month pro membership :)

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You are awesome.

Stay tuned.