Paper Quilled Jhumka Earrings - Shades of Green

Learn to make these beautiful traditional Indian jhumka earrings from paper quilling strips! The possibilities for color combinations are endless.

Step 1: "Look at This Stuff...isn't It Neat?" - the Little Mermaid

Gather your materials. You will need:

*Six (6) strips 1/8" thick quilling paper in three different colors (2 of each color)

*Slotted quilling tool (you can use a toothpick if you do not have a quilling tool)

*Your favorite craft glue (regular Elmer's works just fine. I use PPA)

*Quilling dome mold (or use the back of a measuring spoon, a marble, a melon baller, superball, any sphere)

*Small paintbrush (you can use your finger if you do not have a brush)

*Jewelry findings (jewelry pins, jump rings, hooks) and jewelry pliers

*Your beads of choice (number will depend on bead size - I used 12 beads total)

I decided to use shades of green. First we will make the base of one earring. Use three strips of paper for each earring.

Step 2: “The Beginning Is the Most Important Part of the Work.” ― Plato, the Republic

Make the earring base. First insert your quilling paper into the slotted tool. Roll your paper into a coil. Secure the end with a dab of glue.

Step 3: "Be Careless in Your Dress If You Must, But Keep a Tidy Soul." - Mark Twain

Glue the next strip onto your coil. Try to be neat, placing the second strip directly next to the end of the first strip. Roll the second strip around your coil and secure with a dab of glue. Repeat with the third strip. You should now have something that resembles the photo above.

REPEAT STEPS 1-3 to make a second coil.

Step 4: “You Don't Know What Would Have Happened If I Hadn't Pushed." -Ender's Game

Push your coil down over the dome mold closest in size to your coil. You can use a marble if you don't have the mold (or your finger will work too).

Step 5: "Give Me a Child and I'll Shape Him Into Anything." - B. F. Skinner

Use the plain end of your quilling tool (or your finger) to create the shape you desire. I wanted mine a little taller.

REPEAT ON SECOND COIL, trying to make the shapes identical.

Step 6: "The Most Precious Resource We All Have Is Time." - Steve Jobs

Drizzle some glue onto the inside of the shapes and smooth with a paintbrush. Wait for the forms to dry. After a few minutes have passed I like to stick a pin through the center hole to make sure it doesn't get clogged with glue. Paint glue on the outside of the forms and let dry. Repeat for stability. I like to give my earrings several coats of glue.

Step 7: "I Try to Decorate My Imagination As Much As I Can." - Franz Schubert

String beads onto your jewelry pins. Use your judgement as to how many beads you use. Make sure your pin heads are bigger than the holes in the beads so they won't fall off! I used enough beads so they are just peeking out the bottom.

Step 8: "Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick." - Teddy Roosevelt

Stick your pin (with beads on the bottom) through your form. Add a additional bead to the top. Add two if you like!

Step 9: "Let Your Hook Be Always Cast; in the Pool Where You Least Expect It, There Will Be a Fish." - Ovid

Use your jewelry pliers to make a hook at the end of the jewelry pin. This takes practice. Try again with another pin if you do not get it right the first time.

Your hook should look something like this. Repeat with the other earring.

Step 10: "Great Things Are Done by a Series of Small Things Brought Together." - Vincent Van Gogh

Use your pliers to add your jewelry findings. I used one jump ring and one hook per earring.

Step 11: "The Reward of a Thing Well Done Is Having Done It." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Your earrings are complete! Well done