If you enjoy papercrafts and whimsical earrings, then here's an fun afternoon craft for you! This instructable will explain how to create a pair of sparkly banana earrings for you or a friend. This papercraft is designed to be easy to make without an electronic cutting tool, though the idea is easily adaptable to other shapes (think of other flowers or fruits!), and if you do have a cutting tool, you can use it to create lovely detailed designs for your earrings.

Step 1: Materials

You'll need:

Yellow and green cardstock. Thicker cardstock is preferable, so that your earrings will be sturdy. Cardstock comes in lots of textures, so feel free to get creative!
Gold paint
Scissors
Earring findings (I used gold fishhooks)
An exacto blade
A paint brush
Pliers

Step 2: Trace Out the Banana and Leaf Shapes

Outline the approximate shapes that you want your earrings to be. For scale, the leaves shown above are about an inch long.

I wanted asymmetric earrings, so I traced a pair of bananas for one side and a single banana for the other. With the banana leaves, I've drawn a couple of spots where I plan to cut out gaps to make a ruffly banana leaf look.

Step 3: Cut Out Your Shapes

Snip out the outlines that you've just drawn.

Step 4: Add Finishing Cuts to the Banana Leaves

Use your exacto blade to add the slits to your banana leaves. If you have a cutting mat, now's the time to break it out, otherwise be sure to cover your work surface with a pad of scrap paper before cutting.

Step 5: Adding Embellishments

Brush some gold paint onto the bananas to add some sparkle! I tried to use the paint to add some shadowing to the bananas to give a more 3D look. With brown and green markers, add some more decorative lines to show the stem and bottom of the banana and the veins of the leaves.

Step 6: Add Holes for Your Earring Findings

Take your needle tool and poke some holes near the tops of your bananas and leaves.

Step 7: Putting It Together

Use your pliers to open the loop on your earring findings. Slip on a banana and a leaf onto each fishhook, and use the pliers to squeeze the loop closed again.

Step 8: Enjoy the 'fruits' of Your Labor!

If you enjoyed this instructable, please consider voting for it in the papercraft challenge! I'd love to see what you make, so also feel free to post your creations below!