Introduction: Transformable Leather Sculpted Earrings

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I saw these earrings online and thought the concept by oropopo was beautiful. I decided to use the concept for my own design. These earrings are easy to make and can be repeatedly sculpted in various ways to suit your taste each time you wear them. You can follow the steps below to cut them by hand, use my template attached below, or use the .svg file to cut them on a laser cutter.

Materials:

pencil

card stock

veg tanned leather

stylus or other pointy (not sharp) tool

scissors

X-acto knife

earring hardware

jump rings

Attachments

Step 1: Pattern Part 1

Fold a piece of card stock in half both ways.

Draw your pattern design as shown in the image. You can make these in whatever size you want, but mine are a bit over 1.5" from tip to fold and 5/8" from side to fold.

Fold the paper in half one direction and cut on the line.

Step 2: Pattern Part 2

Open the paper up and fold the cut part of your pattern up at the center.

Trace the folded part of the pattern onto the other half of the paper.

Cut out the other half of the pattern.

Step 3: Cut and Soak Leather

Trace the pattern onto the back of your veg tanned leather.

Cut out your pieces with your X-acto knife.

Soak the pieces of leather in water.

Dry them with a towel so they aren't dripping wet.

Step 4: Border

Use a pointy (not sharp) tool to gently draw a line around the edge of the leather about an 1/8" from the edge.

I used an arrow from some scrapbooking accents for this step because I couldn't find my stylus.

Step 5: Pattern Part 3

Fold the pattern in half from tip to tip.

Use scissors to cut slits in the pattern about a 1/8" apart. Don't cut them all the way to the edge. This will make your pattern fragile. Leave about a 1/2" at the end of the slits along the edges of the pattern.

Step 6: Trace and Cut

Trace your pattern onto the leather with your stylus or other pointy tool, then remove the pattern and continue the lines all the way to the border you drew in step 4.

Cut on the lines with your X-acto blade.

Step 7: Jump Ring

Use a stylus, awl or other pointy tool to put a hole at each point.

Insert a jump ring into the holes.

Step 8: Sculpt

This is the fun part!

Twist, bend, pull, and otherwise shape the leather as you see fit.

When you have the leather shaped the way you want it, set it aside to dry.

As the leather dries, it will harden and keep its shape.

Don't like how they turned out or want to try another design? Don't worry, you can always re-wet the leather and sculpt them again!

Step 9: Enjoy

Earring Challenge

Runner Up in the
Earring Challenge

Crafting 101

Participated in the
Crafting 101