My Foray Into Earring Production!

So lately I've been on an earring "kick"~

Before this recent development, the one thing that I really struggled with was making earrings. Necklaces come naturally to me, but nothing came together the way I wanted when making those little dangling buggers. I tried online tutorials, common sense, different materials... nothing worked. It was quite frustrating for a perfectionist like me.
Me? Perfectionist with my work? No... never!

(Insert "Sarcasm Font")

Anyway, thanks to an accidental find while at the store, I discovered my own literary superhero:

 

This book has been my best friend and my mentor for the past week. It is exactly what it says it is-- there are enough instructions so you can actually understand the process and what you need to do, but no unnecessary pages of filler. Each of the 101 earrings are truly unique-- not a single one is an exact replica of another. They have differences in form and construction, and not a one is a "twin" disguised with different beads.

And the best part about these easy-to-follow directions? They include directions on how to make the HOOKS. Yes, this means that I can make and personalize the actual hooks that the earrings hang upon!

And as you can see, I did just that in the first photo. They were the first pair that I made using a technique from the book-- I made the ear hooks from "scratch"! I chose to use brass wire, adding spiral ends for aesthetic purposes; the featured bead is a teardrop-shaped onyx stone.

To answer some questions? No, Denise Peck is not paying me to "plug" her book. The earrings are not an exact replica of any earrings from the book; rather, I used some of the techniques found within to create a pair that looked exactly the way I wanted. Yes, this means that they were designed by me.

Next up? Maybe I'll post NOT in the middle of the night... you never know!