Pink Leather Earrings ::: A Little Punk, A Little Girly

Good morning everyone!  I am back in Pennsylvania from a fun vacation to Costa Rica and Florida and am enjoying HOME so very much.  Many posts on the flora and fauna of Costa Rica, packing and traveling with 4 young kids internationally and why HOME is so wonderful coming up soon!

In addition, I have a slew of home projects, DIY ideas and crafting activities coming this summer.  For now, I have a fun leather craft to share with you!  Leather is one of my very favorite materials to work with and I am in love with the tassels that have been showing up everywhere from clothing to accessories and in more streamlined forms in home decor.  When I stumbled upon a large, pink leather, full-length skirt for a few dollars at the thrift store, I knew exactly what I wanted to make.

Portions of this post have been previously published on Crafts Unleashed.

Feminine, a little punk and simple to make.  Let's dive right in, shall we?

Supplies Needed:

To DIY the tassel:

• Leather scraps (I used a thrift store leather skirt)
• Fabric Scissors (to get those straight, straight lines)
• Various Findings (I used THIS SET that is nickel free and these end crimps)
• E6000 adhesive
• Jewelry Pliers

If you want to skip a couple of steps, I am listed the supplies for a "Half DIY" below.  You will still be connecting pieces, but skip the actual tassel-making part.

To HALF DIY:

• Assembled Leather Tassels in Assorted Colors
• Various Findings (I used THIS SET that is nickel free)
• Jewelry Pliers

You will need one jump ring and some sort of earring finding, either a fishhook or leverback works great!  I went ahead and bought this findings kit that is nickel free for about $7.00.  If you don't have sensitive ears, you can pick up findings kits even cheaper.  (Case in point, this kit is only$3.57)  You will also need these end crimps if you are DIYing the earring from scratch.

Let's start with the leather though...

Step 1: Cut out a small square of leather.  The longer the length, the longer your tassel.  

The width should only be about 1-2" to fit into the small jewelry hardware.

Step 2: Using SHARP fabric scissors, cut small strips about 3/4 to 5/6 of the way up the leather piece.

  Leave a solid, uncut portion at the top.  Once you have a fringe, you can add more texture by snipping the ends off randomly at an angle (See below).

Step 3: Add a tiny dot of glue to one end of the leather piece.

Step 4: Roll it up as tight as you can and secure with another tiny dab of glue.  

The glue WILL discolor the leather, so make sure you use a tiny bit and keep it on the inside of your roll.  

Hold the roll closed for a minute or so until the glue has dried enough to keep it held tight.

Step 5: Now it is time to add your hardware.  Take one of your large rectangular endcaps, 

open it slightly with jewelry pliers and place it on the side of your leather roll.

Step 6: Use your pliers to squeeze the endcap shut.  

You might want to use a tiny (tiny) dot of glue on the inside of the endcap to make sure it is secure.  Repeat on the other side.

Step 7:  Attach a jump ring to the two endcaps by opening it up all the way.  This is NOT the correct way to open a jump ring.  Typically, you open it side to side instead of wide like this so you do not weaken it.  To avoid opening the jump ring all the way, you could put together the hardware first and then attach the tassel (see below), but I found it much more cumbersome.  I decided a weaker jump ring was worth it in this case.

If you are building your earrings from the pre-made tassels available at Consumer Crafts you simply add a jump ring between a fish hook or leverback.

So the question is whether or not to DIY the earring from scratch or use the premade Consumer Crafts tassels.  The tassels cost 1.77 for  2 sets, or 4 tassels, while leather costs just $1-2 for a large skirt, purse or jacket at the thrift store.  Add in the cost of the glue, fabric scissors and end crimps and you are at around $20.  If you already HAVE the glue and scissors, then your cost is less to DIY the earrings and of course you get a wider range of leather types and colors to choose from.  Totally up to you!  I think I might just do BOTH!