How to Make a Cute Multi Circle Earring with Paper Quilling

Several years ago when I was first coming up with some quilled jewelry designs I was picturing a certain design in my mind.  I made the pieces and then found out that they did NOT work together as I wanted them to for a particular design.  But I had these pieces and didn’t want to put them to waste.  So I thought of a couple more ways to use them, showed the ideas to my then 4 year old daughter, and she chose this design.  Since then I have made this design in soooo many colors!  And today I’m going to teach you how I make it so you can make your own!

Here are the materials you will need:

• tools/objects for wrapping the papers around.  I use an aluminum handle quilling tool
  for the smallest shape
• 2 strips of paper 3″ long (I used glistening red  from Lake City Craft)
• 2 strips of paper 6″ long (I used glistening sunset from Lake City Craft)
• 2 strips of paper 9″ long (I used glistening yellow from Lake City Craft)
• glue (I used Perfect Paper Adhesive which you can find here on Amazon) 
• tweezers  (find them here on Amazon)
• sealant (to make your design water resistant.  Click here and here to view how to use sealant)  (find some sealants here on Amazon)
• jewelry findings (a large jumpring and earwire for each earring)

Directions:

•  Gather your supplies.  You will need three tools/items to wind the papers around that are of different sizes.  I use the end of an aluminum handle quilling tool, the end of a pen, and the top of another pen.
• To wind the paper around, bend the end around your tool and put a tiny dab of glue on the end.  Using your finger to keep the end tightly tucked underneath, start rolling the paper around the tool.  When you get to the end, add another dab of glue and press it closed.  Hold it for several seconds to make sure it is holding tight before you let it go.  I am using glistening papers here and they have a smooth surface. When you use these types of papers you will need to hold it in place a bit longer than you would if you were using regular quilling paper.  Once it is held fast, hold it firmly yet gently and turn it slightly while you pull it off of the tool.  If you just pull straight off and if you are holding too tightly you might squish it when it comes off the tool.

• Repeat with the medium and large circles on your other tools/objects.  I find it easier to do the twist off for the small and medium sizes.  For the larger size I find it more reliable to take it off gently by using my fingers as shown in the third photo below.  Go around the circle moving it up bit by bit until it pops off.  If you have a very smooth object you may be able to do the twist off for this size as well, maybe my pen is just not slippery enough!  Just be very careful not to squish it as it is coming off.

• Now you should have six pieces as shown below.  They will be arranged as shown on the right, but they will not be glued together!  Of course you can glue them together if you wish to, but I prefer not to so they are more dangly and free.

•  Now it’s time to add sealant!  You can skip this step if you wish.  It will make your quilled jewelry more sturdy and water resistant.  Here I am using a liquid sealer.  You can use a thicker sealant which you paint on, but for this type of shape I find it easiest to just use a liquid sealant to make sure all areas are covered.
• Use your tweezers to pick up a piece and dip it into the sealant until it is submerged.  Pick it back up and set it on the tissue to soak up any excess sealant.  Do not let the shape sit in the sealant for more than a few seconds.  If it does it can soften too much and become misshapen.
• Let the shape sit on a tissue for no more than a minute (even a few seconds will be long enough) or else it might start to dry and stick to the tissue.
• Pick the shape up with the tweezers again and place on a plastic surface to dry. Let dry for at least several hours before assembling.

•  To assembly, use a large jump ring to put all three circles on.  Place an earwire onto the jumpring as well.  you are finished!
• You can make these in all different sizes.  Keep in mind that the larger your circle, the longer your paper will have to be.  Check out the advice in this post about the thickness of your pieces for jewelry.

Here are some photos of some different colors and sizes that I have made:

Feel free to leave any comments or questions, and stick around to view some more great pages here!

Click here to view more free paper quilling tutorials!

Click here to view paper quilling tips and tricks!

Click here to view a list of places to buy quilling supplies around the world!

Click here to view some of my own quilling projects, with tips so you can make your own if you’d like!

*All products and supplies in this post I purchased on my own.

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