Here is another free tutorial for you!  This pattern shows how to make the popular Jhumka earrings.  This umbrella shaped earring is very popular in the Indian culture and is usually made out of metal.  Paper quilled jhumka earrings are becoming trendy now as well.  Paper quilling jhumkas are lightweight and can be made in any colors to match your outfit! I’ve been requested multiple times to come out with a tutorial.  Since there are other tutorials out there for this earring as well, I knew that I had to put something of my own spin on it first. So I did!  Enjoy the tutorial, give it a try, and let me know how it goes 🙂  If you post your results on your own blog feel free to link back here and to leave a link to your blog post in the comments here, I’d love to see them!

I used all 1/8″ (3mm) width paper for this project, but you can use any width you’d like.

Supplies You Need (for one pair of earrings):

• 10 strips of paper 24″ long (I used black color)
• 4 strips of paper 6″ long (I used jeweltone black pearl color)
• 2 strips of paper 3″ long  (I used black color)
• glue (My favorite is PPA which you can find here on Amazon)
• aluminum handle slotted quilling tool (here at Custom Quilling,  or here on Amazon) – I use the aluminum handle one here so that I can use the end of it for the two top shapes.
• 3D mini mold (find it here at Custom Quilling, or here on Amazon)

Instructions:

• Start with your long strips of black paper.  I glue 5 strips end to end, which ends up being about 120″.  Yours can be a bit longer or shorter and it won’t make too much of a difference.  Let it dry for a minute and then roll the long length up into a disc as shown.  Glue it closed before removing it so it won’t accidentally unroll as you are taking it off!  This is most important for big rolls like this.  When you are taking the roll off the tool, it is best to rest your thumbnail against the tool as shown in the last photo so that your roll comes off more easily and doesn’t unravel in the middle.  Another very important thing to note is do NOT roll it too tightly!  Often when I am making tight rolls I pull it extra tightly when finished.  But if you do that and then try to make a dome out of it, it will not go smoothly.  It will have like ‘steps’ or chunks or break apart and unravel.  So roll it firmly, but not too tightly!

• For my design, I now added a different color to the edge of the large tight roll.  I used a metallic paper, it is the black pearl jeweltone shade by Lake City Craft.  The slightly tricky thing about these cool papers is that they are shiny, so they take longer to stick on with glue.  So hold your piece a few seconds longer than you normally would!  I use the tip of my tool to press the first part down.  Then wait for it to dry a bit before wrapping or else it’ll just pop off.  If you are using normal paper instead of metallic it will be easier.  When you get to the end, snip it off and glue it down.  Normally I rip quilling paper to glue the end down, but with metallic paper you can end up with a non-shiny bit if you do that, and that can spoil the look.  So here I snip and then glue!

•  Now that the base disc is finished, it’s time to make the top pieces.  This is where my unique spin on these earrings is.  If you have read some of my quilling tips for jewelry, you know that when I add the top to a piece of quilled jewelry I like it to be solidly attached, not just hanging by one piece that is glued on.  So what I did here was made an open ring that is glued on flat to the top, giving lots of glued surface space.  Inside of that flat open ring I place an open ring pinched into a teardrop shape, push it to the bottom and glue that fully.  This gives lots of surface area that is glued together, making it a sturdy earring!  So to make the open rings I use the bottom of my aluminum handled tool to wrap the strip around.  Use a 6″ strip to make it sturdy – I used the black pearl color again.  Place a dab of glue for the first round then roll it up, and glue the end with another dab of glue.  Hold for at least a few seconds to make sure it sticks, especially when using the metallic paper like I am here.  For the teardrop shapes I use a 3″ strip of black, roll it the same way, and pinch one end.

• So now you have the 2 discs, two circle open rings and 2 open teardrops.  Time to make the discs into domes!  I use a mini mold (find it  here at Custom Quilling, or here on Amazon) but you can also use just your fingers or any other dome shaped object you have around like a small ball.  You can also use a more cone shaped object like the top of a glue bottle to get a different shaped jhumka, it’s very variable!  To use the mini mold, place your disc on top of the mound (for this size I seem to be able to use either the 3rd or 4th size (C or D) to make the shape, depending on how thick the paper was.  A thicker paper will give you a larger disc.  Make sure the center of your disc is right on top of the mound.  You can smooth the sides until it is even.

•  To keep the domes shaped correctly, you need to coat the inside with glue.  Here I use my favorite glue and sealant, PPA (click here to learn more about using PPA as a sealant for quilled jewelry).  I squirt some inside and then use the tip of the glue dispenser bottle to rub it around the inside gently, without disturbing the shape.  Do this with both pieces and then lay them upside down to dry completely before continuing.

• Once your dome is dry on the inside, it’s time to add the top!  Apply glue all around the edge of the open ring and place it exactly on the top of the dome.  Look at it from all sides to make sure it is even.  Once it dries you can’t move it!

• Let the top ring dry a bit, then fill in the center with glue.  Squeeze the teardrop so that it is narrow enough and place it inside of the open ring.  You want the bottom of the teardrop to go down as far as it can for maximum surface contact, making it nice and strong!  Again look at it from all angles to make sure the teardrop is on straight. The first one I made I noticed when it was done that the teardrop was crooked.  oops!  It still works, of course, but I like making sure it is all as perfect as possible.  Let it dry fully, and then you can add sealant!  I use 2 coats of liquid sealer and then one coat of some glossy sealant (either PPA glossy or crystal coat glaze work well, as well as some other options.  Click here to see all posts about sealants).

Here is the size of the finished earrings.  This maroon and gold pair is the first one I made.  If you look at the right hand one you can see how the teardrop on top is a bit crooked 😉

Looking for more jhumka style designs?

Here are more great posts you can find on the blog:

I hope you enjoy the tutorial and find it helpful!  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 mentioned in this post I purchased and/or made on my own.

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