DIY tutorial how to make ear wires

Today Albina from AroundBeads shares her little secret how to make ear wires on your own and to save a little bit money on your jewelry making supplies.

If you love making earrings, you always need earring wires, right?
You can purchase commercial ones almost at any craft store or on-line. There is a little bit of math... An average price for 1 pair of sterling silver hook ear wires is nearly $1.20, the average price of 22 ga sterling silver wire is around $2.00 per foot. To make 1 pair of earwires you will need 3"- 4" which is around $0.50- $0.65. Do you see the difference? One more advantage is the fun you'll have making them :)

OK, let's start! It's easy as 1-2-3!

Tools you will need:

Round nose pliers

Flat nose pliers

Dowel (Round pencil )

To make simple loop earwires (left on a photo), you will need two pieces of 22ga half hard wire 1 1/2" (4cm) each.

1. Make a loop with round nose pliers, so your wire piece looks like a "p" letter:

2. Bend the wire around the dowel as shown:

3. Using flat nose pliers, slightly bend the tip away from the loop, no more than ¼” from the end:

To make Earwires with a bead, (right on a photo), you will need two pieces of 22ga half hard wire 2" (5cm) each.
1. Using round nose pliers, make a simple loop on one end of the wire, so your wire piece looks like an eye-pin now:

2. Slide a bead (3mm) and bend the wire at a 60 degree angle as shown. Note: the loop and the wire are on the same plane:

3. Bend the wire around the dowel as shown:

4. You may hammer the earwires slightly.

See... It's really easy!