About
Earringology
Like the rest of the planet, I love birds. Here’s a playful pair I modeled from a similar set a friend gave me as a gift. (Hers were made entirely of real feathers and perched on little brass bars.)
Sweet and inspiring.
Dimensions
2 x 1 inches (5.1 x 2.5 cm)
Tags
© 2024 Candie Cooper / GMC Publications · Reproduced with permission. · Earringology by Candie Cooper, published by Lark (£19.99, available from www.thegmcgroup.com)
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You Will Need
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Step 1Roll some clay into two balls, each 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) in diameter. Pinch each ball into the shape of a bird. They don’t have to be perfect (mine surely are not!). Use a toothpick to poke a hole in the ends of the tails, where you will add feathers, and in the heads, for each of the birds’ eyes.
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Step 2Set each bird on a brass bead bar; then add a little bit of clay, to secure the birds to the bars.
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Step 3Bake the birds according to the clay manufacturer’s instructions. Paint the cured clay with watered-down acrylic paints. Sometimes I add two or three layers of paint, letting each layer dry between coats. Seal the pieces with a final coat of acrylic varnish.
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Step 4. Dab a smidge of gold paint on the beaks. Optionally, you can cut wings from paper and glue them to the sides of the birds with a decoupage medium. Seal the wings to the clay with the same decoupage medium.
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Step 5Cut about 4 inches (10.2 cm) of wire. Wrap one end of the wire to the end of a bead bar. Do the same with the wire’s free end at the other end of the bead bar. Make a twist or two at the top of the wire to create a loop.
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Step 6
Slide one jaw of the round-nose pliers into the loop to perfect the shape. This is the bird’s perch.
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Step 7Use the cement to attach a feather in the hole at the tail end of the clay bird.
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Step 8Open the ear wire’s loop with the chain-nose pliers and attach it to the perch’s loop you made in step 4. Repeat steps 4 through 6 to finish making the second earring.
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