Leather Earrings

Upcycle small pieces of leather for these earrings. Here is a quick leather earrings project for you to complete in just an hour. 

About this time of year I start to get a little nostalgic for school. Yep wrote about this feeling last year too. It’s the feeling of starting something new that gets me so excited. The weather is starting to cool down, the leaves start to change, and it starts to rain a little bit. We live right by an elementary school and yesterday on my way to work the streets were filled with parents walking their children to school. It was adorable. Every child was sporting their new school and a new backpack. They were proud of themselves for being a grade higher but also a little nervous. That’s what fall is all about.

Blame it on the fall weather, but I was actually looking into Master’s programs the other day. (Yikes, am I really ready for that?!) Maybe I will just buy a new Dora the Explorer backpack and some glitter kicks to satiate this feeling.

Last weekend was rainy and cool – a perfect excuse to stay inside and read, watch movies, and craft. After a busy summer, I was just looking for an excuse to hibernate and recover. First up were these earrings. I actually created the tan version when I was on a blogging hiatus. I made them and didn’t take a single photo. I was refreshing and necessary, but I still wanted to share them with everyone so I recreated them in black to share! 

I found all this leather at a place here in Portland called SCRAP PDX. SCRAP is  a donation based creative reuse store. You can donate your old scraps and find all kinds of gems for your latest project. They had a huge bin of leather scraps that were perfect for small jewelry projects, if you want to work with leather, you can also use a leather softnener to be able to work this material. I came out with a variety of sizes and colors to play with. 

Materials

• Leather scraps
• 2 jump rings
• 4 inches of chain
• 2 Earring hoops

1. Cut your leather pieces

Measure and draw your triangle out onto a piece of paper first to get the right measurements. Mine is an equilateral triangle, with all sides being 3/4″. Trace the triangle onto the leather and cut. I used my cool new ProCision Rotary cutter**. It’s made to cut through way more than just paper and did really well with leather. Scissors or a standard rotary cutter would be perfect for cutting leather as well. 

2. Tape area to Paint

Using masking tape, tape a the area you do not wish to paint. This will ensure you have a nice straight line. 

3. Paint

Paint gold fabric paint on the tip for a bright accent. It needed two coats, but it’s a perfect shiny gold that almost looks like gold tape. 

4. Set out to dry

5. Peel the tape off 

Wait until the paint has dried or mostly dried and then carefully peel off the tape. Peel carefully or you will stretch and tear the paint in the wrong location. 

6. Punch two holes

At this point, I should probably find a leather punch. I have made a few leather accessories, but I am still using the old nail trick. So if you have a leather punch, punch two small holes on the top of each triangle. If you don’t own a leather punch. Find a sharp nail to push through the leather. 

7. Slip your jump rings through each hole

8. Add chain

Measure out your chain and count the rings. You want an odd number of rings so your triangles sit straight. 

9. Attach earring hoop to the middle chain link 

I have been wearing these earrings often since I finished them. They simple, but pretty with the pop of gold on the tips. I like the black version more than the tan because the gold stands out more. I think I will be experimenting with shapes and colors a little more in the future. If you would like to make a bit of extra money you can sell gold coins to get all the necessary jewelry materials. 

**PS. In the real world I am employed by Gerber, a Fiskars company, but this is not sponsored by them in any way. And my affiliation does not effect my product choice or opinions, this rotary cutter is pretty awesome.