Firework Burst Earrings

 My daughters, Cheyenne and Natalie, and I have really been having fun making jewelry for the past couple of days.  We haven't done that for quite a while.  I learned some new skills, I introduced them to the fun of "Clue" the movie (they didn't find it that fun), and we escaped the heat while making super cute things.  I love summer!

Last week Cheyenne and I (oh, and Billy, he was in it for the Sonic for lunch) went shopping.  While we were in Shopko, Cheyenne found some really cute earrings and at the same time we both said, "We could so make those!"  So we came home started looking through the beads we have deciding what colors to make when I thought they would be perfect 4th of July earrings.  So our Firework Burst earrings were born.

Okay, so I had a little fun editing this picture, too. :)

Here's what you need to make your own:

You can make these as long or as short as you like.  We held the chain up to a pair we like and guesstimated that way.  Remember when you add the beads to the bottom link it will be longer.  1.  Attach the chain to the hooks.  2.  Put the beads on a head pin.  Using the wire cutters, cut of the excess of the pin, leaving about 1/8-1/4" above the beads.  3.  Then using the round end pliers, curl that extra 1/8-1/4" making a loop at the top and then use the loop to attach it to the chain.  This was the new technique I learned, I've never done this before.  It was kind of fun. lol  And I promise, it get's easier with practice and you'll see for yourself how much extra to leave depending on how tight you roll, etc.  The first pair I made it took me about 30 min. per earring.  By the second pair, I could make the pair in 30 min. and by the time she was done making several pairs, Cheyenne was pretty fast at it.

We started by putting one pin in each link of chain and then filling in "holes" when we were done.  You can make them as full or sparse as you like.

Cheyenne's pair are less full than mine are, it's just preference.  Finish by cutting off any excess chain links you have.

Give it a try, it's really kind of addicting.  I think we ended up each making 3 different pairs.  I'll show you our other pairs later.

Me and my beading buddy in our matching earrings - sorry it's a little blurry.