This last week has brought us really unpredictable weather in Portland, with intense rain, then sun, then more rain. And more rain. At one point I looked at the five day forecast, and it was “Thunderstorms, showers, rain, rain, rain.” To pass these rainy days, I’ve been working on something that I’m terrible at: Cleaning and organizing. I hate to admit this, but there are some piles of stuff in my basement that I haven’t even tried to organize since we moved in two years ago. Since that’s where I keep all of my craft supplies, sometimes it makes doing a project more of a challenge than it needs to be.

These DIY crystal earrings are a result of the organizing progress. I’d forgotten that I had the crystals, but when I found them, I immediately wanted to use them. It was like unearthing buried treasure! And since I’d just cleaned up my glue and earring studs, I was able to get them into action right away.

These earrings are my reward for cleaning, but since they’re so easy, you really don’t need an excuse to make a pair for yourself.

Materials and Tools:

Earring stud blanks– You want ones with a small head, so it’ll be hidden behind the crystal. I bought mine at Dava Bead and Trade, but if you don’t have a local bead store, try Etsy.
2 small crystal points– Mine are about 1/2-inch/16-mm long. I also bought these at Dava Bead and Trade, but again, try Etsy.
E6000 glue
Small piece of foam, or cardboard
Toothpick or skewer

Steps:

1. Remove the backs from the earrings, and stick them all the way into the foam or cardboard, so that the stud blank is flush with the surface. Put a dot of glue on each stud with a toothpick.

2. Place the crystals on the earring studs. Allow to dry overnight, ideally 24 hours.


While I was at it, I made a couple of other easy pairs of earrings with stones I re-discovered. The top ones are pyrite, and the bottom ones are fake marble, aka howlite. They were slightly more involved than the crystal earrings, but not by much.

I’m holding onto the possibility of discovering more treasures to help motivate me to continue the clean-up. Who knows what I’ll find!