Twelve Days of Christmas Jewelry Designs: 1 – Swarovski Crystal Tree Earrings

Hi bloglandia! The holidays are sneaking up on us like stealthy ninjas. Whether you have been making jewelry for years or would like to make your very first pair of earrings, these super sparkly crystal Christmas tree earrings are a fast and fun way to whip up some holiday spirit. Over the rest of November, I’m going to share twelve holiday jewelry designs, most of which are simple and sweet. All of them make great DIY gifts or highly sellable products for your next craft show. Today’s detailed instructions for how to make beaded earrings should make it possible for you to make a variety of jewelry designs – the more you practice making wrapped loops on head pins, the easier it gets!

Supplies for one pair of Crystal Christmas Tree Earrings

Earring parts – you’ll also need a set of the basic jewelry pliers.

• One pair of ear wires (I’m using sterling silver filled – less expensive than sterling, but the same look and quality for people who can’t wear base metal. Learn more.)
• Two 2″ head pins (since the pin won’t touch the wearer, I think it is ok to use silver-plated pins if you like, instead of sterling silver. 1.5″ head pins will work too, but longer pins are easier for beginners to wrap.)
• Three to five graduated sizes SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS crystal margaritas in one color (I used Crystal Vitrail Medium in 8mm, 10mm, 12mm and 14mm)
• Two 4mm crystal cube beads
• Two 3mm crystal bicones (I used Fuchsia)

Step by Step Photo Instructions for Making Crystal Tree Earrings

Stack the crystals on a head pin.

Grip the pin with round nose pliers.

Bend wire away from you.

Turn just your wrist to rotate the pliers a quarter turn away from your body, like so.

Pull the wire back towards your body, looping it over the top jaw of the pliers.

Now the wire is pointing back towards you.

Rotate your wrist towards you again to move the pliers into this position.

Now there is room to close the loop (push the wire away from you).

After you’ve closed the loop, switch to chain nose pliers to grip the loop.

Grip the tail with flat nose pliers and wrap it around the wire.

Stop wrapping when you reach the crystal.

Trim the excess wire.

Squeeze gently with chain nose pliers to tuck the wire tail in tight with the wrap.

Open the ear wire just like you’d open a jump ring. Add the crystal tree and close the ear wire.

Ta da! One sparkly tree earring. Now repeat all the steps to make its mate!

Green and red make the classic color combo, but there are plenty of other options. Foiled crystal margaritas look like icy trees, especially when paired with blue trunks and stars. Fern Green is an even “greener” green than Emerald, while the Crystal Vitrail Medium I used are mostly green with all kinds of reflected colors. I paired it with pink for a slightly less traditional look. I like to use the “Browse by Crystal Color” page on Rings & Things website to pick crystal color combos. Here are a few other crystal Christmas trees made with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS:

More sizes and colors of Christmas tree earrings – the smooth one is made with a Fern Green Artemis bead instead of margarita crystals.

Now that you know how to make these crystal tree charms, you can attach them to anything: use them as pendants, zipper pulls, cell phone charms, tree ornaments or wine glass markers if you like! ~ Cindy