Tangerine Delta Earrings Tutorial

Created by: Megan Holden

Designer Tips

Clean the inside of the rivoli settings with alcohol swabs, and allow to dry.
Place a small drop of E-6000 or GS Hypo Cement into the cup of each setting and lightly but firmly press your Tangerine rivolis into the settings. Set aside and allow to dry.
Use a ball peen hammer and metal block to texture the brass triangles.
You can leave the brass blanks as-is, or polish them to a high shine, and then seal the surface to protect the high shine.
Carefully find the center line (so the earrings hang properly), and punch a hole at the top and bottom of each brass triangle.
See below for polishing & sealant options, before assembling earrings.

Brass will naturally oxidize, which is great if you want a rustic look for these earrings. If you prefer a high shine, you have two basic options:

If you're making just one or 2 pairs of earrings, use progressively finer grits of sanding sponges or polishing paper, and finish with an ULTRA polishing pad. (Or just jump right to the ULTRA polishing pad.)
If you make a lot of jewelry, and you don't love hand polishing, sanding, filing, etc., then a tumbler is the way to go! Tumble just one type of metal at a time, or you may end up with strange results. (Trust me.) Toss your blanks into a tumbler with 2lbs of steel shot, a few drops of ShineBrite and just enough water to cover the steel shot, and tumble your components for approximately an hour (30 minutes to 3 hours). This removes small scratches and other blemishes, smooths any rough edges, and gives your patterned blanks a high shine. Rinse the blanks and dry them with a soft cloth.

To seal your bright finish, follow the instructions on Ren Wax, or for the best, most durable jeweler-quality finish, use Nikolas Spray Lacquer.
Allow the sealant to harden before assembling earrings.
Add a Light Siam crystal and small bead cap to an eye pin, and make a simple loop. Create your eye pin loop perpendicular to the pre-made loop, to make the earrings hang straight. You may need to use 2 pairs of chain-nose pliers to turn the top and bottom loops perfectly perpendicular (90-degrees). New to jewelry-making? For looping instructions, and most secure way way to open and close jump rings, see Jewelry Basics 101 (PDF).
Use medium-sized jump rings from the jump ring mix to assemble the earrings, making sure that all parts can swing freely.

Suggested Supplies

1 dozen (use 4 pieces) #44-722-03-0 Brass Stamping Blank, Triangle, 17x15mm
2 each #05-000-08-21 Swarovski 5000 Faceted Round Beads, 8mm - Light Siam
2 each #01-122-12-421 Swarovski 1122 Rivoli Stone, 12mm - Tangerine
2 each #41-865-912-GP TierraCast 12mm Hammered Rivoli Frame, 1 Loop - Gold Plate
1 half-gross (use 1 pair) #34-389-51-4 Gold Plated Leverback Ear Wire, Plain, 14x11mm
1 ounce (use 4) #37-100-2 Yellow Plated Jump Ring, Round, Assorted Sizes
1 100-pack (use 2 pieces) #43-132-AG TierraCast Antiqued Gold Plated Bead Caps, Cast, Beaded
1 ounce (use 2 pieces) #37-722-2 Yellow Plated Eye Pin, 2", Standard
or
1 ounce (use 2 pieces) #37-715-2 Yellow Plated Eye Pin, 1-1/2", Thin
(either size eye pin works fine for this design)
Adhesive: E-6000 or GS Hypo Cement