DIY Beautiful Beaded Hoop Earrings

I live in my simple gold hoop earrings. They aren’t enormous, but they are a staple of mine. However, sometimes you want something a little more “dressier.” So I looked through my beading stash to see what might interest me.

I didn’t start with a set plan in place, but I had some of these “china” style beads leftover from a much earlier project that I felt would be a nice bit of pizzaz. Plus, now I have a set of earrings to go with that multi-strand bracelet!

Have you ever thought of making your own earrings? Making your earrings versus buying them allows for a plethora of customization options, and earrings generally don’t take long to create. When first starting, they typically took me about 30 minutes, depending on how complex they were. That makes earrings my favorite time crunch project because if you’ve only got 30 minutes, you can start and finish that project. The only thing that might take you a bit longer is figuring out what beads and findings you may want to use!

What you’ll Need:

• A selection of beads (I chose the blue and white china pattern with some smaller blue beads)
• Some beading wire (I used this one, available through Amazon!)
• Eyepins
• Earring Hooks
• Some jewelry making tools (Check out my earlier post on jewelry pliers), in particular:
  • Round nose pliers
  • Chain nose pliers (I find these useful for gripping projects instead of using my hands)
  • Wire snippers

You can likely find similar products on Amazon or at Michaels or another crafting store. Another place you may wish to check is your dollar store, as they may carry the findings (the metal bits) for cheaper. 

If you don’t mind waiting for items to ship, another recommendation of mine is Create For Less (Affiliate Link). I love their selection of jewelry making supplies as well as other crafting supplies, and if you’re luckily based in the United States, you get free shipping on orders over $50!

Start by Beading Your Hoop

Begin by cutting a length of beading wire, about three finger lengths (longer if you want bigger hoops, crafter’s choice!).

Next, string your beads along the wire, I did an alternating china pattern bead with a blue bead. I only had 10 of the china beads left, so I did five per earring.

Closing the Hoop

The wire I used is suitable for wire working, so to close off the hoop, I began twisting the two ends around each other until the beads were secure and in a nice little hoop. To give the hoop a little bit more strength, I continued twisting until I had a length suitable to form a loop at the top to connect my eye pin.

For a video tutorial on how to make jewelry making loops, I recommend you check out Making It Easy With Liz on YouTube! She has some great beginner tips on there. I struggled with looping when I was starting, but the more practice I got, the better things turned out. So if you’re struggling, my advice is to just keep at it, you’ll get it!

Eye Pin Time

With my eye pins, I strung three blue beads on them. That’s why I like longer eye pins because they give you some freedom on the length. Once I had my beads on, I looped off the end and then connected them to the top of my hoops.

To make the earrings a little bit more flexible (or more “dangly), I used split rings to connect the hoop and the eye pin. Use your pliers to open the ring, slide the hoop loop, and the eye pin loop on and close it up.

Connecting the Earring Hook

On the top of the earring, I chose to connect the eye pin and the earring hook (your hook will have a little loop to make connections with).

Once everything was connected, I wore them for a bit to ensure they were going to last. If you find your earrings are coming loose, you can remove the split ring and connect the eye pin to the “hoop loop.”

Final Thoughts

I love earrings because they are relatively easy to make. It’s particularly lovely to still be able to craft something up even when you’re hard-pressed for time. This particular tutorial took me about 15 minutes to whip up, however, if you are newer to jewelry-making, it may take you a touch longer. I love the rush when people ask me where I bought my earrings, and I can say “I made them!” and I’m sure you’ll love it too.

I hope you also loved this article, and if you did, I’d love you forever if you’d share it on social media using one of the buttons on the side or pin it to Pinterest!

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Alright, my friends, that’s all for this week. Next week I’m delving into another home decor post, this time all about storage. So if you’re looking to get organized, be sure to check that out! Until then, stay crafty!