A frequent visitor to the Martha Stewart site, I always look at her homemade gift ideas for the holidays. I always have a DIY party favor for guests at an annual dinner with some girl friends. I loved her
Sequin Ball Earrings (at right), but after reading the directions, it seemed a bit difficult with the whole chain drop and making the sequin ball.
However, after perusing
Pier 1 for another gift, I came across these
Sequin Spheres for $5 a box! I loved that they came in three festive colors, and that there were 30 balls in the box, which could make 15 pairs of earrings. This was one easy solution to the problems I had with Martha's how-to! So off to the craft store for the rest of the supplies needed to make the earrings.
I purchased
gold plated hooks and
gold head pins to feed through the balls and attach to the earring hooks. I also used
jewelry pliers that I already owned to help bend the wires. I think the entire project cost me under $10. Here is the step by step how-to make the sequin ball earrings:
Step 1:
Set out your supplies by pair, so you make sure you have enough of each. You need two sequin balls, two hooks, and two head pins.
Step 2:
Feed one head pin through the sequin ball. The middle of the ball is styrofoam, so it it easy to press the pin through. Try not to force it, as the pin bends easily and you want to keep it as straight as possible before the next steps.
Step 3:
Push the head pin all the way through the ball until the head is flush with the bottom. Be sure not to push too hard that the head actually goes into the ball. You want it to remain outside of the sequins.
It should look like this when you have it through.
Step 4:
Feed the hook onto the head pin.
Step 5:
Clamp the hook and head pin with one set of pliers and hold in place while performing Step 6, below.
Step 6:
With a second set of pliers, grab the end of the head pin and bend it in half to form a loop. Obviously, I could not take a picture of the pliers bending the wire, as I needed both hands, so here is what it should look like after you bend it.
Step 7:
Continue to use both sets of pliers to bend the pin around the stem of the loop to secure it in place, until the entire pin is curled around the loop.
Step 8:
Repeat all steps above for second earring. Voila! You have a pair!
I really love how they came out and in such festive colors. I wrapped them up in little boxes and randomly set them at each place setting. It was fun to see which guest got what color! And I kept a gold pair for myself that I will be wearing year round for that party perfect sparkle!
As the last hours of 2010 wind down, I just wanted to thank all you blog readers for another amazing year! I wish you much health and happiness in 2011! I have a feeling it will be a good year... please check back soon for exciting new posts in January!
I also bought black ink that I can use on a darker color ribbon, like red for Valentine's Day, or a more elegant party or shower. Of course you could use the stamps on some colored paper for gift tags too.
Voila! It was that easy! The three wreaths cost me under $15 total, and only took about 20 minutes of my time. And the house looks so much more festive too!
