Fruit Salad Earrings - A Tutorial

Want a new pair of crazy fun earrings?  Why not make some!   You're going to need some items:

Supplies:

• Vintage Fruit Charms- 20 or so
• 20 6mm Jump rings
• A pair of Earwires
• 4-5 inches of chain - I used 2 (two) 2 1/2 inch pieces.  It needs to have large enough links to attach to. A small cable chain works great

A note about vintage fruit charms:  These are normally sold in packs of 20-25.  25 should be enough for a pair, but make sure you have pairs of the fruit charms for matching earrings.




Tools

• Needle Nose Pliers
• Round Nose Pliers
• Side Cutters
• Head Pin

Now to start:

Take your chain and cut it in half wth your cutters.  To make sure that it hangs evenly, thread one end of each length on to your head pin.  Trim to be equal if need be. 

I used pre-cut lengths and needed to trim just one length.

Now take your chains and set one to the side.  Open a jump ring.  Use both sets of pliers, and twist to the side to open & close jumprings.  Thread one fruit bead on to the open jump ring, hook to the chain, and close the jump ring, twisting the jump ring closed.

Continue on, alternating fruits and leaves.  Don't forget to attach your charms to both sides of the chain.  I started with apples at the bottom, added a leaf and a cherry to the next link, and a lemon to the link above that.  Pear and grape went on next, on opposing sides of the chain.  I added a banana and another leaf - this time to the same jump ring.  A plum and a mystery fruit (Possibly a strawberry?  Who knows!) topped it off!

Now, you need to make a second one that's the same.  My little stand is one of the card/photo stands that you can get that has an alligator clip on the top.  I find it useful for photos!

Next...take your earwires. Open the loop on the end, using your round nose pliers.  Attach the end of the chain that doesn't have fruit attached.  It seems like that would be obvious, but you'd be surprised.  Before you close the loop, check to see if you like the length.

Personally, I like about a 2 inch drop.  If you need to adjust your earrings, now is the time to do it.  You would use your side cutters and trim your chain.  Remember to check to see that your earrings are the same length.  A little difference won't be very noticeable.

When you're happy with the length, close the loop.  Repeat for the other earwire and you're good to go! Swingy, not blingy, and a little chingy.