Now that we’re finally moving towards spring and away from the cold days of winter, we find ourselves accessorizing our outfits a lot more. Earrings, for example, tend to fall by the wayside until we can shed out toques and wear our hair up again without our ears getting frost bitten. Getting back into earring season might be a great opportunity to go jewelry shopping, but as avid crafters, we’re sure you’ve already guessed that, as usual, we’d rather make our own. One of our very favourite ways to make our own earrings is with polymer clay!
Check out these 15 awesome DIY clay earring designs that will totally impress your friends this spring when you finally set your ears free from hats and earmuffs!
1. Sparkly hearts
Are you so happy about finally moving away from hat weather that you just want to show the whole world a little love? Then make yourself some cute heart shaped studs out of clay! We absolutely adore the way The Alison Show added just a touch of glitter to really draw attention to your cute new earrings and complement whatever fun colour you choose to make them from.
2. Textured imprint earrings
Rather than embellishing your earrings or using multiple colours of clay, would you prefer to keep them simple in colour and shape but still make them interesting somehow? Then texture is definitely what you’re looking for! Melissa Esplin shows you an easy technique for imprinting pretty patterns into the surface of your clay for subtle detail.
3. Winter white earrings
Okay, we admit it. We do know that it’s still possible to wear earrings in the winter, we just don’t remember to do it as often when our ears are covered so much. Just in case you have your winter style more put together than we do, though, and you actually accessorize even in cold weather, here’s an adorable design from This Heart of Mine! The pretty little white pendants are meant to mimic the snowflakes around you.
4. Dual colour squares
Are you very into the idea of making clay earrings from multiple colours but you’re not sure you’re ready for that level of DIY jewelry moulding quite yet? Using more than one colour of polymer clay is a simple idea but it can take some practice to make your changes very neat. Instead, check out Art Platter‘s easy suggestion for painting smaller details onto your base colour of clay instead.
5. Triangle studs
Did you like the way the little heart studs we talked about above involved a base colour and a little top accent but you’re not really feeling the shape and you don’t have any glitter on hand? Then get the same aesthetic but with a slight variation by making adorable little colour accented triangles just like I Have a Deer did here! You might even make yourself a whole set of triangles with the same colour of clay but differently painted points on top.
6. Pink and gold hinge earrings
Do you love the idea of making your own earrings from clay but you’d rather make something a little more stylish and interesting than just plain studs? Then check out these dangling circles that feature a neat little hinge in the middle! The hinge will let the circle move and swing adorably from your lobe as you go about your day. We love the way Pitter and Glink chose a dual colour look, especially since one side’s colour is made of glitter!
7. Clay dot studs
Mini Style is here to remind you that sometimes simple really is the way to go! Instead of using sparkles, textures, and extra features for detail, why not make something easy that really lets colour take the stage? We’re completely in love with these simple circles that look great in single piercings or together in different shades for people with multiple piercings.
8. Black cats
In recent months, the style of earring we’ve seen trend perhaps the most is the kind where both the front and the back are decorative. That might sound very fancy, but they’re actually a lot easier to make than you might think! We’re particularly big fans of the style if they’re cute little novelty earrings, like these funny clay cats by ArtzieRush.
9. Hearts and rainbows
Have you been practicing both your clay forming and your earring making skills and you feel like you’re up for more of a challenge than some of the simpler ideas you’ve seen on our list so far? Then try one that combines just about every technique that’s out there! These adorably bright earrings let you practice combining clay colours, adding hinges for extra swing, and adding textured detail! Check the whole idea out on Elvira Krick.
10. Fried eggs
Have you always been a fan of things that are kitschy and campy or accessories that make other people look twice? Maybe food is your real passion and you’re an awesome cook? Then we think you’ll find these hilarious little fried egg earrings just as tempting to make as we did! DIY 100 Ideas guides you through the process of making the eggs look as realistic as possible.
11. Skull studs
Perhaps the novelty thing you really like the best is a good skull design? Then we definitely suggest making yourself some cute skull shaped earrings to go with your themed t-shirts, purses, and so on! Skulls might sound intimidating to shape because they’re often quite detailed, but What To Do With Lemons shows you an easy way to do it in just a few simple steps!
12. Hinged huskies
Did you love the idea of making both the front and the back of the earring decorative like we talked about above, but you’re not really a cat person? Never fear, ArtzieRush has a design for dog lovers too! This time, however, they’ve added an extra neat feature by putting a set of rings at the top of the dog’s tail so it wags like a happy puppy as you move around.
13. Faux plug spirals
Perhaps you’ve always been intrigued by the idea of gauging your ear piercings but you just haven’t mustered up the courage quite yet? Well, we’re sure you’ll build up to that someday but in the meantime, check out these clay “cheater plugs” by Jad Montenegro! These earrings are made to look very thick around the middle but with a standard side earring post hidden on the inside so that you don’t have to change anything about your piercings to wear them.
14. Tiny bow studs
Are you intrigued by the idea of simple little stud earrings but you’d still like you try your hand at a design that’s ever so slightly more detailed in terms of its construction? Then follow along with the way that Make it Easy Crafts moulded clay to look like a bow that’s actually tied from little ribbon strands! Don’t be intimidated by this design; we’ve actually tried it in real life and it’s much easier than it looks!
