50 Cent Bridesmaid Earrings

My goal in making my bridesmaid's earrings was first to make something that most of them would wear again. I fell in love with cascade-style earrings like these:

 

 

 

I've made earrings before but never this intricate of a style. I did a quick search on how to make cascade earrings and found these instructions. The methods used were ones that I've used in other jewelry-making endeavors so I wasn't scared.

 

Here's the breakdown of the costs and where I found my materials:

• 72" chain purchased at Michaels for $2.99
• 190 gray Crystazzi 6mm pearls at Michaels for $2.50 (on sale)
• 400 dark purple Swarovski crystals on eBay for $5.00 (including shipping)
• Sterling silver earring findings: I already had these in my jewelry-making kit
• Tools: I already had these as well!

Total Cost of Materials: $10.49

 

Now let's do some more math. I like to figure out exact costs so I know how much I really saved. Also, I will probably end up using the crystals and pearls in other projects (thinking of the crystals for my tree-branch centerpieces and for bouquet jewels).

• Chain- using 12 inches (2 inches per girl/1 inch per earring) = $0.50 total
• Gray Pearls - using 72 total (12 per girl/6 per earring) = $0.94 total
• Swarovski beads - using 132 beads (22 per girl/11 per earring) = $1.65 total
• Sterling silver earring findings: free!
• Tools: free!

Actual cost (that I forked over) for ALL bridesmaid earrings = $3.09
Actual cost for each bridesmaid/each pair of earrings = $0.52

 

WOW! Seriously? It costs me about 50 cents a girl? I guess I could have used more expensive materials, but really they look lovely the way they are!

 

See my next blog for the complete tutorial on how I made these earrings.