by Tammy Jones
Making your own findings is one of the easiest ways to add unique style to your jewelry-making designs, and for some reason, it's an idea that many jewelry makers often overlook. I was making earrings by the handfuls one afternoon years ago when I realized that I only had one ear wire left. Not one pair, but one. Somewhere along the way I'd lost its mate. Double blow! Not only was I out of the findings I needed, I had an orphaned one (in pricey gold, even) that would likely go to waste.
Can you tell which ear wire was the lone bought one and which one I made? But then I had a little epiphany. I did have gold balled head pins, and the ear wire I had was a pretty simple design with a ball on the end. . . . Just as I realized that I could probably make a good match for the lone ear wire, it also struck me that I could make all of my ear wires, all the time, and never run out again. And then I realized how much money it would save me. (You know how there's a bright light and angels sing when someone gets a brilliant idea on TV? It was just like that.)
Once I realized how easy and cost-effective it is to make my own earring findings, I stopped buying manufactured ear wires in favor of making my own. The possibilities truly are endless; ear wires can be just about any shape or style, as long as they go through the ear easily, hang properly and balanced, and don't fall out. That allowed my creativity to soar, thinking of new ways to make earring findings that are as unique as the baubles I hang on them.
