How to Make Gold-Dipped Leather Feather Earrings
For today’s DIY gift idea, we turn to the life of the wanderer. Inspired by all the boho accessories we’re seeing in just about every store we walk by, we created a trio of leather feather-shaped earrings, dipped in gold.
Materials:
– leather or faux leather (vinyl works!)
– jump rings
– gold cord ends
– gold earring hooks
Tools:
– gold spray paint
– fabric scissors
– scissors
– round needle nose pliers
– chain nose pliers
– painter’s tape
– Sharpie
Instructions:
1. Trace feather shapes onto back of leather.
2. Cut out your feather shapes.
3. Mask off part of each feather with painter’s tape.
4. Spray paint gold. Let dry for 30 minutes.
5. Peel off painter’s tape.
6. Cut fringe along the edge of each feather to create a feather-like texture.
7. Press your feather into a cord end.
8. Attach the cord end to a jump ring and to an earring hook.
9. Repeat with as many feather earrings as you like!
The materials list for this is pretty long! If you don’t have a good arsenal of basic jewelry supplies, snag our Jewelry Starter Kit and you’ll be all set.
We created a template with a bunch of different feather sizes so you can choose a size that suits you. Cut out a feather. Trace it onto the back of your leather. Cut out!
Repeat with as many earrings as you’d like to make.
Now, it’s time to do the dip. First, use painter’s tape to mask off part of the leather. We attached all of our leather feathers to an old poster board. Make sure you cover every part you want to stay un-painted.
Spray paint those feathers! We found that gold spray paint worked best and actually accentuated the leather texture. You could try gold paint pens or gold paint, but might not get as good coverage.
Let dry for 30 minutes to an hour. Then peel off that tape!
Now it’s time to snip up those feathers to create a more feather-like texture. It’s like fringe on your feathers! Twist to enhance the texture.
Next is the trickiest (but still pretty simple!) part. Open up a cord end and place the top of your first feather in it. Use your pliers to clasp the cord end around the feather. Press hard so it’s really in there. You can also add a dab of E-6000 glue if you’re worried about the feather coming loose.
Almost done! Time to get those earring hooks on there.
Take a jump ring and attach the feather to your earring hook, and you’re done!
How hot are those?
We can’t decide which color we like best. The turquoise ones?
The deep teal ones?
The tan ones?
Okay, we’ll go with the deep teal. Party time, excellent!
