Creation of a vintage and bohemian style earring (Part 1)

Manufacturing an earring pendant

The pairs of earrings that I make are made of a pendant, a ring and an ear hook. In what follows, I will share with you the technique I use to create my pendants.

Step 1 :

In order to start the process you need to take high resolution photos (using a professional camera) of the painting and use Photoshop to create the size and shape you want

Step 2 :

For a pair of Earrings, I first use Photoshop to get two same images and two others mirrored, as seen in the image below.

I adjust the dimensions of the pendant to get the actual sizes of the earring.

In this case, we have a height of 5 cm by a width of 3 cm.

Then, and still in Photoshop, I set out to create an oval which in itself will give me the shape of the pendant.

Then I print out the images on a 250 g / m2 Bristol paper (printing with high quality colors)

Photoshop and printing time: 2 hours

Cost and Material: € 1 per printing paper (printing service in a printing store) + Bristol paper 250g 20 sheets € 10.

Step 3:

After printing, I take my time to cut out the paper in order to get the shape of the pendant

Cutting time: 10 minutes

Cost and Material: Rougier & Plé scissors 6 €.

Step 4 :

I glue two images together (One image is glued to the one who has the mirror effect).

I am careful not to glue two fronts together.

For that, I mark on the back of the image, a small line indicating the top of the latter in order to glue the good parts together.

With that, since we already have four images (two identical and two mirror effects) printed and cut beforehand, after gluing I obtain two pendants on which we see the painting on both sides.

Bonding time: 15 minutes

Cost and Material: Rougier & Plé scissors € 6 + Cleopatra white glue € 4.

Step 5 :

(Tuto comment Résiner)

I prepare the resin by mixing a percentage of 100% of product A (resin) versus 60% of product B (hardener).

Spread the resin all over the image and pull even to the edge. It is a very delicate process and needs meticulous work. You will notice small bubbles in the resin, for this use the torch very carefully to make them disappear.

In this case it is strongly recommended to wear gloves and a mask and to work outside because the resin is toxic.

Personally, I use natural sunlight to speed up the resin curing process.

There are plenty of resin tutorial videos on youtube that will make your life much easier.

Drying time: 12 hours (front and back total drying)

Cost and Material: Pro Component Transparent Resin 30 € + box glove of 100 Hevea 15 € + two Chopsticks to hold the pendant while pouring the resin 1 € + Exolee mask 15 € + Cleopatra mat 20 €.

Step 6 :

I make two small holes using the dremel for the rings.

Piercing time: 5 minutes

Cost and Material: Dremmel Le Roy Merlin 25 €.

Step 7 :

The earring pendants are ready to be polished.

I start with a grain of 80 while using the water so that the polished residue does not stick to the surface of the pendant. Starting with a grain of 80, I continue with 120 or 150, 240 or 320, 400 or 600, 800 or 100, so to finish using a grain of 1200 or 1500.

It is advisable to keep your gloves and a mask on you to avoid staining your hands with resin and sniffing the residue.

Polishing time: 5 hours

Cost and Material: lot of Gyvasla sandpaper 80 120 150 180 240 320 400 600 800 1000 1200 1500 2000 2500 3000 for 9 €.

Step 8 :

As for the border I use black acrylic to paint the edge with a fine brush while wiping off the excess paint. Then I apply a scratch remover on the pendant and I spread the product with a dry cloth to limit the visibility of scratches due to polishing.

Painting and scratch remover time: 30 minutes

Cost and Material: black acrylic paint Winsor & Newton 6 € + Michelin Stripe Eraser 4.30 € + fine brush Winsor & Newton 2 € + Dry cloth 5 €.