Paddle Earrings with Lampwork Beads

I made these sterling silver paddle earrings during the cold connections class I taught Sunday:

I used 18 gauge sterling silver wire, hammering it flat and wide at one end to hold the handmade lampwork bead in place. After sliding the bead on, I continued to carefully hammer the wire above it to slightly flatten it, and then used round nose pliers to create a loop at the top for hanging.

Copper and Sterling Silver Earrings

I cut and sanded the sheet copper, then textured it with the balled end of a chasing hammer. To highlight this hammered textured, I treated the pieces with liver of sulfur. A hole was punched in the top for hanging.

Next, I cut 2 pieces of sterling silver wire, and formed them into "squiggles" which were basically mirror images of each other, with a loop at the top for hanging. Then I hammered the squiggles flat with the chasing hammer, and they started to not match each other quite so well, but that's OK!

I used a jump ring to connect the squiggle and the copper rectangle to a sterling silver earwire.

Fun, easy design!