The Easiest Ear Cuffs!

I wear earrings every single day.  I probably have 100 pairs.  A tiny sample:

But wait just a durn minute.  Those aren't earrings, are they?  They don't have posts or earwires.  They are just pretty dangles, with small rings at the top.  Those aren't earrings!

So how do I wear them?  Well, I'll tell ya.  I wear them hung from the world's easiest ear cuffs.

And when I say easiest, I mean easy to make and easy to wear.  Have you ever tried ear cuffs?  They are so comfortable!  No piercing, and no tight clip-ons.  They hang in a civilized manner from the inner curve of your ear, and most of the time you can barely feel them.

So many people let piercings close up, and then stop wearing earrings.  Speaking for myself, being an extreme fraidy cat, I have never pierced anything, ever.  Tried numerous times.  Went to the piercing parlor, sat in the chair and everything.  Couldn't do it.  Hence, ear cuffs!

There are lots of tutorials for complicated swoopy, scrolly ones out there on the web.  Here is my minimalist version.




Start with a piece of craft wire, between 2 and 2-1/2  inches long.  I like 20 gauge or 22 gauge, for the right combination of strong and flexible.

Turn a small inward loop on each end...

Make sure the two loops are on the same plane, not twisted all squeegee.  Now you have this little item:

Bend it around a pen.

Then adjust it so the loops are about 1/4 inch apart.

Now comes the fun part.  Just slip a dangle over one of the ends -

And there you have it!  Anything with a jump ring at the top can become an earring - I love to convert vintage earrings into dangles, like this:

Or I make my own dangles from scratch.

Sometimes I get weird; this pair's made from a dollar store fly swatter:

You can do this with practically any length or size - as long as they're not too heavy, you'll be surprised by how comfy they can be.  These filigree ones are huuuge:

And yet I wear them with the utmost ease.

How to wear: To put them on takes a little bit of practice.  Start near the top of the ear, where it's thinnest.  Then slide the cuff down until it sort of hooks itself over the cartilage above your ear lobe.  (Try YouTube for lots of how-to videos.)

Say!  Even if you do wear pierced earrings, why not add a pair of these cuffs for some extra va-va-voomage?  Isn't this an exotic look?

 
Okie dokie!  That's my go-to ear cuff.  If this tutorial makes you try something new, I will be so thrilled.  Let me know, eh?

Your friend,

Fray D. Cat