DIY: rock crystal earrings

Art/Layout by Dream & Dress

From left to right: Unearthen necklace, $345. Vanessa Mooney ring, $167. Unearthen necklace, $415. Academy cuff, $58.

Mania Mania ring, $295. Pamela Love necklace, $760. Pamela Love ring and cuffs, upon request.

Hope everyone had a nice Labor Day weekend!  I took a brief hiatus from blogging these past few weeks, trying to balance a busy work and travel schedule, while still making time to enjoy what’s left of summer took priority, but I also worked on some fun projects that I’m exited to share (including a TON of home decorating projects, but we’ll get to those later).

For now, I’m excited to share these chic and easy DIY earrings I created while confined to my apartment in anticipation of Hurricane Irene.  Lately I’ve been obsessed with all things rock crystal, as you can see from my collage of favorites above.   I love their organic, raw texture and how they exude a perfect mix of edginess and glamour.  The only downside to these magical little gems is that they usually come with a pretty hefty price tag—which is why I resorted to making my own.

I set out to my favorite bead shops in search of some raw crystals or crystal-like beads that I could use to start the project.  To my delight, I found an entire strand of white quartz crystals on sale at the second shop for only $23.99!   I grabbed it immediately—along with some some earring hoops and thin gauge beading wire—and was on my way.  I messed around with a few different options at first, until I eventually came up with the pair you see below. Here’s how you can create your own...

Photos/layout © Dream & Dress

I'm pretty pleased with the result, and fortunately I still have a ton of crystals left over to use for future projects!  I'm already working on a necklace version, so stayed tuned for part two of this post!  Also, if you're not already, please make sure to add me to your RSS feed or google reader (if you don't have this yet and you read blogs, it's a must!  Just log in to Reader through your Google account and click "Add Subscription" to add all of your favorite blogs to one easy-to-read, organized scroll!) and follow me on twitter and facebook, to keep up with upcoming NY Fashion Week updates and other in-between-post happenings!

XOXO