Share the Love with DIY Heart Earrings

I wish I could buy every jewelry-loving woman in the world something sparkly for Valentine’s Day, but unfortunately that just is not in my budget. What I can do, though, is share a tutorial for how you can make a pair of glittery Valentine’s earrings that you can give as a gift. Whether you give the gift to yourself or someone else is up to you! The earrings are sweet and sparkly, and making them will not put you in the poorhouse for the rest of the winter. Let’s get started. First, you will need a base for your stud earrings. You can buy packs of flat pad earring posts (with backs) at the craft store for a few dollars. I found that pressing the earring posts into a scrap piece of foam was the best way to keep them flat and secure while you are working. The next supply you need is heart-shaped glitter. Martha Stewart Crafts makes a multipack of heart glitters in a variety of metallic reds and pinks. Use a paintbrush to brush a small amount of Mod Podge onto the flat pads of the earrings and place five glitter hearts on each earring. Use a toothpick, needle or tweezers to position the hearts into a flower shape around the center of the earring pad. Using a bit more Mod Podge or craft glue, add small rhinestones to the center of each earring. Allow all the adhesives to thoroughly dry before moving on to the next step. If you have never tried Mod Podge Dimensional Magic, this is the perfect project to start with. It is such a fun product, and you will be amazed at how easy it is to use. Squeeze a small amount of Dimensional Magic onto each earring so it fully covers the surface of the earring pad. The Dimensional Magic will encase all the glitter and rhinestones, but its surface tension is great enough that it will dry in a rounded shape without spilling over the sides of the earrings. Although it looks cloudy in this picture, the Dimensional Magic will dry crystal clear, making it look like glass or resin. Just be sure to keep the earrings flat for several hours while the Dimensional Magic dries. You can see from this profile shot that the earrings are in fact rounded. I had to futz a little bit with my Dimensional Magic (the hazards of crafting around kids), so there are some bubbles in my finished earrings. Yours will likely dry much better. The earrings are sparkly and cute, and the fact that they are handmade makes them so special. So get crafting and share the love this Valentine’s Day!