More Christmas Earring Creations!

 

Fun earrings! I made Santa hat earrings using the FREE SVG from Amy Romeu. Her directions are for creating them using Cricut, however, the steps are pretty much the same for the Silhouette, taking into consideration the differences in the software. 

 I used red glitter HTV for the hats, and backed the beards and hats with white HTV. I didn't add a layer of glitter HTV to the front of the beard because I used a textured white faux leather for the beard. 

You can see the comparison of the thicknesses between the beard (bottom) and the hat (top). The beard is nearly twice the thickness of the hat.

I ordered the faux leather for the beard from Amazon. It came in the "Caydo 32pcs Faux Leather Sheets, Full Set Leather Earring Making Kit Includes Earring Cut Template Stickers and Tools for Leather Craft Making Earrings Making Hair Bows(6.3 x 8.3 Inch)" set. Most of the pieces of faux leather in this set are very thick and even on Depth 10 / Force 33 / passes 2, repeating my cutting 5 times, I still failed to cut all the way through the leather and its backing. I had to use scissors to separate the last of it from the rest of the leather. I will not order THAT set again, that's for sure. Its description states that the thickness of the faux leather ranges from 0.5 to 1 mm thick. The depth settings are fractions of a mm with 10 being 1 mm - I think that the white is either 1.0 or even 1.1 mm thick. The animal print pieces are thinner but all the regular colors are thick. I will try cutting it using the 2mm kraft blade next time. 

Now, I admit that my auto-blade is old, however, using the regular settings for faux leather, the piece of white I used on the hat cut PERFECTLY first try. The white for the hat was the last of the white that came in the "SGHUO 30pcs Faux Leather Sheets Include Leather Earring Making Kit Fall Theme Glitter Metallic Leather Sheets and Tools for Christmas Craft Making Earrings Making Hair Bows(6.3 x 8.3 Inch)" set purchased from Amazon.  That set's materials are all thin enough to cut comfortably - mostly 0.5 mm size. I made the Snowmen and a few pairs of Cloud earrings from most of that white faux leather. 

Next time I restock, I'll know what to order / not order.

I also experimented with some different hooks. Here's a comparison between the hooks I've been using for most of my earrings (on right) to the new style on the Santa earrings. The new style has a clasp that closes at the back. I thought that would be good to help keep the earrings in place. Unfortunately, the lever back is a bit flimsy and it doesn't always click into the upper hook - sometimes it misses just to one side or the other. This will probably eventually tangle in my hair. The other thing I don't really like about the wires is that they are much thicker than the standard hooks and are therefore more difficult to push into my ears.

Well, aside from those concerns, I think the earrings turned out pretty good. I like the movement between the beard and hat. This will be yet another fun addition to my holiday wardrobe. I plan to wear them to my next office meeting.

HAPPY CRAFTING!!