Object Obsession: Rivoli Drop Earrings

I know that it has once again been a while since I have posted anything.  This is for a number of different reasons.  One is that I am still dealing with the grief from my father's death.  It is not something I am likely to get over any time soon, but I will try to stop disappearing from my business and blog.  Another is that I had a huge custom order from a friend to make the jewelry she wanted for San Diego Comic Con.  This took up a lot of my time, especially considering I had a vacation in the middle of all of that as well.  Anyways, onto what I wanted to talk about today.  Rivoli drop earrings!

I just love making these.  They can be made in a number of different bright and vibrant colors and you can personalize them with really anything that you want.  I might have gone just a little crazy with them.  

The findings I used are made especially for the Swarovski rivolis.  I used a Loctite gel adhesive to secure them, though some people prefer an epoxy or other adhesive.  The loctite gel is just my personal favorite for when I don't want to have to mix 2 part epoxy and believe me, a little of this stuff goes a loooooooong way. I cannot tell you how many times I got glue on my fingers when putting in the crystals because I had used a little too much glue. 

You can do anything you want with these really.  I experimented with adding chain to them, as well as just a simple flower drop, which you will see in some of the pictures that follow.  The varying colors in the rivolis really lend themselves to a lot of different designs. The findings come in a a few different finishes, and most of those that I used were either a shiny silver or a gunmetal finish.  I especially love how the heliotrope and turquoise crystals look in them. 

The earrings in the next few pictures were made for a friend. She basically handed me the rivolis and told me to have fun with it, so I did.  Sometimes that is the best way to create jewelry, to just be handed an item and then let your imagination go wild.  I had some of these gunmetal keys in my stash, so decided to try a pair out with them.  I also have a heliotrope pair that is similar available in my shop. 

I also have a version of these pink earrings available in my shop.  Check them out!

Sometimes making this type of stuff ends up being the best, because it is just fun and you never know what is going to come out of it!