Make Three Styles of Modern Quilled Earrings

Wanting to send a thank you gift to a couple whose kindness resulted in including my husband and myself in several activities while we were traveling recently, I made this pair of quilled earrings for the wife. I'd noticed that each time we went to dinner, she wore a different pair of silver filigree dangle earrings. Perfect, because that's exactly the kind I love to make! 

 

Longtime readers might recognize the style, as it's similar to a design in this post where you'll find my tutorial for it and additional styles of quilled earrings. Have a look at the bonus style at the end of the post... it's basically the pair I made for her, but there's a little twist. Can you spot the difference? 

 

This time I added a teardrop ring coil to each side of the central domed tight coils, giving the design a slightly more complex look. Is it necessary? No, but I like to try new possibilities and with quilling, there's an endless number.

 

 

Just yesterday I read an article that proclaimed in 2025, "Oversized earrings are making a bold return, featuring sculptural designs, colorful resin, and intricate beadwork." Except for resin, this relatively large pair of quilled earrings (1 1/4' x 1 1/2") matches with sculptural design and beadwork... not intricate beadwork by any stretch, but domed tight coils count as tiny beads if you ask me!

 

But large doesn't mean heavy when it comes to quilled earrings... they're so lightweight, you'll forget you have them on until someone leans in for a closer look.

 

 

These same new friends are planning to walk the Camino de Santiago trail in the near future, so I sent this book along with the earrings that I wrapped in Thai Reversible Unryu Paper from Mulberry Paper & More. It's so pretty... vibrant purple on one side and aqua on the other. The patterned tape is Van Gogh Washi Tape (similar). Washi tape is very easy to work with and a nice change from ribbon. Fun fact: it's even durable enough to be reused!

 

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(As an aside, in case you're wondering why there's a rainbow prism in the pic, it's because I snapped it on a sunny afternoon while my solar powered rainbow maker, a Christmas gift, was showering the room with colorful prisms. The sight of them floating by never fails to brighten my day.) 

 

While looking through my book, The Art of Quilling Paper Jewelry, I was reminded of this pair of Sculptured Disc Earrings that's included with a number of other earring and necklace designs.

 

Some days it's tricky to photograph metallic edge quilling strips to get the full effect of the shine. The photos in the book show it off much better than these, as do the pics in my Sculptural Paper Brooch tutorial that's a variation of the Sculptured Disc Earrings.

These are the Shooting Star Earrings, also from The Art of Quilling Paper Jewelry book. I used silver edge ivory strips to make them one day last week following my own tutorial, and I was reminded how modern they are and how quickly they go together. Win-win.

I'll caution you not to make the mistake of ordering metallic quilling strips (here or here) thinking they will give you the shine of metallic edge strips. They won't, because metallic strips don't have a shiny edge. Instead, the entire strip is pearlized paper. This is confusing for many new quillers.

 

Don't get me wrong... metallic/pearlized strips are very pretty, but if you use them to make jewelry no one will think you're wearing true silver or gold. That only happens when you use metallic edge quilling strips - I like the Quilled Creations brand. I've actually seen people do a double take when they compliment my jewelry because I smile and say, "It's paper!" 

 

 

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