DIY Bachelorette Party Gift Earrings
How To Make Bachelorette Party Gift Earrings with a Cricut
A friend of mine is getting married, and I wanted to make faux leather earrings for the bride and her crew for the ladies attending her bachelorette party. She loves glitter (who doesn’t?), yellow gold, rose gold, and silver, so I came up with a design for her and her friends that uses heat transfer vinyl for the lettering, and faux leather and glitter faux leather sheets for the earring layers. She loved them so much that I decided to share this project with my readers, too! If you want to learn how to make DIY bachelorette party gift earrings with a Cricut, I’m going to show you how in this post!
If you haven’t worked with faux leather or chunky glitter sheets before, don’t be intimidated. They are fun materials to use, and they both cut really well with the Cricut. They even cut with the same setting. Also, faux leather and chunky glitter sheets can be cut with the regular Cricut Fine Point Blade – which means if you don’t have the Cricut Maker, you can make these bachelorette party earrings with your Explore Air 2 or even the new Cricut Joy!
To see my post about how to make faux leather earrings with the Cricut Joy, click here!
In this tutorial, I’ll give you my step by step instructions and tell you exactly what materials I used to make this project. I’ll also share my tips and tricks for cutting glitter sheets, especially how I keep my mat from getting ruined from all the glitter!
Finally, I’ll give you my SVG cut file for these bachelorette party gift earrings FREE!
You can download my SVG file for this project at the bottom of this post.
Ready? Let’s get started!
Want to see all of my Cricut earring & jewelry tutorials? CLICK HERE
This post contains some affiliate links (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link, I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you). Read my full disclosure policy here.
Cricut Bachelorette Party Earrings – Materials List
- A vinyl cutting machine. I have the Cricut Maker, which you can get at Amazon here or at Cricut.com. You can also use the Cricut Explore Air 2 or even the new Cricut Joy!
- Faux leather in the colors of your choice. I used this White Faux Pebbled Leather from Amazon here for the Bride earrings, and this Metallic Faux Leather from Amazon here for the other earrings.
- Chunky Glitter sheets in the color of your choice. For this project, I used colors from from this assortment pack of chunky glitter sheets here. and this assortment pack of chunky glitter sheets here. Both are from Amazon.
- Cricut Foil Iron On. I used Light Gold from the Cricut website here.
- White Heat Transfer Vinyl, like the Cricut Everyday Iron-On from the Cricut website here.
- Cricut Strong Grip (Purple) Cutting Mat. You can buy these on Amazon here, or at Michael’s here. They are also available at Hobby Lobby, Joann’s, and Walmart.
- Cricut Standard Grip (Green) Cutting Mat that comes with the Cricut machine at the time of purchase.
- Cricut Strong Grip Transfer Tape. This is to protect your mat from the chunky glitter residue as well as hold your chunky glitter sheet firmly to your cutting mat. I like the Cricut brand – make sure it is the Strong Grip version – because it’s super sticky. I bought mine from Amazon here.
- Blue painters tape (as needed). This will help keep your faux leather and glitter sheets in place on your mat. (If your mat is new and very sticky, you may not need to use it.) You can get it at any hardware store and most big box or grocery stores. Amazon also has it here.
- A weeding tool and a small spatula tool (if you have one). I love my Cricut tool set from Amazon here.
- A Cricut Easy Press or a Cricut Easy Press Mini (what is what I use for pressing earrings). I bought my Easy Press Mini from Amazon here. If you’re going to purchase an Easy Press or Easy Press Mini, be sure to check out Cricut.com first for pricing on the Easy Press Mini here – they have really good sales!
- If you will be using the Easy Press Mini like I do, you’ll need an EasyPress Mat to safely press your items on. I use the 8×10 size mat, which you can see on Amazon here. You can also use a folded towel over a book some other firm surface.
- Earring hooks – I used earring hooks from this assortment of earring hooks in different finishes these from Amazon here. Hobby Lobby, Michael’s, and other craft stores, as well as your local bead store, will have lots of earring hooks as well. The Rose Gold colored earrings hooks I used are these ones from Amazon.
- Small jump rings – I used this assortment of 6mm size jump rings in different metal finishes from Amazon here. The Rose Gold colored jump rings I used are these ones from Amazon, they are 5mm size. Again, your local craft store or bead store will have plenty of jump rings to choose from if you want to pick some up in person. I recommend using 6mm or 5mm jump rings for these earrings.
- Two pairs of flat nose pliers – My favorites are Wubbers brand in the “Baby” size. You can see the Baby Wubbers Chain Nose Piers on the left on Amazon here, and the Baby Wubbers Flat Nose Pliers on the right on Amazon here.
Note: Be sure to check out my post Beginner’s Guide To Jewelry Making Tools for all the information you need to know about buying and using jewelry making tools.
PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS
STEP 1 – DOWNLOAD THE SVG CUT FILE
Download the SVG cut file for these bachelorette party earrings from my Resource Library. You can get the password to my library via a link at the bottom of this post.
Save the zipped folder that downloads to your computer. Then unzip the folder to access the folder’s contents. You’ll need to unzip or extract the files FIRST so you can upload the cutting file to Cricut Design Space.
STEP 2 – UPLOAD THE SVG FILE TO CRICUT DESIGN SPACE
When you open Cricut Design Space, click on NEW PROJECT to get started. Then click on UPLOAD from the left hand side menu.
Click on the UPLOAD IMAGE button, then click BROWSE to locate where your unzipped SVG files are saved on your computer.
Click on it to select it. You’ll see this preview of your upload below.
Double click on the SVG file to bring it into the upload screen in Design Space. If you get an error message that says “unsupported file type,” you may have clicked on the wrong file, or your SVG file is still zipped.
You’ll see a preview of the earring shapes for this project.
Hit the green SAVE button.
After you’ve selected your file to upload, you’ll see it as the first item in your “recently uploaded images” row.
Click on the earring shapes so they are surrounded by a green box. Then click the green INSERT IMAGES button.
STEP 3 – PREPARE SVGS FOR CUTTING
This brings the shapes you’ll cut for the earrings into Cricut Design Space. Drag your artwork to the upper left corner of your mat so you can see all of it on your canvas.
With your designs selected, click UNGROUP to make each item editable as a single item. Then click the eyeball next to each text layer except the “bride” layer to hide them since we will cut the Bride earrings first.
Your canvas should look like the image below. Then click on the word “bride” and click on DUPLICATE to make a copy.
NOTE: Lastly, I selected both words and changed the text color to a light grey so the words will be easier to see in the mat preview screens. Black text on the canvas will display on a black canvas in the mat preview, and it’s harder to see. This is an optional step.
Click the green MAKE IT button.
STEP 4 – MAT PREVIEW IN CRICUT DESIGN SPACE
The mat preview screens will load. The Cricut will cut each material on its own mat. The first mat that loads to cut is the text layer. That layer will cut from foil iron-on.
The first step to do on the mat preview screen is to toggle the green MIRROR button to ON so the text will cut in reverse.
Then make a note of this size you need to cut your foil iron-on so the words will cut out completely.
After you’ve mirrored your mat and noted the size material you need, click on the green CONTINUE button.
Now you’ll select your material. I used the Foil Iron-On setting for this cut. If you already have it on your Material Favorites, go ahead and click on it now. If not, you can click on the green “Browse All Materials” option and search for it. Be sure to use the hyphen in Foil Iron-On when you search.
I leave the Pressure setting at Default for foil iron on.
Once you’ve made your material selection, it’s time to prepare your cutting mat.
STEP 5 – PREPARE FIRST MAT FOR CUTTING
Cut your foil iron on to the shape you noted earlier. Press it in the top left hand corner of your green cutting mat, in the same position shown in the mat preview. Load your mat into the machine by pressing the double arrows button.
Then press the flashing C button. Your Cricut will cut the text easily. When the cut is complete, press the double arrow button again to unload the mat.
Use your weeding tool to remove the excess foil from around the text. Set the weeded foil text aside.
STEP 6 – PREPARE FAUX LEATHER MAT FOR CUTTING
Before you make the material selection for your faux leather and glitter faux leather cuts, hover over the first faux leather mat preview on the left hand side to see a close up of the mat. Make a note of the size material you’ll need for these earring shapes, and where you’ll place the material on the mat.
There are lots of material settings that work for cutting faux leather and glitter sheets, but the one I use most often is Faux Leather (Paper Thin). Even thought this material isn’t “paper thin,” this setting makes an automatic double cut which cuts most faux leather really well.
(If you’re using a Cricut Explore Air 2, turn your dial to “Custom” so you can choose the setting recommended below.)
If you have Faux Leather (Paper Thin) already in your Favorites, go ahead and select it now. If not, click on Browse All Materials in the green text on the right and search for it. Once you find Faux Leather (Paper Thin), click on to select it and bring it to this screen. Then you can choose it at your material.
I like to select “More” from the Pressure dropdown menu a little lower down on this screen, but you may find you don’t need more cut pressure.
After you’ve selected your material and pressure setting, it’s time to prepare your first mat for cutting.
Cut a piece of faux leather for the earring shape in the size you noted earlier on the mat preview screen. Leave about a half inch on all sides as room for tape.
You’ll need to place your material face down in the same location on a nice and sticky purple mat as the shapes were shown in the mat preview.
Note: If you are using a Cricut Joy to cut faux leather, you’ll need to use the Green Joy-sized mat instead of a purple mat. Just follow the next step using the Joy green mat and use blue painter’s tape to secure your material to your mat.
Tape down the faux leather to the mat on all sides with pieces of blue painter’s tape, like this:
You’re ready to cut! Load your mat into your Cricut by pressing the load button with the arrows. Press the flashing C button on your Cricut and it will begin to cut.
When the Cricut has finished cutting, use your fingernail or a sharp tool to see if the shapes cut all the way out of the material. If they didn’t, you can repeat the cut again by pressing the C button, as long as you haven’t unloaded the mat yet.
Once you are happy with your cuts, press the double arrow button to unload your mat.
Your faux leather shapes should pop out cleanly. If they didn’t, use small scissors to trim any areas that may be stuck together.
When your shapes are cut, set them aside.
Remove the tape carefully and save it for another use. I always get a few uses out of my pieces of blue painter’s tape. 🙂
Note: If you find you have to redo the cut altogether, try changing the cut pressure to MORE, and press the C button again after the first round of cuts for another double cut.
Time to make the second cut! In this project, the next layer that will cut is the bottom glitter layer. Refer to the mat preview to determine what size material to cut, and cut your material to size.
You’ll want to protect your cutting mat from any excess glitter. Before placing the glitter face down on your mat, cut a piece of the Cricut Strong Grip Transfer tape to just slightly larger than the material size. Then remove the transfer tape backing and place it STICKY SIDE UP on your mat in the location the Cricut will cut.
Then place the glitter piece GLITTER SIDE DOWN on the sticky transfer tape.
I know this is a weird use of transfer tape, but it’s such a cool trick, I promise! Now the glitter is adhering to the sticky transfer tape, instead of the cutting mat. When your glitter layer has finished cutting, you’ll remove the transfer tape and your mat will be clean! If not, you’d have lots of glitter sticking to your mat instead. Win win!
Press down the material down all over with your hands, then tape the glitter down on all sides with blue painter’s tape.
Select Faux Leather (Paper Thin) as the material again. It will cut the glitter just fine, I promise!
Load the mat into the Cricut and begin the cut. Unload the mat when the cut is complete, and remove your glitter shapes from the mat. You’ll see the loose glitter that was left behind stuck to the transfer tape, not your mat! Cool, right?
Use small scissors to trim any stray glitter flecks from the edge of the earring shapes. I love using my Fiskars 4″ curved scissors for jobs like this.
STEP 7 – PRESS TEXT ONTO EARRING SHAPES
Time to press the words onto the earring shapes! You’ll need a heat press of some kind and something to protect your surface from heat. I used my Easy Press Mini and an Easy Press Pressing Pad.
Layer the text over the faux leather earring shapes, being sure to link them up next to each other so the text will be in the same place on both earrings.
Warm up your heat press to the guidelines set forth by the manufacturer. Lay a teflon sheet or a piece of parchment paper (not wax paper!) over the vinyl to protect your earrings and the heat surface from residue. Press using gentle pressure. I like to move the Easy Press Mini around like an iron, but movement is not necessary if you are using a larger heat press.
After 10 seconds or so, carefully remove the protective sheet and peel back a corner of the clear transfer sheet to see if the vinyl is adhering to the faux leather. If not, replace the protective cover and press for additional time.
When your vinyl has adhered to the faux leather, carefully peel the clear transfer tape entirely away from the earring. In the photo below you can see the left earring hasn’t been pressed yet, but the right one has. The foil iron on and vinyl really takes on the texture of the pebbled faux leather beneath, which is nice.
Press the second earring, being sure the text is in the same position as the first. That’s it!
Using a 1/16″ hole punch like this one from Amazon, punch small earring holes in your earrings.
Then it’s time to put on the earring hooks!
STEP 8 – PUT ON THE EARRING HOOKS
To assemble your earrings, you’ll need small jump rings, earring hooks, and two pairs of flat nose pliers.
In order to connect the earring hooks, you’ll first need to turn the bottom loop on the fishhook sideways so your earrings will hang correctly. If you want more information about exactly how to do this, visit my post about how to make faux leather earrings hang straight here.
Once your earring hooks are turned, use your two pliers to open your jump rings, as shown below. It’s important to open them without distorting the original circle shape of the jump ring. You can do this by twisting only one wrist forward to open the jump ring like a door. To close the jump ring, you reverse the wrist movement to close the jump ring again.
Once your jump ring is open and you’ve twisted the loop at the bottom of the earring hook, loop the jump ring through the earring holes, add the earring hook, and close the jump ring again.
Repeat with the second earring. That’s it! Aren’t these Bride faux leather earrings perfect for a bachelorette party?
I repeated the same steps using different text and material colors for the other girls going to the bachelorette party. What do you think?
If you do make this project, I would love to see your earrings! Please share a photo of them in the comments, or tag me on instagram: @amyromeucreates
Want to see all of my Cricut earring & jewelry tutorials? CLICK HERE
I love those earrings. Thank you for sharing.
Making these for my daughter’s wedding, but she wants a pair for the groom’s mom as well. Can you tell me what font this is so I can make ones that say Groom squad? Thank you.
Hi, Cindy! The font I used is Pacifico. I’m glad you like this project! Amy