Quilling Paper Peacock Earrings

Ever since Honey of Honey's Quilling blogged about Paper Peacock Jewelry around the world, it's been on the back of my mind to make a pair for a friend who loves peacocks. 

I wanted to experiment with Aleene's Paper Glaze (left) and Mod Podge Dimensional Magic (right). Both gave good results. I found the Paper Glaze retained the color of the paper better, while the Magic tends to deepen the color.

Both tend to make bubbles very easily so I had to pop them using my quilling needle. 

I chose to use the Dimensional Magic because I wanted the dark blue to pop out from the other colors. It comes out cloudy, then dries clear.

I also called the company to find out more about their product. Although it's water-based and non-toxic, it's still not cleared for someone like me who deals with eczema skin issues. Since the area I was covering was being encircled by several rings of paper, I felt it would be safe to give to my friend. So the rest of the paper has been left uncoated in any way.

Instead of using standard quilling paper for the green and gold outline, I decided to use Stardream Metallic cardstock, which has a hefty weight of 285 g/m (or 105 lb), to reduce the amount of loops required. Instead of having to make a 4-ply teardrop, I was able to make the following earring with just 2-ply. 

After softening the strip, I folded it in half. Tuck one end into the fold and apply a dot of glue, then hold until secure.

Add glue along the remaining part of the strip, then section by section, press the two layers together.

If you'd like to give it a try, I made a pattern with measurements for you to download the PDF here. 

I'd love to hear what you think of these earrings in the comments below!