Mexi-Style: Loteria Earrings

Mexi-Style with Anjelica (@la_anjel)
Today, I’m very excited to introduce to you all a brand new section on my blog!  I’ve been working on getting Anjelica to agree to it for a very long time, and finally today we can officially spill the beans!  So y’all know Anjelica is super creative when it comes to anything crafty or artistic, right?  I mean she has like a natural gift or something.  We’ve got tons of works in progress and finished masterpieces at the house, and well… it finally just hit me, why not share some of them with the world on here?  We’re calling this new section an extension of Mexi-Style and it will include lots of her creative ideas like this one.  For this first post, Anjelica is teaching you step by step how to make your own mexi-style inspired Loteria earrings.  Show her some love y’all! 

How To Make Your Own Loteria Earrings: 

Supplies: One part white glue (Elmer’s preferably).  Two parts water.  A paint brush to spread the glue evenly.  An exacto  knife or some other type of sharp, pointed blade.  Sandpaper.  Wood cut outs in the shape and size of your preference (the earrings shown here were purchased at a dollar store).  Finally, any newsprint or lightweight paper with an image on it that you’d like to use as the art for your earrings.  I’m using the Loteria images that can be bought in a roll.

Step 1: Mix the water and the glue into a milky consistency in a small container.

Step 2:  Apply the glue evenly to the wood cut outs using a paint brush.  Then apply the lightweight paper artwork over the wood cut outs with the glue on them.

Step 3:  Once the image is secured on the wood cut out, apply the same glue mixture over the top of the lightweight paper using the paint brush once again.  Make sure that the entire surface of your image is completely wet.  Let it dry.  Repeat the glue application one more time, and allow it to dry once again.

Step 4:  Next, once the glue is completely dry, take your exacto knife and cut off the excess paper from the surface of your wood cut outs.  Be careful not to cut into the wood cut outs.  You can turn the wood cut outs around to cut out the inner portions of the wood more easily.  Once you’re happy with the definition of your glued and styled pieces, you can decide how you want to seal the earrings.  Use Mod Podge if you want a more dull opaque finish; Triple Thick glaze if you want a more raised and shiny finish; Diamond Glaze if you want an even more, ultra-shiny, finish. You decide.

Step 5:  I chose the Triple Thick glaze for this project.  After following the instructions on the container about how to apply the glaze, I let the earrings dry for about 14 minutes.  There are also recommended drying times on the container.

Step 6:  After your earrings are dry, you’ll want to take some sandpaper and sand down all of the uneven edges on them.  If you need to retouch crevices or raw edges do so now using a thinner layer of sealant/finish.  Again, let your earrings dry.

Step 7:  Now you can add the hardware of your choice to the earrings.  Depending on your personal style, you can call it a day and put on your new earrings or consider adding a couple of extra finishing touches.   A few creative options for the more adventurous among us include painting the sides and back of your earrings carefully, adding details like lace and/or beads to your hardware, or even adding things like chains and feathers to your creation.  I added a link of chain and  attached a bow made of lace with a pearl in the center to my earrings.

This is how my preferred earring style looked after it was finished.

Here’s a closer look.

Without all of the extras, this is the same earring with only basic hardware.

I hope you all enjoyed my first post.  Let me know if you have any questions about any of the steps and if you have any projects or crafts in mind that you would like to see me attempt.  Thanks for reading! 

Thanks for subscribing and reading our blog! We’d love to get to know you better. Join us on Facebook and Twitter.