DIY Chiefs Leather Earrings
Show your support for the Chiefs with these DIY earrings made with leather, HTV, and a Cricut machine.
These DIY Chiefs leather earrings are made with leather or faux leather that is cut on a Cricut Explore, Cricut Air 2, or Cricut Maker. Simply cut the leather and then use an iron or Cricut Easy Press to apply the arrowhead and letters. Putting on the earring hooks is the final step and that is super easy as well.
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Check out my favorite diy earring essentials list on my Amazon storefront here!
Check out my favorite diy earring materials list on my Amazon storefront here!
Details for making these DIY Chiefs leather earrings can be seen in my YouTube video below.
HOW TO MAKE DIY EARRINGS
Select an earring template and upload it into Cricut Design Space.
You can find many templates for your earrings on Design Bundles, Pinterest and Etsy. Many bloggers offer them for free and others are available for sale on the Etsy website.
I made these DIY Chiefs leather earrings an arrowhead file that I purchased on Etsy.
Open Cricut Design Space and start a new project
Start a new project to make your DIY Chiefs leather earrings by clicking on the + icon.
Upload Image, if not already uploaded
Upload the cut file for this project, by clicking on the upload icon on the left and navigate to the file on your computer.
I always recommend adding tags when uploading new files. Pick words that you would type in if you were looking for the file. This makes it much easier to search for the file when you’re looking for it in the future.
Insert the cut file onto the canvas of your new project.
Click on the Images icon on the left.
Tip: To easily find my upload files, I usually filter by files that I have uploaded. Click on the Filter option.
Click on “Uploaded.”
Select the cut file you want to use. It will have a green box around it when selected. Then, click on the Insert Image button in lower, right-hand corner.
You can use any teardrop earring svg file. I’m using teardrop earring from a Valentine’s Day bundle that I purchased.
Once you’ve inserted the image onto the canvas, you can see the dimensions of the file you’ve inserted in the height and width field.
This is what the file for our DIY Chiefs leather earrings project looks like after being added to the canvas. Both files come onto the canvas really large as shown below.
Re-size the diy faux leather earrings, if needed.
The first thing I do I change the height of the images so that I can see them on my canvas. I made the teardrop earrings 2″ tall (which will be my earring height) and I made the arrowhead 3″ tall. The arrowhead will be much smaller but I want to leave it big enough to easily work with for now.
You can change the height of images by inserting the desired height into the H field, shown below.
Change earring components to the right color.
Changing the images to the right color keeps things clear when you’re putting different materials and colors through the cutting machine. Change the color of the tear drop to red, or whatever color you’re cutting (faux leather or leather). My image is already red, so I don’t need to change it.
Duplicate images, as needed
Now it’s time to duplicate your teardrop. Click a teardrop and then click Duplicate in the upper right-hand corner to make your second earring.
Decide if you like the look of the back of your earring material and if you think it will show when the earrings are worn. I often cut a second set of the teardrops for the back earrings and glue them back to back to cover any ugly felt.
For this project, I am using red genuine leather from Cricut so I like the look of the back of my earrings. If you need to make additional teardrops to glue to the back, select the teardrop and click Duplicate two more times.
Weld the “KC” on the arrowhead image
You need to use the Weld function on the “KC” part of the image so that it will cut the right way. It takes a few steps to make this happen so read these steps carefully.
Click on the arrowhead image and click Ungroup.
Click on the KC and then click on Ungroup. This will allow you to modify the red KC.
Click on the red KC to select that layer. It is on top so it is easy to selected. Once selected, click on the Weld icon in the lower-right-hand corner.
Now the K and the C will cut just as they’re shown on the canvas. It isn’t necessary to do this for the K.
Left click (and hold down) and draw a box around the full arrow head image and then click on Group.
Left click on the handle in the lower-right corner of the image and move the handle toward the center of the image to adjust the size. Reduce to a size that will fit into your teardrop.
To fit into the 2″ tall teardrop, I made the height of the KC arrowhead .75″ tall. I then left-clicked onto the image and moved it into the teardrop.
Duplicate the image by selecting it and then clicking on Duplicate.
MAKE IT
Once your mat has all the earring components ready to cut for your earring components, click on the Make It button to cut your DIY Chiefs leather earrings
On the left you’ll see the different mats that will need to be cut.
Mirror your design, if necessary
Since the good side of your leather or faux leather will go onto the mat facing down, the mat needs to be mirrored by clicking on the mirror toggle. In addition, all heat transfer vinyl sheets need to be mirrored as well. If the cuts on your mat are symmetrical it really doesn’t matter, but it’s probably a good idea to go ahead and click mirror any time your material faces down, as a good practice. The mirror toggle button is show below. Be sure to turn the mirror toggle on for all mats.
Set the Cricut machine on the right setting.
Turn your dial on your Cricut Explore to Custom. This lets you look at the long list of materials. You will need to select a material for EACH mat.
Click on the Browse All Materials link to see the menu of materials options on your Cricut.
For your faux leather, if it is Cricut faux leather, you’ll select the Cricut faux leather option from the Browse materials menu.
If you’re using non-Cricut faux leather, the Shimmer Leather option normally works best.
For this project, I’m using genuine leather, so I’ve selected the Genuine leather option.
If you’re using the Cricut brand of metallic leather, it’s a bit thicker so you’ll want to use this Metallic leather setting to ensure that the cut goes all the way through.
For your iron on material, just look at the options in the Iron On category and pick the one that matches your material. I’m using Everyday iron on heat transfer vinyl.
Move the star wheels.
The Cricut machine has star wheels to keep materials from shifting during cutting. However, when cutting thicker materials, the star wheels can leave track marks. When you select a material from the browse menu that is thicker, the Cricut machine will prompt you to move the star wheels to the right.
Push the wheels to the right. They may be on there tight so put some strength behind it. You won’t be prompted to do this step for faux leather.
Make sure you’re using the right blade.
You can cut faux leather, faux suede, cork, and leather on the Cricut Explore and Cricut Maker. When cutting Cricut’s faux leather and faux suede, you can use the Cricut standard fine point blade. If you’re cutting genuine leather, you’ll need to use the Cricut deep blade.
Place your material on the cutting mat(s).
Place your material onto the mat good side down.
Also, I like to determine how much of the material will be cut. Typically, it is less than 3″ of material, meaning only about 3″ of the mat needs to be exposed. I then place my plastic Cricut mat cover back onto my mat about 3″ down from the top of the cutting area. I do this so that I don’t put the material on top of the mat where I’m not cutting it. This keeps me from losing the stickiness on my mat. I don’t like to pre-cut my material because I want minimize waste of the material. The green mat shown below is perfect for faux leather. If you’re cutting genuine leather, use the purple strong grip mat.
Once I place my plastic on top of the mat, I put the material onto the mat, face down (good side down).
After placing the material on the mat, you can use a Cricut Brayer roller to press it nicely onto your mat.
Heat Transfer Materials (Iron On)
The shinny side of iron-on material should face down and the dull side faces up – always.
Sometimes I have to tape my iron on material to the mat to help hold it.
Weed the vinyl.
Once the vinyl is cut, use the Cricut weeder, to remove all unnecessary pieces of the vinyl. I have used a toothpick in the absence of a weeder before.
Complete the Heat Transfer Process (Iron On)
I use a Cricut Easy Press to iron on materials. Before owning an Easy Press, I used an iron. It works, but the easy press just does a much better job and it is easy to control the temperature. I love, love, love mine. Here are some Cricut Easy Press options.
Pre-heat the Cricut Easy Press
When you’re ready to use your Cricut, turn it on and set the temperature.
Cricut provides a guide with your easy press, but I always just look it up online whenever I’m doing a project. You can just google search “cricut easy press heat guide.”
Tap on the type of Cricut Easy Press that you’re using. Then select the heat transfer material you are using. Then select the type of base material you’re using (what you’re ironing onto). And finally, select whether you’re using the Cricut Easy Press mat or a towel.
After tapping “Apply” it lets you know the temperature setting for the project. It also shares how long you should keep the press on your project and it tells you whether to remove the transfer material while it is warm or cool.
Here are some Cricut Easy Press mat options from Amazon.
Once the easy press is heated, place it on the Cricut Easy Press mat for about 5 seconds.
Place your earrings on the mat and then place the iron-on vinyl on top of the earrings. Make sure you have them placed where you want them.
The Cricut Easy Press shouldn’t be set directly onto the faux leather. You can place a piece of parchment paper on top of the earrings and heat transfer vinyl.
Set the Easy Press onto the earrings. Don’t forget to press the green button as that is what starts the timer. I don’t apply any pressure because it just isn’t necessary on faux leather earrings. If you apply pressure you may see marks where your plastic carrier sheet is.
I usually let it cool about 10-15 seconds. Then I peel back the transfer material.
Glue earring pieces together, if necessary.
As I mentioned earlier, the back of some faux leather and faux suede earrings aren’t very attractive because they are often canvas or felt. I often cut an extra faux leather or faux suede piece for the back of the earring and I glue a second piece to the back of it. This way if the earring turns, the felt or canvas isn’t exposed.
To do this, I glue two earrings together using either Crafter’s Pick Fabric glue or E6000 glue.
Here are a couple pictures from another project.
Trim any felt, fuzz, or glue from the earrings.
Using a pair of sharp scissors, trim fuzz from around the earrings. Be very careful not to cut any of the earring, you’re only cutting the fuzz off of your leather earrings.
You can also smooth the earring by using a burnishing agent. I apply it with a toothpick along the edges. It’s great because it smooths the leather and helps better define the edges.
Place a hole in the top of the earring.
I use a leather punch to put the holes in my diy faux leather earrings. The tool linked above cuts through multiple layers of the earring at the same time.
Below you’ll see a picture of me using the leather hole punch on a different project.
Decide which type of hooks you’ll use.
The basic fish hook earrings below are easy to work with. You can place an earring component directly into the circle on the bottom of the hook or your can use jump rings to dangle your earring components from your hook.
French hooks with balls are also easy to work with. You don’t need pliers or jump ring tools to work with these hooks. There are links to various colors at the top of this post.
Working with Earrings Hooks
It doesn’t take much to put together earrings. You either need a couple of pairs of pliers or a jump ring tool and one pair of pliers. You can get the two tools below along with a full kit of earring hooks and jump rings on Amazon. It is the perfect starter set. Great for you if you’re getting started and a great gift for anyone that likes to DIY.
The jump ring tool and pliers below come in the kit linked above.
Decide if you’ll use jump rings on the fish hook.
If you only have a single layer in your earring or you have a couple of earrings, you can chose to put the earring component right onto the opening at the bottom of the hook. If your components are too thick or you’d simply prefer to have more of a dangle, you can use jump rings. I’ll start by showing you how to put the earring components directly onto the hook.
If you want to put your earring directly on the the bottom of the hook, take a close look at it and figure out which side is the side that isn’t connected.
Place some pliers on one side of the bottom wire.
Then place another pair of pliers on the other side of it (the round circle at the bottom of the hook). Don’t place the pliers on the hook above the circle part.
Turn the pliers that is on the side of the circle that isn’t connected to open the loop so that you can put the earring onto the hook.
Using Jump Rings
A jump ring isn’t closed. This means with the right tools, you can open it to put on the earring components and dangle the earring from the hook.
If you want to add jump rings, first decide which size of jump rings you want to use. A 4mm jump ring is good if you only have one item or a couple of thin items. A 6mm hold a bit thicker material. Gather up a couple of jump rings in the size you need.
These are the two tools that I use to open and close my jump rings.
I hold one side of the jump ring with my pliers. With my other hand, I use my jump ring tool to push one side of the jump ring back (to open). It is important not to open the jump ring by pulling them to the left and right. If you do it that way, it will be hard to close the jump ring, while keeping the shape. Instead, push the ring back/front to open the jump ring.
Note: If you’re using the jump ring tool, find the slot on the tool that is sized right for the jump ring.
Put a hook onto a jump ring for each earring.
I like to start by putting a jump ring onto the hook and then close the jump ring. I do this before I even begin to put the earring components onto a jump ring.
Put earrings and hook into a jump ring.
Then I open another jump ring and put the earrings onto the open jump ring.
After putting the earring onto the jump ring, I add the hook, making sure it is facing towards the back.
Using the pliers and the jump ring tool, close the jump ring.
And that’s it! Your diy Chiefs leather earrings are finished!
If you enjoy making diy faux leather earrings, check out my other posts below.
Everyday Earrings DIY
- Leather Bar Earrings DIY
- How to Emboss Leather Earrings
- DIY Angled Fringe Earrings
- Leather Circle Earrings
- DIY Fringe Leaf-Shaped Earrings
- Cross leather earrings
- FRI-YAY Leather Earring DIY
- Leather Bar Earrings DIY (with metal charm)
- How to Make Genuine Leather Earrings
- Statement Earrings
- Teardrop Cork Earrings
- Hollow Faux Leather Earrings – Teardrop and Leaf Shaped
- Faux Leather Tall Stacked Earrings
- Faux Leather Circle Earrings
- Split Teardrop Faux Leather Earrings
- Faux Leather Stacked Marquise Earrings
- Stacked, wavy earrings – KSU
- Faux leather leaf cutout earrings
- Faux Leather earrings with fringe
- Faux Leather Teardrop Earrings
- Faux Leather Bar Earrings
- Faux Leather Leaf Earrings
Sports
- Football Earrings – Teardrop with football cut out
- Stacked Football earrings
- Chiefs Football Teardrop Earrings
- Chiefs Heart Teardrop Earrings
- Chiefs Arrowhead Earrings
- Chiefs Arrowhead on Teardrop Earrings
My Favorite Leather
My Favorite Faux Leather
Valentine’s Day Earrings
- 40 Great Valentine’s Day DIY Earrings
- LOVE Leather Earrings DIY
- Valentine’s Day earrings DIY (heart shape)
- Heart Earrings DIY (Iron On)
- Heart Earrings DIY (with heart cutout)
- DIY Valentine’s Day Earrings
St. Patrick’s Day Earrings
Winter-Themed Earrings DIY
- Snowflake Cutout Teardrop Faux Leather Earrings
- Snowman Leather Iron On Earrings
- Buffalo Check Snowman Cutout Earrings
Christmas -Themed Earrings DIY
