Show your excitement for the upcoming weekend with these cute FRI-YAY earrings!
These FRI-YAY DIY leather earrings are easy to make with either leather or faux leather and heat transfer vinyl (HTV). I used my Cricut machine to cut the materials and it all was super easy! This post will share how I made them (and will share how I downloaded a free Rae Dunn inspired font to use on the diy earrings.
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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 FRI-YAY diy leather earrings can be seen in my YouTube video below.
What You’ll Need to make these FRI-YAY DIY Leather Earrings
- Cricut Machine – I recommend the Cricut Explore Air 2 or the Cricut Maker.
- I used the following material for this project.
- Earring supplies – earring hooks, jump rings, pliers, jump ring tool. This is the kit that I bought on Amazon and love it! It has a bundle of faux leather sheets as well as all of the tools you’ll need to make earrings (including hooks, jump rings, jump ring tool, pliers).
- Earring wire hooks with balls – I used this style of hook for these earrings. They’re super easy to use and won’t require jump rings or jump ring tools/pliers. Some links to this type of earring are below.
- Cricut Cutting Mats – You need new or very sticky cutting mats.
- Standard Green Mats -for faux leather, cork, and HTV.
- Stronggrip Purple mats – for genuine leather
- Cricut Easy Press – There are a few options.
- Cricut Easy Press Mat
- Basic Cricut Tools
- Leather hole punch (Larger holes, smallest is 2)
- Leather hole punch – This leather punch makes much smaller holes than the one above.
- Here is what I use to smooth my leather edges.
- Earring Backs
- Earring Cards – I use these because they are tall enough that my earrings can fully hang while in the jewelry bags. If your earrings hang longer than your cards, they will not look as good when you put them into the plastic bags.
- Plastic bags for earrings
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.
For these FRI-YAY DIY leather earrings, check out this great SVG file.
Open Cricut Design Space and start a new project
Start a new project to make your FRI-YAY DIY 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.
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 statement earring looks like after being added to the canvas. It comes onto the canvas at about 2.5″ tall and I just left it at that height.
You’ll want to decide the height of your earring based on personal preference.
Delete the top layer of the earring (with the scallop lines)
Ungroup the image.
Click on the earring and then click on Ungroup while it is selected.
Move the top layer to the right of the bottom layer.
Click on the top layer and move it over on the canvas.
Delete the top layer of the earring.
While the top layer is selected, click on the X in the upper left-hand corner.
Use the Contour Button to Hide Elements, as needed
Click on the stacked earring shape and then click on the Contour button in the lower right-hand corner.
Click on the circle so that it is shaded.
Once it’s shaded click the X in the upper right hand corner. This will hide the hole that was planned for the earring so that it won’t cut.
Duplicate images, as needed
Now it’s time to duplicate your statement earring. Click an earring and then click Duplicate in the upper right-hand corner to make your second earring.
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.
It also helps when you’re building another layer on top of it so you can see how they fit together.
For these earrings, I changed them to black to match my leather color. I left clicked (holding down on the left click) and drew a box around the two teardrops and then clicked the color box and selected black.
PREPARE TEXT FOR HEAT TRANSFER VINYL (HTV)
Decide which font you’ll use for the FRI-YAY leather earrings project.
I decided to use the Skinny font that can be found for free here on dafont.com. My YouTube video (above) shares how to download the font, if you haven’t done that before. Once you install a font onto your computer, it is accessible on Cricut Design Space. You may have to log out and then back in again after installing a new font. This means you can access so many FREE fonts to use on your Cricut. You don’t need to do anything special to make your fonts appear within Cricut Design Space. Once you install them on your computer, they simply become available.
Add text to your canvas.
Click on the text button.
Input text into the field. For now, I’m creating the text for the left earring, saying “FRI.”
While the text is selected, click on the font field or the arrow next to the font field as shown below.
This brings up a search field so that you can search for a specific font.
Type Skinny into the font field. If you haven’t downloaded the font AND Installed the font onto your computer it won’t show up here. If you are sure you’ve installed the font, save the file and exit out of Cricut Design Space and then log back in.
You will see a few Skinny fonts.
For my project, I selected the one next to the top arrow below. You could select the bold one if you want the font to be a bit thicker. The font doesn’t look like it appears on the screen below. It actually looks the same as the top one, just bolder.
Once you select the font, the text will appear different on the canvas.
I changed the color of my text to white so that I can see it on the black earring. This will help me size it appropriately.
The white text appears below.
I then moved my text to my earring. (If you want you can make the other text box at the same time. It doesn’t really matter.)
Drag the icon in lower right-hand corner to enlarge the text or simply type the desired text height in the Height field (H). Make sure your text is highlighted if you’re typing the height into the field.
I made the height of my text 1.3″ tall.
Once I got my text to the size I wanted, I selected my text and then clicked on Duplicate.
Double click the text to get the text box to appear.
When the text box opens, replace “fri” with “YAY” and then click off of the text.
And that’s it. Your earring components are ready to cut.
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 FRI-YAY diy leather earrings.
On the left you’ll see the different mats that will need to be cut.
Make sure you click on the toggle to Mirror the image.
I also Mirror the other mat, because our material will go onto the mat good side down. Technically, you don’t need to because the shapes are symmetrical, but it is a good habit.
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 Genuine leather, select Genuine leather from the menu.
For your iron on material, just look at the options in the Iron On category and pick the one that matches your material.
I just used a white everyday 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. In my YouTube video linked above, I show how easy it is to switch out the blade.
Place your material on the cutting mat(s).
Before you put the material on the mat, you’ll want to look at the back of it to determine what is is made of. I normally place my material on my mats good side down. The exception to this is when the good side is actually messier than the backside (e.g., glitter faux leather).
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.
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 when you’re cutting heat transfer vinyl.
Also, make sure you change your material to Iron On after cutting the leather!
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. For Christmas I want to get the mini one! 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 on top of the transfer paper and vinyl iron ons).
Set the Easy Press onto the earrings. Don’t forget to press the green button as that is what starts the timer.
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 E6000 glue. You can also use a glue gun if you’d prefer. I don’t need to do this because my diy earrings are made from genuine leather.
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 this burnishing agent. I apply it with a tooth pick 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. Here is an option for a smaller hole leather punch.
I first punch the hole in one earring.
Then I place that earring on top of the other and make sure they’re lined up. I use the first hole as the guide and punch again to mark the second earring. This way the earrings will hang the same way on both sides.
Gather necessary earring components and tools to finish your diy faux leather earrings.
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 AND sheets of faux leather in this inexpensive DIY earring kit 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
Open the jump ring.
A jump ring isn’t closed. This means with the right tools, you can open it to put on the earring components.
These are the two tools that I use to open and close my jump rings. They’re both in this awesome starter kit.
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.
My new best practice when using these hooks is to put a jump ring onto the hook and to 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 put the earring components onto the second jump ring. Then, I place the hook with the jump ring onto it, making sure the hook is facing to the back. Using the pliers and the jump ring tool, close the jump ring.
Using a Wire with Ball End
Lately, I’ve been using wire hooks with balls at the end. These hooks are super easy to use! You don’t need to use jump rings with this kind of hook. Just push the hook through the hole. If you’re interested in these, check out some options here:
Just push the earring through the hole.
And that’s it! Your Fri-Yay earrings are finished!
If you enjoy making diy 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
- Cork Sheet Haul
- Beans and Peanuts (cork faux leather sheets)
- Art of Fabric Folding
- Pink Antler Sparkle
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
