Butterfly Earrings

Take your butterfly blanks out of the package and put on the bench block. Use the ball end of the ball peen hammer and facet the edges of the blanks. Use the small riveting hammer and create texture on the wings of the butterfly. Use a small dapping punch and add additional texture to the butterfly wings. When you are happy with the texture, use a Pro-Polish pad to clean up the blank and highlight what you have done. Add more texture if needed.

Measure ¼" wide strips on the titanium sheet, 1" long. Measure twice and cut once, not what I did, then file any rough edges. Hold the butterfly against the titanium strip to place your riveting hole, mark with a sharpie. With hole punch pliers (that will correspond to the size of your rivet), punch the titanium strip.

Place titanium strips on a fire safe surface and using all safety measures, fire your torch and heat the titanium until it reaches a color you love, allow to cool completely before touching.

Test fit your rivets in the butterfly blank hole. As you can see in Photo 15, the rivet head was too big for the blank. With flat nose pliers and a needle file, file down the rivet head to better fit the butterfly. Place the rivet in the butterfly and titanium stack and using the riveting hammer, rivet closed. Use the round head of the ball peen hammer and gently hammer the rivet head to texture it, so it matches the butterfly. At the top of the titanium strip, punch a hole for the ear wires, add your ear wires and you are done.