Have we ever made stud earrings together? I can’t believe after all these years of DIY Jewelry Making, we have not made a pair of studs yet. Well – I am here for you now. Why don’t we try to make these cute boho-inspired half moon stud earrings? I will use my Silhouette Alta to create the half moons. If you do not have a 3D Printer, you can purchase your half moons online – just search for “half moon earring findings”. Shall we start making? Read on for the full tutorial!
About the Silhouette Alta 3D Printer
The Silhouette Alta is a 3D printing machine that can help you create fun 3D objects, like our half moon earring parts out of PLA plastic filament, when connected to your computer.
When you purchase the Alta, you can use a few free 3D designs to play with. Once you have purchased and registered your machine, these designs are automatically added to your account. However, for today’s project, we will make our own half moon design.
After downloading the Silhouette 3D software, you will be able to import your own 2D half moon design and transform it into a 3D jewelry finding!
What is PLA Plastic Filament?
According to Silhouette America, PLA plastic filament is the material used to 3D print our projects. Once the filament is loaded in to the Silhouette Alta, the print head heats the filament to a high temperature. The heated filament then becomes very soft which allows the printer to feed it through the print head and print your 3D earring parts in layers.
The Silhouette Alta comes with a sample of white PLA plastic filament to get started with your 3D projects. I personally love the white filament because you can leave it as-is or you can paint the finished 3D object to any color you want. I’ve used chalk paint before and love its matte finish on the 3D design. There are larger rolls of filament in a variety of colors on the Silhouette America website you can purchase as well.
Silhouette America also states on its site that their PLA plastics do not contain BPA and is biodegradable.
What You Need To Make Half Moon Earring Studs:
- Silhouette Studio (there is a free version!)
- Silhouette Alta 3D Printer
- Silhouette 3D Software
- Strong jewelry glue
- Blank Earring Pin Studs and Safety Backs
*This post contains affiliate links for products that I use and love!
How To Make Half Moon Earring Studs:
If this is your first 3D project and you need additional help, I did a post on setting up your 3D Printer and making your first project.
1. Create A 2D Half Moon Design in Silhouette Studio
- In Silhouette Studio, create a circle
- Cut the circle in half using the knife tool
- Save your 2D heart design
2. Import Your 2D Half Moon Design into the Alta’s 3D Software
- In the Silhouette 3D Software, open the half moon design you created
- A pop-up will appear: Import As
- Select Extrusion – the design will appear in 3D. Adjust the dimensions so that the half moon will fit on your blank earring pin stud
3. Send Your Half Moon Design To Be 3D Printed
- Select the 3D Print Tab on the top right
- Select the Quality (I used the Standard option)
- Press Print
- The machine will heat up and 3D print the half moon design – you will see the countdown of time as well
- Repeat steps 3 and 4 for another half moon. This will make the pair you need to make the stud earrings
4. Make Your Earrings
Once your 3D designs have cooled, glue flat part of the blank earring pin studs to each of your half moons. After the glue has dried, add the safety backs to the earrings.
I love how my half moon stud earrings turned out! What do you think? Let me know how your turned out! They make awesome gifts too!
Looking for some more fun DIY and Crafts inspiration? Check out my other Silhouette Alta 3D Projects and craft a little longer with me!