How to Make Faux Leather Earrings with a Cricut

Learn how to use your Cricut to make faux leather earrings. These lightweight earrings feature a cute lightning bolt design that is layered with foil iron-on.

If you’re new to Cricut, be sure to check out these Cricut posts for beginners.

lightning bolt earrings made of leather on coffee cup

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I love the concept of faux leather earrings because they’re lightweight, but the typical designs feel a bit dated. So, I decided to make this cute lightning bolt leather earring set.

These earrings were a lot of fun to make, and I love that I took a simple concept and updated it to fit my personal style. The layered foil iron-on over the faux leather looks really cool.

By the way, the SVG link is available at the end of the post.

DIY Faux Leather Earrings

Supplies Needed:

Cricut (Ised my Cricut Maker 3)
Faux Leather *
Cricut Foil Iron-On** (Rose Gold)
Standard Mat
Weeding Tools
Cricut Easy Press Mini
Heat Resistant Tape
Cricut EasyPress Mat
Parchment Paper
Earring Hooks and Jump Rings
Glue
Leather Punch Tool***
Jewelry Pliers

Notes About Supplies

Faux Leather*

I used this faux leather pack from Cricut, and it was really nice to craft with. It can be cut with any Cricut using the standard fine-point blade.

(I’ve used real leather before, and it’s a bit trickier to get right; plus, it requires a Cricut Maker so that you can use the rotary blade.)

This pack contains five different colors of faux leather. I used the black sheet for these earrings.

Iron-on Foil**

This was my first time using iron-on foil. It’s very similar to standard iron-on, but it’s a bit shinier. If you have trouble getting it to stick to the mat, tape it down with some washi tape.

If you want to use standard iron-on vinyl, that’s fine, too. It works the same.

Leather Punch Tool***

I chose to use a leather punch tool to create the holes in my earrings. I have more control over the tool and don’t risk ruining my earrings in the cutting process.

Cutting the Faux Leather

Be sure to mirror both the iron-on and the faux leather.

Upload the design as usual.
Click Make.
Mirror the gold iron-on design.
Choose “Foil Iron-On” under Iron-on.
Place the foil on the standard mat, shiny side down. Use tape to secure it in place if needed.
Load the mat and cut as usual.
Unload the mat when the cut is finished.
Remove the foil from the mat and place the faux leather on the mat, fuzzy side up.
Load the mat.
Mirror the leather design.
Select “Faux Leather (Paper Thin)” under Fabric.
Cut as usual.
When the cut finishes, make sure that it cuts all the way through. If it didn’t, it will need to be cut again.
Unload the mat.

Applying Iron-on Foil to Faux Leather

Weed the foil iron-on just like regular iron-on.
Place the front faux leather design onto the EasyPress mat.
Position the foil iron-on design onto the faux leather, centering it.
Use heat-resistant tape to keep the foil iron-on in place.
Turn on the EasyPress Mini. Pressing it once turns it on and sets it to low, which is the temperature needed.
It turns green when it’s heated up.
Cover the design with parchment paper (shiny side down).
Apply the EasyPress Mini to the design and press for 10 seconds.
Remove the EasyPress and replace it in the cradle.
Peel away the plastic backing.
Repeat for the other earring.

Assembling the Earrings

Due to the shape of these earrings, I designed them to have a backing that is layered. This creates a firmer earring shape that is still lightweight.

Apply a thin layer of glue to the fuzzy side of the leather.
Place the other piece on top and press firmly.
Clean up any glue that comes out.
Place something heavy on the faux leather designs until they dry.
When they dry, you can make them into earrings.
Use the leather press to make holes in the top of each earring. I used the smallest punch.
Attach the faux leather to the earring hook with a jump ring using jewelry pliers.
Enjoy your earrings.