Think Crafts Blog - Craft Ideas and Projects - CreateForLess

Welcome Guest Blogger and Crafter Anitra Cameron, for the Blog “Coffee Pot People”.

Necessity Breeds a New Wire Wrap Technique

This may be new only to me, but I love it anyway.

One of the things I like about a car trip, if I’m not driving, is that bright expanse of free time. Really free. I can’t do dishes, or laundry, or weed the flower beds. I have to sit, and if I’m going to do something, the options are limited. Reading, going over my music, crocheting, or what I did yesterday, beading.

I worked on Button Stack Bracelets, finishing three I’d already started, and almost a fourth, brand-new one. On that one, I did all the button stacks first, and then turned my focus to creating the chain to put the stacks on.

Finished Bracelet

Now, where was that 20-gauge gold wire…? Oh, no! I was sure I’d put it in, but it was nowhere to be found! I stared at what I had, a spool of 24-gauge that was much finer than I’d want to use for a bracelet chain. What to do?

Ooooh. The idea was ripe for the plucking, and solved a problem that had nothing to do with the lost wire: I don’t like it when the end of a wire can be felt, and when I’m doing a wire wrap on a bead, that happens all too often. Up until yesterday, the only solution was to struggle with the wire until it would properly tuck in, or file the end down if it proved too stubborn.

But what if I worked with a fine wire, doubled?

Here’s what I came up with:

Gather your tools and materials–

Two sizes of wire shown for comparison

• 24-guage wire
• Wire snips
• Round nose pliers
• Flat nose pliers
• Bead

Cut a length of wire about six inches long, then fold it in half.

Loop it over one side and pull taut

Flatten the doubled end with your flat nose pliers as tightly as you can.

Squish!

Measure your folded wire against the bead you’ll be using, leaving enough length for wire wraps on both ends. 

That looks about right

Start a “regular” wire wrap, working with the cut ends of the wire.

So far, so normal

 When you’ve done a wrap and a half or so, lay the ends flat against the rest of the wire length. If your wire ends are longer than the bead you’re using, snip them off.

Those ends will be hidden inside the bead

Slip the bead over the doubled end of the wire, and complete the wrap. I’ve shown what would be the first bead in an assembly, and not left it open to accept another.

No sharp ends anywhere

If you cut your folded wire extra long, you can have extra fun.

Curls and Loops

I finished the bracelet this morning, and am quite pleased with it.

Click here to read more from Anitra Cameron.

Welcome Guest Blogger Anitra Cameron, from the Blog “Coffee Pot People”.

Do you ever get the urge to just make something? Maybe you don’t have a lot of time, but there’s that need. It was that sort of a day for me. When time is limited, earrings can feed the creative hunger I feel, and anyway, the beads and buttons were already out, because I’d finished a bracelet just before going to bed last night. Since I’d been working with green, I just dug around in the green button baggie until I found a pair of buttons I liked.

Then I turned my fifteen minute project into two that took considerably longer by deciding to do this tutorial. Well, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.

You’ll need the usual array of beading tools–round-nose pliers, flat-nose pliers, and wire nips. And also:

Pick out your beads

Fine gauge wire (I used 24 gauge)
2 matching shank buttons
4 matching flat, square beads (other shapes would also work–they just need to be flat)
2 seed beads

I’m going to assume you know basic wire wrapping technique (just enough to make a wrapped loop) to keep this brief, and also because I know others have already put tutorials for that up, and mine wouldn’t be as good.

So start by cutting a length of the wire roughly a foot long. You want to give yourself enough to work with. Make a wrapped loop on one end, and the thread on a flat bead, a button, and another flat bead.

Threading on

I noticed when I was working with my beads that the hole ran at a bit of a slant. If yours are similarly drilled, put the off-center hole against the shank of the button. Also, check to see whether one side of each bead is prettier or more evenly colored, and be sure to put the nicest side facing out.

Twist

That’s a lot of words for something that really happens almost intuitively, so study the picture below and go with your instincts.

Almost Done

I think they turned out rather well!

To read more of Anitra’s blog, click here.

Jewelry is getting bolder and bigger. Big focal pendants and beads are a focus for jewelry designs with simple chains or fibers. Earrings are getting intricate, complex and larger too, while bracelets seem to be keeping it simple and charming. Natural beads are popping up made of materials like bone, wood, shell, and of course glass. Crystals are a classic and everyone loves sparkle and shine.

Tools are expanding. Everything from hand tools to very specific tools for one task like jump rings or knotting. And get ready for more ways to organize all of your jewelry pieces and parts. You can’t use it if you can’t find it. Jewelry is made up of so many tiny components that organization is just a must-do!

Jewelry designs being shown are earthy, toned-down and bright, bold! It’s always an extreme in jewelry since there are so many influences. Match your colors to your mood and the clothes in your closet. There is a trend to not be matchy-matchy, but to throw in a color or two that just pops.