Contents INTRODUCTION... 6 BASICS WRAPPING COILING. Tools... 8 Techniques About the Wire... 16

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Randolph Roberts
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Contents INTRODUCTION... 6 BASICS Tools... 8... 10 About the Wire... 16 WRAPPING Confetti Earrings.

.. 28 Soft-Spoken Bracelet... 30 Inner Beauty Earrings... 33 How It All Began Ring.

1 Contents INTRODUCTION... 6 BASICS Tools About the Wire WRAPPING Confetti Earrings Portal Pendant Orange is the New Pink Earrings Chrysalis Earrings Soft-Spoken Bracelet Inner Beauty Earrings How It All Began Ring Bold and Colorful Bracelet Sacré Bleu Earrings COILING Loop-T-Loop Necklace Northern Lights Necklace... 53

Northern Lights Earrings...57 Bold & Bitters Earrings...59 Red Splatter Bracelet...61 Blue Fish Earrings... 63 Blue Fish Bracelet.

..78 Mardi Gras Earrings... 82 New Beginnings Bracelet... 84 New Beginnings Earrings... 90 The One that Got Away Necklace.

2 Northern Lights Earrings...57 Bold & Bitters Earrings...59 Red Splatter Bracelet...61 Blue Fish Earrings Blue Fish Bracelet Beach Comber s Bracelet Beach Comber s Earrings...72 Pacific Blue Earrings...74 WEAVING Mardi Gras Bracelet...78 Mardi Gras Earrings New Beginnings Bracelet New Beginnings Earrings The One that Got Away Necklace Sea Foam Web Necklace...97 Sea Foam Web Earrings Dragon Scales Bracelet Groovy Godseye Pendant ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ABOUT THE AUTHOR...111

3 Bas Bas asicsbabas Bas Bas WINTRODUCTION ire and I go way back. I started working in wire when I was seven years old. Yep, that s right, I was making and selling wire-wrapped rings when I was seven years old. I m an Army brat, and being such, people moved in and out of their quarters almost on a daily basis. That being said, I had an endless supply of telephone cable wire. I d hang around watching the phone man install the new lines and then swoop in during clean-up for all of the left-over wire scrap. The men were always obliging in letting me help clean up hmmm... That telephone wire soon became tiny baskets for Barbie and her friend s luxury house (modeled off the set of Dick Van Dyke what a great house!) and rings for all of our neighbors who were fortunate enough to live in my sales territory the cul-de-sac. These items accompanied my lines of macramé bracelets, fatigue boot blousers as anklets, matching ladybug paper weights and refrigerator magnets made from painted rocks, Barbie doll custom furniture made from thimbles and pizza box stabilizers, Mom s sewing remnant braided rugs and woven wall hangings hung with those awesome little hangers that socks came on, my very fragrant perfume, and something sort of edible made from Vienna sausages, water, and pickle juice. Door-to-door entrepreneurship that s what it was! But, when people ask, How d you get started in this business? I usually offer an abbreviated version that starts a little later. In 1998, I finally got a business license and started my own business. I started selling vintage kimonos and other vintage Asian art. This soon morphed into vintage clothing and jewelry. In January 2000, I opened a boutique selling a variety of items my mother and I made, including refurbished jewelry. By 2001, Norm joined me and we moved to a wholesale merchandise mart where we became a full-time beads and findings wholesale supplier to the trade. I continued to design, mostly in beads, but soon moved on as many of us do. Moving from beads to wire is the natural progression most of us follow. I am best known for my metalwork, but I have a love of wire that still lingers. My love of color stems from my beading days and time as a Swarovski Ambassador. I am forever evolving; I make it my habit to learn a new skill every year, sometimes in jewelry, sometimes not. But I never completely close any door from my past endeavors barring Vienna sausage, of course. When I re-visited wireworking, I was drawn to the newly-available colored wire. I began aggressively designing bright, colorful pieces to utilize the wire to its best potential. About the projects The projects in this book are for all levels. Whether you have never worked with wire or if you have done wirework for years, you will enjoy these projects. I have limited the tools to those easily found at your local bead shop or large hobby store and have made suggestions for alternative tools if I use specialty ones. Bas In almost all of the projects, I have used fellow I hope you enjoy the ideas I m sharing! artists work for my focal pieces. However, you can easily substitute with similar pieces if you don t have the exact components or colors I used take the technique and run with it, be creative, substitute, or add. Let your style shine through. 6

4 Confetti earrings crinkling making wrapped loops 20

a b c d e Materials 18-gauge wire, orange 20-gauge wire, orange

Basic Tool Kit Instructions 1 Cut a 4" piece of 18-gauge wire.

5 a b c d e Materials 18-gauge wire, orange 20-gauge wire, orange 24-gauge wire, gold 6 4mm beads 2 earring wires (optional) Tools Basic Tool Kit Instructions 1 Cut a 4" piece of 18-gauge wire. 2 Using roundnose pliers, make a plain loop at one end of the wire (, p. 10). 3 Grasp the wire just above the loop with your chainnose pliers and bend the wire 45 degrees (a). 4 Move your pliers slightly forward on the wire and make another 45-degree bend (b). 5 Continue making bends until you have a triangle with about a ¾" diameter (c). 6 Make a 90-degree bend in the wire positioned in the center of the triangle (d). 7 Using your roundnose pliers, grasp the wire about 1½" above the triangle (e). 26

6 Soft-Spoken bracelet using jump rings making an S-hook clasp 30

7 Bold and Colorful bracelet making a shepherd s hook clasp using jump rings TIP 12-gauge aluminum wire is very light and soft. It can be manipulated into a variety of shapes, easily. By closing the shapes, the soft wire is able to maintain its form. 39

8 Northern Lights necklace making wrapped loops making an S-hook clasp 53

9 Blue Fish bracelet making wrpped loops making a hook clasp 66

10 Mardi Gras bracelet making a hook clasp over-under weaving 78

a b c d e Instructions 1 Cut two 10" pieces of 18-gauge wire.

3 Using a Mister Twister (or 2mm wooden dowel), make a 2" coil from

4 Slide the coil over both wires and center it in the middle of the bend

consistent (and keep your fingers from cramping as you work).

11 a b c d e Instructions 1 Cut two 10" pieces of 18-gauge wire. 2 Loosely fold the wires in half (a). 3 Using a Mister Twister (or 2mm wooden dowel), make a 2" coil from 26-gauge wire (b). 4 Slide the coil over both wires and center it in the middle of the bend (c). f 6 String one coil on each wire (d). 7 Pick up one four-hole spacer bar (e). Secure the wired section with a ring clamp so you can keep the spacing consistent (and keep your fingers from cramping as you work). Create a 1" over/under weave using 26-gauge wire in a different color than your frame (f). (See next page.) Materials 18-gauge colored wire 26-gauge wire in two different colors 24 metallic spacer beads 6 four-hole spacer bars 4 4mm cube shaped crystals Tools Basic Tool Kit Mister Twister wire coiler or 2mm wooden dowel Ring clamp Ruler 5 Cut two 4" pieces of 26-gauge wire and make one 1 2" coil with each. 79

12 Sea Foam Web necklace making a shepherd s hook clasp making jump rings 97

ascading Create the tiered appearance of chandelier crystals in this elegant set by Jennifer Jordan Park

ascading Create the tiered appearance of chandelier crystals in this elegant set by Jennifer Jordan Park intermediate wire ascading carnelian Create the tiered appearance of chandelier crystals in this elegant set by Jennifer Jordan Park Jewelry designers are especially receptive to color, shape, and texture.