Easy, and Inexpensive Copyright Lori Fellows 2012 You may not copy/forward/share these instructions in any manner, digitally or otherwise. You may sell the ornaments you make with these directions, but please give me credit for the original idea and design. Thank you. This simple, but stunning ornament features open spirals and beaded dangles. There are more wire and bead designs available on my website: http://lorifellows.coffeecup.com/
For more recycling/beading ideas, check out my book: Bags to Beads How to make gorgeous beads from ordinary plastic grocery bags More information available on my website. http://lorifellows.coffeecup.com/ Bracelet beads made from plastic grocery bags! Blueberries and Leaves also made from plastic grocery bags!
Free Wire and Bead Ornament Directions Wire Jewelry techniques that these directions require: *Cutting, Straightening with nylon pliers. *Making simple loops with round-nose pliers *Making spirals with round-nose and nylon pliers. *Bending wire with bent-nose pliers. *Opening and closing jumprings. Basic Wire Jewelry Tools Needed: *Wire cutters *Nylon, Bent-nose, Round-nose pliers Other Tools and Materials: *18,20, and 26 gauge wire (silver-plated dead soft was used in these directions) *Assorted beads with holes large enough to slip onto 18 gauge wire (your choice) *5-6mm round, and 12-13mm oblong beads were used in these directions. *Read through the directions for an idea of how many beads to use. *Ruler *4 5mm jumprings (optional) One more thing before you start: These directions are for a left-handed person. If you are right handed, just reverse the direction.
1) Cut a 9 length of 18 gauge wire. Run it through nylon pliers several times to straighten and harden it a little. Using round-nose pliers, make an open loop on one end. 2) Make a large open spiral, leaving the tail straight as shown below. Set it aside while you work on the next few steps.
3) To make the beaded dangles, cut 3 3 1/2 lengths of 20 gauge wire. Run them through nylon pliers several times to straighten and harden them a little. 4) Referring to the photo below, for each wire dangle, make a tiny open loop with the tip of the round-nose pliers. (top wire) Continue by making a small open spiral (center wire). Next, using bent-nose pliers, make a crisp bend so the wire tail points directly upwards from the center of the spiral (bottom wire). Please note: If desired, cut the wires about 1 longer and make a larger spirals.
5) For these directions, I've made one center dangle and two complimentary side dangles. Feel free to bead the dangles as you wish. For the center dangle, I've slipped on a red 6mm glass bead, then 4 13mm oblong beads, and finished with another red 6mm bead. Be sure to leave about 3/4 of wire free at the end. After slipping on your desired beads, make a sharp 900 bend along the top bead. Trim the wire to about 1/2. Finish dangle by making a simple loop as shown in the lower photo. 6) Make the two remaining dangles in a similar manner. To keep the ornament from looking too busy or messy, I like to keep the color/shape combinations of my beads simple, using only two or three different colors and bead shapes.
7) To begin assembling the ornament, slip a couple of beads onto the 18 gauge open spiral, (Here I used a red 6mm bead, and a clear faceted 6mm bead,) next, slip on one of the side dangles. 8) Continue by slipping on another 6mm red bead, the center dangle, a red bead, and the other side dangle. Slip on a 6mm clear faceted bead, and end with a red bead as shown. 9) Spiral the wire tail upwards, around the top (above the beads). The wire tail should point downwards slightly as shown.
10) Cut a 2 length of 26 gauge wire. Wrap it around the end of the 18 gauge wire tail, making a tiny coil. Do not wrap too tightly. You should be able to easily slide the coiled wire back and forth. 11) Slip the coiled wire from the 18 gauge wire tail.
12) Trim a 1/4 piece from the coil. Trim the ends close. 13) Slip the coil back onto the 18 gauge wire as shown.
14) Gently, but firmly squeeze the coil with bent-nose pliers to make it stay in place. Slip on 3 more 6mm beads as shown. Referring to the photo, finish your ornament by making another smaller, open spiral with the remaining 18 gauge wire tail. The smaller spiral should be facing the opposite direction and directly above from the larger, lower one.
15) The finished ornament is about 4 3/4 long. The top spiral forms a hanging hook!
16) This ornament has a few subtle changes that you might prefer. First, the lower spiral is a little larger, using more of the 18 gauge wire, leaving just enough wire to make a simple hanging hook on top. Next, I've added one 5mm jump ring to the top loop of the side dangles, and two 5mm jump rings to the top loop of the center dangle. Adding jump rings make the dangles more dangly (smile) They swing and move easily. Have fun experimenting with different bead combinations. The possibilities are endless. Be sure to visit my website for more bead and wire ideas. Also, if you enjoy recycling, I've incorporated recycled items into many of my designs. http://lorifellows.coffeecup.com/ About the Author: Lori Fellows lives in Maine with her husband and cat. When she's not designing with wire and beads, she's thinking up interesting ways to recycle and live frugally. She also enjoys gardening, kayak camping, and baking pizza in her outdoor earth-oven.