VALENTINE HEART

That time of year is approaching once again,
when every working jeweller in the land is
creating pieces for Valentine's Day!

'Heart' Wall Decoration

I know heart shapes are a bit cheesy, but they still
sell, plus they look very feminine! Not to mention,
that they "say it all" in one motif and can be worn all
the year around!

So here's my offering, well in time for February 14th!
You can attach this to the front of a card, suspend it from
a chain or ribbon.

Make it for yourself, or give it to your
best friend, or even even create a few to sell as gifts ...

"The early bird catches the heart!"

This HEART tutorial creates a pendant of about
4cm x 3cm (without the dangles) however, you can always
increase the size for a larger, statement piece.
(*I apologies for the quality of images! I just didn't have the
time to re-do all the photography! But, hopefully, the steps
below, will give you enough inspiration to come up with your 
own unique versions!).

STEP 1

Cut approx. 10" of 0.8mm (20 gauge) wire. Fold it
in half and squish the centre fold together.

STEP 2

Using the tips of your round nosed pliers, create a circular
loop with the doubled up wire.

STEP 3

Depending on the size of your heart frame, place a round mandrel
on each side of the doubled loop and form the top 'shoulders' of the
heart frame. (I used 8mm bail making pliers, but a pen, or pencil
will do the job too!).

STEP 4

Thread each side of the frame with some beads of your choice...

STEP 5

Using the ends of some step-pliers (or the tips of your round nosed
pliers), create a couple of small loops halfway down, on each side of
the frame.

STEP 6

Repeat, to create 2 further small, circular loops, so that you now
have 3 in a row on each side.

STEP 7

Bring the wires together to form the tip of the heart and secure
by wrapping one wire around the other.

STEP 8

Trim the ends, so that you have about 1" (2.5cm) to create a small
spiral to cover the wrap and leave enough projecting wire to
create an end link ...


STEP 9

Form a link at the very tip of the frame.

STEP 10

Cut varying lengths of wire and make headpin ends. Thread these with
your chosen beads in readiness to suspend from the loops on each side
of the frame.

STEP 11

Attach the beaded dangles to the side loops of the heart frame and
if desired, connect another bead within the centre of the frame.

STEP 12

Create a 'figure of 8' link to attach to the centre loop of
the heart ...

STEP 13

Connect a jump ring to the 'figure of 8' so that the heart pendant
can be suspended from a ribbon or chain ...

'Et Voila!', the piece is now complete!
You could also make matching earrings - like 2 halves of a heart!

Have fun experimenting with your own colour variations!

If you can't thread beads onto the top of the frame, you can
always bind them on afterwards with 0.4mm wire, as in this
red version above.

I created a blue & white version for a favourite blue dress that I own
and used the same beads to make earrings to complete the set!

I do hope this has fueled your heart, to create your own heart shaped
pendant!

HAPPY WIRE WORKING! 

 

"BOW" PENDANT

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 
I do hope you all enjoyed some festive
relaxation and are ready for a very
positive, new beginning ... 

A few years back ... I wrote a project book called:
MAKING BEAUTIFUL BEAD and WIRE JEWELRY.

I had wanted to call it: "Making Jewelry for Next to
Nothing", as it was packed full of projects using
found objects, such as buttons, ribbons, washers,
feathers, etc... but the publishers had other ideas.

If you haven't seen it, it's definitely worth a look
for project inspiration! One of the last projects in
the book is the BOW BROOCH and for the start
of this year, I have chosen to update it into a
necklace!

So, with the usual set of pliers, plus some 0.8mm (20-gauge)
wire ... here's how to get started:

STEP 1

The amount of 0.8mm wire required, is obviously dependent on the
size of the bow. I used 18" for the one I created. So, (as shown above),
cut your length and near the centre of the length, create 2 loops.

STEP 2

Place the tips of your chain nosed pliers just by the tip of each loop
and bend the wire back up.

STEP 3

Bring the wire around the first loop, leaving a little 'halo' space. It
doesn't have to a perfect mirror of the first loop ... anything goes!

STEP 4

Once you've done one side, repeat for the other loop.

STEP 5

Now wrap both wires, just once, around the centre to secure in
place and pull the excess wires down at the middle of the 2 loops.

STEP 6

Bend the excess wires back up to create the bow ends. Like
me, you can add a little wiggle indent in the base, using your
round nosed pliers.

STEP 7

Repeat for the other side of the bow. Then, secure the ends in
the middle, plus cut off any excess wire and neaten the ends.

STEP 8

Once you're happy with the bow frame, place it on a steel block
and Whammer hammer the outer wires (avoiding the central
binding) to work harden the overall structure.

STEP 9

Now you're ready to bind it with 0.4mm wire. Or, you could
add seed beads to 'colour it in'...

STEP 10

For this version, I am binding it with 2 layers of wire.
This is the first covering ...

STEP 11

... and now for a second layer in a golden yellow wire. (But, you
could use a more contrasting colour if preferred).

STEP 12

With a short length of 0.4mm wire, you can attach a bead, or
button to the centre of the bow.

STEP 13

To create a 'nest' setting for the bead, you can wrap it with
0.8mm wire and secure the ends within the nest, or behind
the bow. Once completed, it's ready to be wired onto a brooch
back or stick pin. However, for the necklace, please read on ...

STEP 14

For extra decoration, you can suspend a bead, threaded with
0.8mm wire, to dangle from the bow.

STEP 15

All that's left to do now, is to create and connect a chain to each
side of the loops. Alternatively, suspend it from ready made chain.

Experiment with this idea and create your own versions, with
beads, tassels, buttons, etc... Here are a few more variations for
triggering that inspiration!

This tassel version looks great, worn against a contrasting
plain colour to highlight the bow frame.

This one is suspended with an Agate bead.

And here's one that's fully beaded!