Beading Daily Earring Exchange - Tutorial

Beading Daily is doing an earring swap! The earring swap is to celebrate Denise Peck's new book, 101 Wire Earrings.

Here's what ya do -
Make a pair of earrings, mail them in, include a SASE, and they will send you a pair of earrings created by another artist! By participating you also give permission for photos of your earrings to be used by Interweave, as they choose, in publications, on their site or in their shows, EXCITING! - details -

As I was making earrings this morning, I thought I would create a little tutorial on how these came about. This is my first time using a Wig-Jig. I wanted to play around with it, so come along with me on this maiden voyage.

Here is what I used -
8" 18 ga sterling wire
4" 24 ga sterling wire
2 8mm bicone crystals
6 4mm swarovski bicone crystals
2 6mm faceted quartz roundels
2 4mm bali sterling spacers
6 sterling head pins

Cut two pieces of 18 ga wire, 4" long

Place the 10mm round pegs two spaces apart.




Place one end of the wire at the 9 o'clock position on the bottom peg on the wig-jig board. Hold the end in place with one hand and take the wire up and around the top peg in a counter clockwise direction. Bring the wire around til it is pointing to the right.


Slide on your beads - spacer, 8mm crystal, spacer



Bring the end of the wire (that is pointing to the right) completely around the bottom peg in a clockwise direction till it is pointing back to the right again.




Push the end of the wire that is pointing to the left up so it completes the circle around the top peg and push the end of the wire pointing to the right down and around to complete the circle around the bottom peg.


Remove the wire from the Wig Jig board. Use your chain nosed pliers to create a wire wrap, making one or two wraps with the end of the wire near the spacer beads. Repeat with the other end.


Give the loops a couple light tap tap's with your hammer on your anvil to strengthen the loops.







Make some charms to liven them up.


Put bicones on a head pin. Grip the wire with the tips of your round nosed pliers. Bend the head pin to a right angle at the top of the bead.



Rotate the pliers a quarter turn up, counter clockwise, and bring the wire around the top tine of the pliers.


Rotate the pliers a quarter turn clock wise, and take the wire around the bottom of the tine til it is pointing away from you. Snip the tail close to the bottom of your loop as to keep the edges flush.



Gently pry the end away from the base of the loop and attach it to the form you just created on the Wig-Jig.



Push the end closed and your charm is secure. Make two more charms for this form.



Cut a 2" piece of wire. On one end create a wire wrapped loop. Slide on the facted quartz.


Start your wire wrap by creating the inital bend around your pliers. Before committing the wire wrap, slide the wire form (oppisite end from the crystal charms) on the end of the wire, resting it in the bend.


Hold the bend of the wire and the form with the tips of your chain nosed pliers and finish the wrap working down toward the quartz bead.


Attach your earring wires to the other end of your wire wrapped loops and there you have it!

Wig-Jig wire formed earrings!!





10 bonus points to who can tell me what is 'not quite right' with these images.

Embrace your inner turtle - or Just be yourself!

My friend Liz tells me to embrace my inner turtle. When she tells me that, she means for me to slow and take a breath. Don't sweat the small stuff.

It has progressed from that to meaning - do your own thing, be yourself. do not be afraid to embrace who you are. Where is all of this going you ask?

I was at Liz's shop last weekend. she has been kind enuff to offer me space in her shop to showcase my jewelry, free of charge. She is great at promoting local products and artists. While I was there setting up my display, i noticed she has all these great stones all over her shop as decoration and filler. Great piles of river rock, naturally polished, not highly glossly polished, but that natural smooth tumble that only water can give. I picked up a small black river rock, she offered it to me as a gift, and I told her, only if i can wrap it and give it back to her. She was thrilled.

That is where all of this is going. I am going to show you my style of wrapping. I love wire wrapped stones. I adore all the scrolling/twisted wire styles out there and appreciate the work. It is not for me. I wanted my own style, my own statement to be made when ppl saw my wrapped stones they would know it was my work. I like my work to be a bit more free, or organic - ppl like to use that word right now :)

here is what I did.




Measure the circumference of the stone - you can use painters tape or string.



Double that lenght and cut 2 pieces of wire to that lenght - I used for this 21 ga. square sterling half hard wire from Sterling Supplies in Tucson, AZ




Next, cut a piece of anchor wire, for this I use about 2 inches of 24 ga. round sterling half hard wire from Sterling Supplies in Tucson, AZ



Find the center of the wire and wrap it with the 2 inch wire to create an anchor point for your stone.



Snip the ends and give it a good squeeze



Shape the wire up around the stone to give yourself a rough idea of where the other anchors and the bail needs to be positioned.



Place your wraps, like you did your center anchor



Trim the tails and now bring the wire up and shape it around the top of the stone and put a right angle bend on both of the ends to mark where the bail will be.



pry open the double strands of wire to create a 'diamond' type shape. These will be used to secure the stone in the wire.



Fit the stone back in the wire to make sure they openings are big enuff. And adjust them to bring them in over the stone.




Create your bail with one side of the top of the double strand of wire.





Fit the stone back in the wire frame, and close up the wrap. Take the top wire and wrap it around the wrap of the bail.




See how the second wire is bent back out of the way? Clip the extra and use your needle nose pliers to squeeze the snipped in flush with the wrap.



Now bring the other wire around and give it several good wraps - leaving the tail forward.



Use your chain nosed pliers and make a loop to give a fancy touch of artistry, or a signature loop on the front of the stone.






Take your chain nosed pliers and grip the wire perpendicular to the stone. Give the wire about a quarter turn to finish anchoring the wire to the stone. Alternate top and bottom on each side.





here's the front



Heres the back




Spread the double wire of the bail to give it a fancy look - And there she is kids! A wire wrapped stone, a perfect personalized gift that takes about 20 minutes!!!