2 pairs of either chain nose or needle nose or other pliers
*At the time I’m posting this tutorial, they seem to be out of the exact beads I used, but they have tons of other recycled and other beads to choose from!
Step #1
Cut 2 pieces of the 20 gauge wire to 9 inches each.
Step #2
Slide the beads on the wire. Be mindful about how heavy the earrings will be. The beads I used are glass, so I put 8 on each wire. If your beads are lighter, you can obviously use more.
Step #3
Make a teardrop shape and hold the wires where they cross. The wire ends above my thumb are about 1 1/2″ each
Step #4
Give the wire 2 twists while still holding the wires where they cross.
Step #5
Straightening one of the wires will make it a little easier.
Step #6
Hold the straight wire with your round nose pliers and bend over your pliers.
Step #7
Take the loop of the round nose pliers and straighten it. Then hold the loop with pliers and wrap.
Step #8
Cut off any excess wire. Repeat for the other earring.
Step #9
Open an earring wire (or make your own) place the loop in and close the earring wire.
Step #10
Repeat for the other earring and you’re done!
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For this necklace, I made 10 spiral headpins in 2 different lengths.
I used wood beads and shell beads.
Then I just made dangles in 2 different lengths.
Then I just placed them on wire, alternating the dangles and finished up the necklace as show in the video.
Have you made the fringe necklace? How did you make yours?
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These earrings are so much fun to make and wear! The only material you need is wire! I used 18 gauge copper, but you could use any metal you like.
This tutorial will get you started with some very basic hammering. If you haven’t done it before, this is a great tutorial to start with. I also have a great tip for making your loops all the same!
Here we go!
Materials and Tools:
18 gauge copper wire
20 gauge copper wire
Wire Cutters
Round nose pliers
Chain nose pliers
Hammer and metal block to hammer on (not pictured)
Nylon covered pliers (optional)
Step #1
Cut six pieces of the 18 gauge copper wire:
2 pieces of 3 1/2″
2 pieces of 2 1/2″
2 pieces of 1 1/2″
Note: You can definitely customize these earrings to your own taste and liking. If you prefer longer, cut longer wire; if you prefer shorter, cut shorter wire. You can also use different metal if you like.
HINT: Trim each side so they are flush cut. Use the flat side of the wire cutters to get the flush cut.
Step #2
Use nylon pliers to straighten the wire. It’s probably actually easier to do this as you’re cutting the wire because you have more to hang on to.
You can also often accomplish this by just using your hands in the same way.
Step #3
HINT: When you’re making loops in wire, it’s a great idea to mark on your round nose pliers where you will be wrapping. This is helpful when when making individual loops, so you can stay on track and also so you can make uniform loops.
You’ll see my pliers have two different spots marked. I’ll be using the mark close the the end to make smaller loops.
Grasp on of the wires at the end of the round nose pliers. Line it up the the mark you made. The end should be at the top, but not poking out. (You can run your finger over it to check.)
Step #4
Roll your wrist and the pliers away from you as far as you can. Readjust the pliers and roll away again until the loop is complete.
Step #5
You will end up with a “P.” Then use your round nose or chain nose pliers (whatever works for you) and make a bend in the wire, so that the loop is centered at the top of the wire.
Repeat this process for each of the wires you cut.
Step #6
My favorite part!! Place each wire on a metal block or anvil and hammer it. For this, you can really use any hammer you have or want. Hammer until you’re happy with the the results.
Step #7
Cut 2 pieces of 18 gauge wire to about 3″ long each. Flush cut them.
Step #8
Bend each wire about in half. You can bend them around a marker or other round surface.
Step #9
Follow step #3 – #5 and create a loop on one end of each wire. However, you’ll probably need to make the loop a little larger than the loops you made previously.
Step #10
Bend the other end up a little at the other end.
Step #11
Gently hammer the earring wires to help it keep it’s shape. (I used a nylon hammer for this because it makes the wire stronger, but doesn’t leave marks.)
Step #12
Gently file the end of the earring wire (the part that will go into your ear.)
Step #13
Open the loop of the earring wire.
Step #14
Add each of the hammered wires to the earring wire, one at a time. Each earring wire gets one of each size, starting with the largest to the smallest.
Enjoy your new earrings!!
Ways you can customize these earrings:
Use a different metal, like silver, or even mix the metals!
Use different sizes, make your earrings longer or shorter.
Use all the same size of wires.
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If the goal you’ve set is worthwhile, expect some resistance. Any significant goal in your life can only be reached by overcoming challenges along the way.
At each obstacle along the way, you can choose to either give up or press forward. You will succeed if you resolve to rise to the challenge, instead of sitting on the sidelines of life.
Try these strategies to get past your challenges and achieve your goals:
1. Identify Obstacles. Determine exactly what’s standing between you and your goal. When you think about a goal, what negative thoughts come into your mind? Write them down without stopping to think about what you’re writing. Think of all the reasons you could fail, and write them down.
* This strategy may seem contrary to much of the advice you’ve seen regarding goal setting. But when you’re done, you’ll have a powerful list of challenges that stand in your way. Go through the list and ask yourself how you can overcome each challenge.

* Put your plan into action, and keep attacking one challenge after another until you reach your goal.
2. Educate Yourself. Learn all you can about the challenges in front of you. The more you know about the circumstances or events that lie ahead, the better equipped you’ll be to meet and beat each challenge as it comes.
3. Seek advice. Do you know anyone who has achieved the goal you’re setting out to accomplish? Ask that person for a meeting. Talk to them about how they got to where they are today. What mistakes have they made? What worked and what didn’t? Your mentor may point out obstacles you haven’t thought about.
* Use the experience of others to shorten your learning curve.
4. Think small. If you’ve set a worthy goal, you’ll face doubts if you only look at the big picture. Instead, take out your list of negatives, pick one and get to work on solving that one challenge. When you’re done, move on to the next obstacle on the list. Continue until you’ve reached your goal. Take small steps, consistently, to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
5. Remember “why.” If you have a big enough “why,” your “how” will take care of itself. Take a few minutes to write down all the benefits of reaching this goal. What will your life be like? How will you feel about yourself? How will your quality of life improve? How will the lives of your loved ones be better? Read through your list daily for motivation.
6. Celebrate small victories. Each hurdle that you overcome gets you one step closer to your goal. Instead of waiting to celebrate the final achievement of your objectives, seek small ways to celebrate each little victory. These small rewards will spur you on to more action that will ultimately lead you to the doorstep of the destiny you deserve.
7. Enjoy the journey. Overcoming the challenges in front of you will create a sense of pride and joy in your accomplishments. Remember to enjoy the process. When you face roadblocks, refuse to dwell on them. Instead, focus on solutions that propel you forward.
Above all, keep a positive attitude. Expect difficulty and prepare yourself to meet each one head on. Seek the advice of those who have succeeded before you, and review daily why your goal is important. Keep putting one foot in front of the other and enjoy each little success along the way. If you do, you can achieve anything your heart desires.
I spent a lot — a lot — of years afraid of making mistakes and allowing that to keep me from creating art.
When I was in high school and college, music was my life. To me, it made sense. You practice really hard and then you could play a piece perfectly. Yes, I also did play the saxophone and yes, that did require some soul and some improvision, but to me, that was still just part of a formula. If I was in a jazz band and had a improvisional solo, I still knew what key to play in, what speed and what the general melody I was riffing on.
Art never felt that way to me.
I tried to take an art class in high school, but I quickly dropped it when I couldn’t do it perfectly. I didn’t know back then that it didn’t have to be perfect. I never had just painted or done a drawing for the fun of it, although I always wanted to be “good at drawing.”
Since I wouldn’t allow myself to make mistakes, I never made art.
When I finally started painting and then discovered acrylic paints, I realized that I am a painter and that I actually am a creative person. We all are, if we just allow ourselves to be.
Making jewelry is the same thing. Yes, there are certain skills and tools. You can follow patterns and instructions. But you will make mistakes. And mistakes will most certainly be the way that you discover a new technique or a new way of doing something.
Now, not all mistakes are going to be beautiful pieces of art. Sometimes it just turns into a giant mess and you should move on. (And take what you learned from that mess and make something amazing.)
But oftentimes, mistakes are exactly what you need to make your masterpiece. Figuring out when you embrace your mistakes and when to let them go is really the key to becoming a jewelry artist!
Ready to get creative AND learn new jewelry techniques, and make some expressive creative jewelry? Pop your email address in the box below and I’ll let you know when my new free mini eCourse about just that is ready!!
This tutorial is for really versatile and fun earrings!
Materials and Tools:
Cut 2 pieces of the 20 gauge wire to 9 inches each.
Slide the beads on the wire. Be mindful about how heavy the earrings will be. The beads I used are glass, so I put 8 on each wire. If your beads are lighter, you can obviously use more.
Make a teardrop shape and hold the wires where they cross. The wire ends above my thumb are about 1 1/2″ each
Give the wire 2 twists while still holding the wires where they cross.
Straightening one of the wires will make it a little easier.
Hold the straight wire with your round nose pliers and bend over your pliers.
Take the loop of the round nose pliers and straighten it. Then hold the loop with pliers and wrap.
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