kristenjfagan

Tutorial Tuesday is a blog series where I share a do-it-yourself jewelry tutorial on Soft Flex Company’s blog.

I love how serendipitous designing jewelry can be. My sister was visiting me last weekend and brought a wire wrapped stone necklace that I made her many years ago. She said she wears it all the time and that a friend of her is always trying to swipe it from her, haha. So, naturally she wanted me to make her friend one. We set off on a shopping trip to find stone slices and because we couldn’t pick just one so, I ended up making 6 new wire wrapped stones!

Today, I’ll share my process with you. Let me start by saying I’m not a expert wire wrapper. I like to try new things and experiment and this project is very much a “go with the flow” idea. Each stone slice is shaped differently so, there is no one way to wrap it. Skills needed for this are wire looping and ability to experiment and play with the wire. Click to learn how to make a wire wrapped loop.

Cut Soft Flex Craft Wire into a 30″ length. I like to have more wire then less to work with so, if you are unsure go a little longer. Use your nylon jaw pliers to smooth out the wire before beginning.

At approximately the half way point on your wire choose a spot to begin your wrap. Now, just play with wire wrapping it up and down and around the stone slice until it feels secure – being mindful to leave about 4-5″ tail of wire to wire wrap your pendant’s loop. I chose a few areas to thread the wire under a wrap as seen below to help secure the stone.When you are close the the end on one tail end wrap it around the closeout wire to finish it.

When you feel close to being done, take your long tail end and position it at the top where you will make your pendant loop. Hold the tail and lightly shake it up and down making sure the stone is secure and there are no areas springing loose. If there is a spot of weakness, you will need to adjust your wire to secure that spot before finishing.

Once secure, and your wire tail is positioned pointing up in the spot where you plan to add your loop, string your silver bead. Then using your round nose pliers create your pendant loop. I made my loop large enough to fit through my chain. Click to learn how to make a wire wrapped loop. Hold your loop with your chain nose pliers and wrap the remaining wire around your loop, the bead and under your bead if you’d like. Cut off any excess wire and tuck in the tail with your chain nose pliers.

Use your chain nose pliers and any place on my wire that was a little wonky I grabbed and gave a small twist. This helped to straighten the wire around my bend and hug the stone tighter. It also give a little extra detail.

Use your chain nose and attach the two ends of your chain to a jump ring. 24″ chain length should be large enough to slide over your head. You may lengthen or shorten the chain and add a clasp instead if you’d like.

New knitted bangle bracelets have been added to my online shop. I hand knit these bracelets high quality Soft Flex flexible beading wire and a knitting spool. The designs are finished with cones, wire wrapping, beads and charms. Some have toggle clasps and others stretch to fit over your hand without the need for a clasp. Comfortable to wear to everyday.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/creativestash

Tutorial Tuesday is a blog series where I share a do-it-yourself jewelry tutorial on Soft Flex Company’s blog.

I know St. Patrick’s Day was last week, but I’m Irish and love the color green so, I wanted to keep the celebration of green going with this necklace design! This time I am using Soft Flex beading wire as a design component. This project appears to be complex but, it is easy and great for any beader. Only skill required is crimping. For crimping help, please visit our webpage, All about Crimps.

Cut Soft Flex Beading Wire into approximately a 10″ length.  String bead frame and take one end of the wire around to make a circle and back through the first bead frame to create a loop. Wiggle this first bead frame to one side of the wire leaving about 1.5″ tail on one end.

Using the longer wire tail string your next bead frame and circle around the frame and back through to create the second loop. Continue stringing bead frame and making a loop until all 5 frames are complete.

Once your bead frame section is complete, use your chain nose pliers to attach the glass rectangles to the beading wire loops with jump rings. You have a little wiggle room to get the bead frame spacing the way you want before crimping. Take a moment to adjust any frames if necessary.

Using your crimping pliers, crimp one side as close to the bead frame as possible. You may use the Regular Crimping Pliers or Universal Magical Crimper to secure the crimp. I choose to use the Universal Magical Crimper as it makes a small 2mm bead out of the tube. For regular crimping instructions, click here. For magical crimper instructions, click here. Trim off the excess wire close to the crimp.

Using your chain nose pliers to attach a jump ring on either side of the fringe section. Cut your chain length in half and attach to each jump ring. Attach the lobster claw clasp to one end and a jump ring to the other end of your chain. You  can also make it adjustable by adding one more jump ring and your optional 2″ length of chain to the back. In the photos below I’m wearing a 18″ chain in the top picture and adjusted it to a 20″ chain in the bottom picture.

Tutorial Tuesday is a blog series where I share a do-it-yourself jewelry tutorial on Soft Flex Company’s blog.

With this design, I wanted an earring that I can wear to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day! This is project is easy, fast and great for a beginning beaders. Only skill required is crimping. For crimping help, please visit Soft Flex Company’s webpage, All about Crimps.

Cut Soft Flex Beading Wire into two 8″ lengths, one for each earring.  String Celtic style bead, then crimp tube. Take the other end of the wire make a circle back through the crimp tube for your first loop. Now using the tail that went through the crimp for the loop, string your beads for the second loop. Alternate 1 green fire polish bead and 1 silver spacer tube until you have 6 green fire polish beads and 5 spacer tubes. Then take the tail and feed it through the crimp tube again making your second loop.

Now take the longer wire tail and feed it through the crimp tube in the opposite direction making a small loop at the top. This little loop will attach to your ear wire. Adjust wires until you are happy with size of all three loops. When ready, use your Mighty Crimping Pliers to close the crimp tube.You use the Mighty Crimping Pliers just like the Regular Crimping Pliers. For crimping instructions, click here.

Finally, trim off the excess wire close to the crimp and use your chain nose pliers to attach you ear wire to the top loop. Make your second earring the same way. When making the second earring pay attention to the loop sizes of all three loops before crimping.

Tutorial Tuesday is a blog series where I share a do-it-yourself jewelry tutorial on Soft Flex Company’s blog.

I bought a few Samunnat polymer clay beads beads while in Tucson this year. I love the bold, geometric patterns. Have you heard of these beads? Not only are they beautiful they  have a beautiful story. Samunnat is a non-profit organization which assists Nepalese women who are affected by domestic violence. Each bead is a gift, and a story of one woman’s life and made by a woman’s hands in Nepal.

With this design, I wanted to create an earring that celebrates the bright, colorful culture of Nepal. This is project is easy, fast and great for a beginning beaders. Only skill required is crimping. For crimping help, please visit Soft Flex Company’s webpage, All about Crimps.

Cut Soft Flex Beading Wire into two 8″ lengths, one for each earring.  Place a bead stopper on one end of one of the wire lengths. String crimp tube, alternate seed bead and silver bead until you have 6 seed beads strung, string Samunnat Bead, alternate seed bead and silver bead until you have 6 seed beads strung, string crimp tube.

Carefully remove the bead stopper and loop each wire end around and down through the crimp tube on the opposite side to create the circle shape. Adjust wires until you are happy with circle size and shape. Reattach the bead stopper to the two wires to hold the shape.

Using your crimping pliers, crimp one side of the earring as close to the seed bead as possible. You may use the regular crimping plier  or Universal Magical Crimper to secure the crimp. I choose to use the Universal Magical Crimper as it makes a small 2mm bead out of the tube. For regular crimping instructions, click here. For magical crimper instructions, click here.

Repeat crimping on the opposite side. Trim off excess wire as close to the crimp as possible.  Attach your ear wire to the beading wire. Repeat steps for the second earring.

I am lover of texture so, knitted jewelry designs float my boat. After returning from a family vacation that included a day at the beach, I was inspired to combine Fluorite Soft Flex Beading Wire with glass pearls and sea glass for a design fit for a beach goddess.

I shared a picture of this design online and had three people asking to purchase it and within a few hours it was sold! I couldn’t believe it. The combination of soft colors and knitting technique made it a desirable design. It’s so comfortable to wear too. If you are interested in seeing how I created it, I shared instructions on Soft Flex Company’s blog this week. Click to see the how-to post.

I hope you are enjoying the last days of summer. My kids go back to school next week already, I can’t believe how fast that went!