REVIEW of 2018

I do hope that The WireWorkers Guild is a resource and
inspiration to many budding, as well as blooming, wire jewellery
enthusiasts! My aim has always been to share my designs and
experimentations with a wider audience to hopefully impact my
personal passion and knowledge to others.

There are endless possibilities when working with wire and
being creative is the glue that holds me together and provides
me with a greater sense of self-worth and fulfillment! Therefore,
I do hope, that by continuing to write this blog, a little bit of
that glue rubs off on you too, as I am a firm believer that creativity
is an essential part of well-being (especially in this fast pacing,
technological world that we all in habit!).

Please do revisit these and older projects further back, because
they might trigger new inspiration on your own creative paths.
So, here's a glance, (with links) to all the tutorials that I provided
throughout 2018:

Beginning in January (which seems a decade ago now!), I kicked
off the year with Spiral Hearts:

Once you've mastered the basic 'heart' shape, the possibilities are
endless! This could be one to bookmark for Valentines Day in 2019!

I also gave you a feast of different Ring Designs:

Take another look if you want to create fun, quick finger
decorations!

Skipping on to March, I gave you a simple Tree of Life
tutorial:

This is a classic wire workers project, that can be
created with seed beads, or semi-precious chip stones.

I followed the 'tree' with the perfect accompaniment:
a Bird's Nest Pendant, for Easter:

A great way to use up a few pearls:

Moving on to the month of April, I wrote my blog about personal
'Styling' jewellery, packing it with lots of images for inspiration!

That same month, by popular demand, I also shared my   
'Go With the Flow' design:

This is such a versatile design and once you've mastered the
technique, it provides endless style possibilities!

Moving on to the month of May, I showed you my  
Nucleus Necklace,

More bold, popular statement jewellery!

The warmth of June, the triggered a seed beady, Beach Design:

If you have lots of little seed beads in your stash ... this is a
good one to try!

Any shape. Any colour. Give it a go!

In July, my Summer Butterfly flew in!

This is always a popular design! I even made some
larger versions out of aluminium wire and turned them
into fridge magnets!

For August, I revisited an old favourite: the Squiggle Ring:

In September I brought you the Framed Bead Tutorial:

Which gives you endless possibilities to 'set off' a feature bead
and can also be interpreted as a bracelet design:

Then in October, I hit out with the Curly Wurly Brooch!
A great way to practice those spirals! (Going round the bend
is fun!).

And there was even a Christmas version!

Another October offering, was my Scarf Slide, which makes
a perfect gift for scarf wearing family members and friends:

This came in a trio of shaped designs:

... and colours:

In November, I revisited the Bubble Chain (taken
from my second published book).

I showed you different versions and combinations with
or, without beads ...

And finally, in this month of December, I completed the year with
a festive tutorial: Christmas Wreath Decoration!

Which can be created in variety of ways!

That concludes my calendar of designs for 2018!

So, here's wishing you the best Christmas 
ever and hoping that 2019 brings happiness,
health and peace to you all!
Happy Holidays!

XMAS WREATH Decoration

As a small, home business, this is my busiest time of year
and my hands and eyes have been in working in overdrive,
taking on all the seasonal work I can possibly muster!

One of the things I enjoy most is teaching and from
November onwards, I have been running lots of Christmas
decoration workshops for all group sizes.

Over the years I have designed many styles of window,
tree and card ornaments, which can double up as pendants
and earrings when scaled down in size ...

My XMAS WREATH DECORATION is a particular favourite
and as mentioned, it can also be created as pendant.

Firstly, decide on the overall size of your 'wreath', as this will
determine what wire you will need to form the base circle
structure.  I used 1.6mm aluminium wire ... however, 1mm silver
plated copper, works perfectly well. You will also need 0.4mm
for the 'tiara' twisting, plus your choice of coloured beads.

STEP 1

Wrap your wire around a circular mandrel and cut from
the spool, leaving an overlap.

STEP 2

Secure one end around the frame.

STEP 3

Straighten the other end. (This will eventually form the
suspension loop).

STEP 4

Hammer the circular frame on a steel block and if you wish, you
can also texture it with the 'dapping' head of the Whammer.

STEP 5

Cut an 'arm's' length of 0.4mm wire and attach the centre
to the frame. This way you can start by using half of the
length to wirewrap in one direction and the other, for the
opposite side.

STEP 6

Thread a bead onto one of the wires and holding it a little
distance from the frame, bring the rest of the wire around
the bead. Grip this looped wire together on the edge of the
frame and twist the bead to produce a twisted stem.  If you've
ever made a tiara ... you'll be very familiar with this technique!

STEP 7

Continue adding more beads around the frame and twisting
each of the stems. Small seed beads can be used to create 'leaf'
shapes.

STEP 8

If you run out of wire, just add more and continue where you
left off ...

STEP 9

Once you have covered the frame - you can stop right there, it
looks pretty as it is ...
(Here's one I made earlier):

However, I am going to continue to show how I would make
it look a little more 'wreath-like'.

STEP 10

Using the tips of your chain or round nosed pliers, tweak
the twisted stems and shape them (plus the beaded leaves),
drawing them in and on top of the frame.

STEP 11

If you want to fill any gaps, you can at this stage,"wire in"
some more beads.  I have used varying sizes of gold coloured
beads. (But you could also use red beads as 'berries').

STEP 12

Create a top suspension link with the projecting wire and add
a 'figure of 8' link to this. You can also choose to suspend a
bead from the centre of your wreath.

STEP 13

If you wish to add a bow to the top of your decoration,
cut a piece of ribbon. Loop 2 sides into towards each
other and secure the centre with a piece of 0.4mm wire.
(You can also attach a bead to this wire as a central
decoration).

STEP 14

And there you have it! It's ready to be suspended and enjoyed!

Alternatively, have fun creating it as a window decoration, to
blend in with your home decor colours!

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

I also have a speedy version! Follow STEPS 1-4 (above) to
create the circular outer frame of the wreath, then ...

STEP A

Using the Coiling Gizmo, coil around 2" of 0.5mm green wire.
(If you don't own a Gizmo, wrap by hand around a knitting needle).

STEP B

Stretch the coil out, leaving some 'curlywurlyness' ...

STEP C

Wrap the 'curlywurly' wire around the frame ...

STEP D

Once it's attached, spread it around the frame. If you want
a fuller looking wreath, just add another layer of curly wire!

STEP E

Using 0.4mm wire, add some 'berry' beads, 'sewing' them
in between the curly wire.

STEP F

And once again, you can add a central 'dangle' bead. I used a
teardrop crystal, but if you have a bell shaped bead that would
work beautifully too!

I hope this has inspired you to make some 
for gifts and decorations! 

Ding Dong Merrily On ... 
Using Pliers and Festive Wires!