Make a Ring from Scrap Wire & a Bead

Rings are a great fashion accessory. Rings require little metal and are a great project to make with limited resources. You can make a wire wrapped ring using scrap wire leftover from other projects and a bead or two.  

Materials
16-gauge copper wire
Lampwork glass bead(s),


Tools
Ring mandrel
Raw hide hammer or plastic mallet,
Cup burr or needle file
Tumbler &  stainless steel shot (optional)

Step 1
Assemble your tools and materials. In our example, we used 16-guage copper wire, but scrap wire in gold, silver, brass or any other nonferrous metal can be used to make a ring. Similarly, different gauge wires can be substituted if you want a ring with a finer or heavier look. Select the lampwork bead, checking to be sure the wire will fit through the bead.

Step 2

Check ring size

Measure your finger or the finger of the person for whom you would like to make the ring.  Use a ring that fits well and slide the ring onto the ring mandrel to measure ring size if you do not have a ring sizer.

Step 3
Slide the focal bead onto the wire.

Step 4
Wrap the wire around the ring mandrel the number of times needed for your wire wrapped ring. Fit the wire through the bead each time you wrap. In our example, we show rings with one, two and three wraps.

Step 5
Check the ring as you work to be sure the ring is sized  correctly.

Step 6
Stop wrapping with the ends of the wire close to the bead. Tuck the wire ends under the bead and trim any excess.

You can also bend the ends of the wire up to hold the bead so that they look like prongs. If you chose to use the prong method for your wire wrapped ring, then be sure to file the prong tips with a cup burr or needle file so that the prongs are not sharp.

Step 7
Harden the wire of your wire wrapped ring so the ring will maintain its shape. Harden the wire by hitting the wire with a raw hide hammer or plastic mallet. You can also place the completed wire wrapped rings into a tumbler with stainless steel shot to burnish and harden the wire so the wire wrapped rings hold their shape.

Happy Beading!

Make a Hatpin from a Bottle Cap

Hatpins are decorative pins that help women secure hats so they do not fly away when the wind blows. Hats had fallen out of favor until the recent engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton. The lovely Kate appears to have brought large hats back to the masses. No need to wait for the Kentucky Derby to get out your old hat... or to brandish that wonderful find from the estate sale.

Hats are making a come back and that means a renewed need for hatpins! We made this simple hatpin using wire and beer bottle cap. We used 16-gauge nickle silver wire because nickel silver is quite strong and is unlikely to bend with use over time. (Of course, some folks are allergic to nickel. Don't use nickel silver if you are allergic to nickel. Stainless steel is a good substitute.) You can also use brass, copper, sterling silver, gold-fill or even gold for this project, but those are all softer metals that are not as great to use as a stick pin or hat pin.

Materials
Bottle cap
16-gauge wire
Clutch finding
JB Weld

Before: bottle cap and wire

Tools
Wire cutter
Vise
Ball pein hammer
Drill & size 55 drill bit

Step 1
Measure a 5-inch piece of 16-gauge nickel silver wire. Cut the wire using a wire cutter.

Step 2
Secure the wire in a vise so that only 1/4-inch of the wire shows. Hit the top of the wire with a hammer to flatten that end of the wire and create a "head" for the pin. Remove the wire from the vise. Sand away tool marks, if any.

Step 3
Sharpen the other end of the wire to a point using a file. Be sure the point is

Feed the wire through the bottle cap

centered and that the point has a gradual slope that will easily pass through fabric.

Step 4
Mark the bottle cap with an automatic center punch and prepare to drill two holes in the bottle cap. Check to be sure the two holes are aligned and the wire will pass through the two holes. Drill the holes using a size 55 drill bit.

 Step 5

After: Hat pin by GeltDesigns.com

Feed the wire through the two holes in the bottle cap. The 16-gauge wire will just barely fit through the holes drilled with a size 55 bit. Use pliers to pull the wire through the bottle cap until the head of the pin sits fluch against the bottle cap.

 Step 6
Add a drop of JB Weld where the bottle cap hits the wire for added security (if desired).

Step 7
Slip clutch finding on the pointed end of the wire to secure the pin.

Related Tutorials
Make Earrings from Beer Bottle Caps
Make a Bracelet from Beer Bottle Caps
Make Cuff Links from Beer Bottle Caps
Make Earrings from Plastic Bottle Caps
Make a Necklace from Plastic Bottle Caps
Make Chanukah Menorah Earrings from Plastic Bottle Caps

Further Reading
"1000 Jewelry Inspirations (mini): Beads, Baubles, Dangles, and Chains (1000 Series)"; Sandra Salamony; 2011.

Day 117 Month 5. Jewelry from Found Objects.  $ spent: 0
Found materials: beer bottle cap, wire
New Jewelry a Day.  

Make a Pate De Verre Clover Pin

Before: Glass by GeltDesigns.com & pin

OK, so today's project is not made with found objects... but I really wanted to share the pate de verre pin we made to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. We toyed with a number of different colors and designed and bothe the girls at NJAD were really pleased with the results with this pin.


Materials
Pate de verre clover
1-inch pin back
Glue

Tools
Glass fusing tools
Bullseye glass powder

After: Pin by GeltDesigns.com

Step 1
Make the pate de verre glass clover. Make a mold and fill the mold with glass powder. Place the filled mold in the freezer for at least one hour but no longer than overnight. Unmold the frozen glass powder. Fire the glass in a glass fusing kiln taking care to anneal the glass. Allow the glass to cool to room temperature. Remove the glass from the kiln. File rough edges, if any, with a diamond file. Wash the glass.

Glue pin finding

Step 2
Glue the pin back to the back of the glass.


Related Tutorials
Make a Beer Bottle into a Heart Pin
Make a Pin from a Glass Pebble
Make Glass & Copper Earrings
Make a Pendant from a Bottle
Turn a Glass Jar into a Pendant
Make a Glass & Knotted Leather Necklace
Make a Glass & Brass Link Bracelet
Make Recycled Glass & Sterling Silver Earrings
Make a Kiln Formed Bracelet
Make a Glass Charm Necklace
Freeze & Fuse: Pate de Verre the Easy Way

Questions about Glass Clay
Fused Glass Tutorials by GeltDesigns 
Further Reading
"Warm Glass: A Complete Guide to Kiln-Forming Techniques: Fusing, Slumping, Casting"; Philippa Beveridge, Ignasi Domenech, Eva Pacual; 2005.
"Contemporary Warm Glass: A Guide to Fusing, Slumping & Kiln-Forming Techniques"; Brad Walker; 2000.
"Kiln Firing Glass: Glass Fusing Book One"; Boyce Lundstrom, Daniel Schwoerer; 1994. 

Day 117. Month 5. Jewelry from Found Objects.  $ spent: 0
New Jewelry a Day.  

How to Make a Pin from a Button

Before: button and pin finding

I have no idea where I first bought this button. I think I bought it at Britex on a trip to San Francisco many, many years ago. I know I used it on a suit made when Reagan was in office (I remember wearing the suit on the day that Gorbachev got out of his limo and decided to take an unscheduled stroll down Connecticut Avenue at lunch hour during one of his visits to DC). The button made a reappearance on a dress I recall wearing to a dear friend's wedding. Those are long gone.... I have no idea what happened to the matching buttons or why I only have one button left.... but I still really like the button so we decided to turn the button into a pin.

Materials
Button
1/2-inch pin finding
JB Weld or glue of your choice

Tools
Wire cutter
Wet/dry sandpaper

Step 1
Select the button.

Remove the button shank

Step 2
Use a wire cutter to cut off the shank of the button.

Step 3
Sand the button, if needed, to remove all sharp edges caused by removing the shank. 

After: Pin by GeltDesigns.com

Step 4
Glue on the pin back. (We did not solder the pin because we were not sure if the button was solid brass or just brass plated and we did not want to risk harming the button).

Allow the glue to cure overnight or according to the glue maker's instructions.

Related Tutorials
Make a Hair Clip from a Button
Make a Leather & Button Bracelet
Make a Button Bracelet
Make Button Earrings
Make a Chain and Button Bib Necklace

Further Reading
"Beautiful Button Jewelry: 60 Easy Heirloom Treasures"; Susan Davis; 2010.
"French-Inspired Jewelry: Creating with Vintage Beads, Buttons & Baubles"; Kaari Meng; 2007.
"Button Jewelry & Accessories: 20 Unique Projects"; Tair Parnes; 2006.

Day 115. Month 5. Jewelry from Found Objects.  $ spent: 0
Found materials: button
New Jewelry a Day.  

Make a Hair Clip from a Button

Before: button and bobby pin

My daughter has long, flowing beautiful hair. She likes to style it in different ways-- often using hair ribbons and hair pins.

Adding buttons to bobby pins is a great way to turn an ordinary object into an amazing fashion accessory. Buttons harvested from old clothes, found buttons and buttons leftover from sewing projects are all good choices for this project.


Materials
Button
Bobby pin
JB Weld or glue of your choice

Step 1
Select a button with a shank.

Step 2
Slide the button on the bobby pin.

After: hair pin by GeltDesigns.com

Step 3
Glue the button on to the bobby pin. We used JB Weld because we glued a plastic button to a metal bobby pin but we may have used a different glue if we used a button or a bobby pin made of a different material. Allow the glue to cure overnight or according to the glue manufacturer's instructions.

Related Tutorials
Make a Leather & Button Bracelet
Make a Button Bracelet
Make Button Earrings
Make a Chain and Button Bib Necklace

Further Reading
"Beautiful Button Jewelry: 60 Easy Heirloom Treasures"; Susan Davis; 2010.
"French-Inspired Jewelry: Creating with Vintage Beads, Buttons & Baubles"; Kaari Meng; 2007.
"Button Jewelry & Accessories: 20 Unique Projects"; Tair Parnes; 2006.

Day 114. Month 5. Jewelry from Found Objects.  $ spent: 0
Found materials: button, bobby pin
New Jewelry a Day.  

Make a Bracelet from Beer Bottle Caps

Before: Beer bottle caps

Bottle caps are a great material for jewelry making. In this simple project, we collected some interesting beer bottle caps. The bottle caps we decided to use were made by Lion Brewery have a nice design on the bottle cap itself and puzzles printed inside the cap.

We used the bottle caps "as is" without any further decoration. We simply drilled the bottle caps, made links and findings and constructed the bracelet... but you can change the look entirely by decorating the back of the bottle cap with decoupage or by using the bottle cap as a bezel and filling the bottle caps with resin, polymer clay or the item of your choice.

Materials
Beer bottle caps
16-gauge round brass wire


Tools

Gather tools

Automatic center punch
Drill and size 41 drill (.096) bit

Half-round file
Chain nose pliers
Round nose pliers
Wire cutter
Needle files or wire rounder
Steel bench block
Rawhide mallet

Step 1
Select the bottle caps and determine the order used for the bracelet.

Step 2

Mark bottle cap with center punch

Mark the bottle caps where you want to drill. Use an automatic center punch to indent the marked spot before drilling so the drill bit does not slip and the bottle cap does not go flying.


Step 3

Drill beer bottle cap

Drill each bottle cap. We used five bottle caps to create a bracelet about 8-1/2 inches long.


Step 4
Use round nose pliers, bail forming pliers or a mandrel to make large "S" shaped linked from the 16-gauge brass wire. We made four links to piece together the five bottle caps. 

File the ends of the wire until smooth using the needle file, wire rounder or a cup bur and flex shaft. Place the links on the steel bench block and hammer with the rawhide mallet to harden the links so they retain shape. 

Step 5

Make clasp and attach to bottle cap bracelet

Make the "S" clasp. File the ends smooth. Hit the clasp with the mallet to harden the metal.

Assemble the bottle cap bracelet

Step 6
Assemble the bracelet parts.


Related Tutorials
Make Cuff Links from Beer Bottle Caps
Make Earrings from Plastic Bottle Caps
Make a Necklace from Plastic Bottle Caps

After: Bottle cap bracelet by GeltDesigns.com

Make Chanukah Menorah Earrings from Plastic Bottle Caps
How to Select a Cup Burr

Further Reading
"500 Bracelets: An Inspiring Collection of Extraordinary Designs (500 Series)"; Lark, 2005.


Day 111. Month 5. Jewelry from Found Objects.  $ spent: 0
Found materials: beer bottle caps
New Jewelry a Day.