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 Green Necklace for St. Patrick's Day from a Plastic Bottle

Before: empty bottle

Happy St. Patrick's Day! We decided to make a green necklace to wear today. We used the plastic recovered from an empty Garnier Fructise bottle. The plastic is a bright, cheery green perfect for St. Patrick's Day.

Don't forget to wear green to keep from being pinched by a leprechaun!

Tools
Xacto knife or scissor
Self healing cutting mat
Automatic center punch

Drill and bit
Round nose pliers or wire looping pliers
Chain nose pliers

Gather your tools

Wire cutters
Steel block
Rawhide mallet
Wire rounder, needle file or cup bur (and flex shaft or rotary tool)

Materials
Garneir Fructis plastic bottle
18-gauge brass wire

Step 1

Cut the plastic charms

Remove the label from the bottle. Wash the empty plastic bottle. Cut the plastic into charms using scissors or an xacto knife on a self healing mat.

Step 2

Mark the plastic and drill hole

Mark the plastic charms with the automatic center punch and then drill holes in the plastic where marked.

Step 3
Use pliers to create the links from the 18-gauge wire. Cut the formed link from the wire spool and then file both ends of the formed link smooth using a wire rounder, needle file or cup bur and flex shaft or rotary tool. Repeat to create the needed number of links.

Step 4
Assemble the links and charms into a chain.

Hook and eye clasp by GeltDesigns.com

Step 5
Make the hook clasp and eye from the 18-gauge wire. Place the finding on a steel bench block and hammer with a raw hide mallet to harden the wire and protect the shape of the finding.

Step 6
Attach the finding to the chain.

Related Tutorials
Make a Bracelet from a Plastic Bottle

After: Necklace by GeltDesigns.

Make a Cuff Bracelet from a Plastic Bottle

Further Reading
"500 Plastic Jewelry Designs: A Groundbreaking Survey of A Modern Material (500 Series)"; Lark; 2009.

Day 116. Month 5. Jewelry from Found Objects.  $ spent: 0
Found materials: plastic bottle
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 Earrings from Beer Bottle Caps

Before: Beer bottle caps

While we had our bottle cap collection out we decided to make earrings. Again, we decided to use the bottle caps "as is" without any type of embellishment... but we played around with a bunch of different designs using salvaged papers for decoupage and odd pieces and parts to combine with resin to fill the inside of the bottle cap. For today, we decided we wanted simple, but we sketched our more elaborate designs for another day.

Gather tools

Materials
Beer bottle caps
20-gauge round brass wire


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 two matching bottle caps.

Mark bottle cap with center punch

Step 2
Mark the bottle cap with a marker where you plan to drill a hole. Use the automatic center punch to create an indentation where you marked the bottle cap. The indentation will prevent the drill bit from slipping when you drill the hole.

Drill bottle cap

Step 3
Use a drill and a size 41 drill bit to drill a hole in the bottle cap.

Step 4
Make a loop at the end of the 20-gauge wire. Slip the bottle cap onto the loop and then wrap the wire three times to secure the wire and prevent the bottle cap from slipping off the loop.

Step 5
Shape the 20-gauge wire into a earring finding above the wire wrapped loop.

After: Bottle cap earrings by GeltDesigns.com

Step 6
File the end of the ear wire smooth using a wire round or a cup bur and a flex shaft (or other rotary tool).

Step 7
Repeat to create matching earring.

Related Tutorials
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

How to Select a Cup Burr 

Further Reading
 "Junk Jewelry: 25 Extraordinary Designs to Create from Ordinary Objects"; Jane Eldershaw; 2008.
"Semiprecious Salvage: Creating Found-Art Jewelry"; Stephanie Lee; 2008.
"Fabulous Jewelry from Found Objects: Creative Projects, Simple Techniques (Lark Jewelry Books)"; Marthe Le Van; 2007.
"Jewelry and Accessories from Everyday Objects: 19 Unique Projects Inspired by Found Objects and Ready-Made Materials"; Tair Parnes; 2007.
Junk to Jewelry: A Step-by-Step Guide to Using Found Objects in Jewelry You Can Actually Wear; Brenda Schweder; 2007.

 New & Noteworthy
"Jewellery from Recycled Materials (Jewellery Handbooks)"; Jaimie MacDonald; 2011.

Day 113. Month 5. Jewelry from Found Objects.  $ spent: 0
Found materials: beer bottle caps
New Jewelry a Day.