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 Pendant from Enameled Piping

We are still playing with pipes! Today we took one of the copper enameled beads we made using pipe and used the bead as the focal point in a pendant.

Before: Enameled pipe, scrap wire

Materials
Copper enameled bead
2 sterling silver beads
Sterling silver scrap wire-- 18 gauge & 20-gauge
Smokey quartz bead

Tools
Nylon jaw chain nose pliers
Round nose pliers
Chain nose pliers
Flush  wire cutter
Barrett needle file

Step 1
Locate scrap sterling silver wire from the scrap bin. Use the nylon jaw pliers to straighten out the scrap wire.

Step 2
Feed a sterling silver bead on the the 18-gauge wire, followed by the copper enameled bead and another sterling silver bead. Wrap the end of the wire to secure the beads. Trim excess wire, if any, with a wire cutter. File the ends smooth using a barrette needle file.

Select bead for drop

Step 3
Sort through the bead collection to locate a center-drilled bead. Make a loop at the end of the 20-gauge wire to form a head pin. Feed the center-drilled smokey quartz bead on the prepared 20-gauge wire head pin. Create a loop above bead and attach the 20-gauge wire to the 18-gauge wire. Wrap the wire to secure.

Step 4

After: Enamel pendant by GeltDesigns.com

Slide the pendant onto the chain. We used a neck-ring we made from 14-gauge sterling silver wire, but any chain will do.

Related Project Tutorials
Turn a Pipe into Enamels Beads
Make Earrings from Copper Pipe and Wire
Make an Enamel Necklace from a Copper Pipe
Make a Beaded Bracelet with Copper Pipe & Wire
Make a Neck-Ring from Copper Pipe
Make a Bangle Bracelet from a Copper Pipe

Related Skills Tutorials
How to Make A Simple Head Pin
How to Make an Eye Pin
How to Make a Paddle Head Pin
How to Straighten Wire
Make Your Own Beaded Drop
Make Your Own Wire Wrapping Tool Kit

Further Reading  
"Making Designer Bead and Wire Jewelry: Techniques for Unique Designs and Handmade Findings"; Tammy Powley; 2005.
"The Complete Photo Guide to Jewelry Making: More than 700 Large Format Color Photos"; Tammy Powley; 2011.

Month 5. Jewelry from Found Objects.  $ spent: 0
Found materials: Copper pipe, scarp wire, orphan beads
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.  

Make Earrings from Ballpoint Pen Caps

Before: Ballpoint pens

As soon as we saw the purple caps of these ballpoint pens, my daughter and I were excited. The color was yummy and we decided the caps would make great cone components for earrings. We used brass wire and added a pearl dangle taking advantage of leftover pearl earrings from an old beading project.

After: Pen cap earrings by GeltDesigns.com

Materials
2 ballpoint pen caps
2 pearls
headpin or  20-gauge brass wire
ear wires or 22-gauge brass wire

Tools

Gather your tools

Jewelry saw and blades
Chain nose pliers
Round nose pliers
Needle files


Wire cutter
Nylon jaw pliers
Steel bench blockRawhide mallet


Step 1

Cut off the tails of the pen caps

Cut off the "tail" of the ballpoint pen cap with a jewelry saw to create a cone. The pen caps we selected are a lovely shade of purple, but you can use any caps you like. If needed, sand the caps with sandpaper until smooth.

Step 2

Make loop below pearl

Feed a pearl on the wire. Make a very small loop below the pearl so the pearl will stay on the wire.

Step 3
Measure 2 mm less than the length of the pen cap (about 2 inches) and make a second larger loop at the other end of the wire. Wrap the excess wire to secure the loop. Trim the excess wire with a wire cutter and file the ends of the wire until smooth using needle files.

Step 4
Make a loop on another piece of wire. Secure the wire wrapped loop of the pearl drop to the loop of the second piece of wire. Feed the second wire through the top of the cone of the pen cap until the loop is at the very top of the cone. (Our pen cap had a hole at the top of the cone, but some do not and may need to be drilled).

Step 5
 Create a third loop on the outside of the cone. Wrap to secure the loop and hold the pearl dangle in place. Trim the excess wire. File the ends of the wire smooth with a needle file.

Note: Only the third loop will be visible on the finished earring, so take care that this third loop is round, well wrapped and as close to perfect as possible.

Attach the ear wires

Step 6
Make the ear wires. Place the formed ear wires on the steel bench block and hammer with the rawhide mallet to harden the ear wires.

Step 7
Attach the ear wires to the loop at the top of the cone.


Related Tutorials
How to Make "Fish Hook" Ear Wires
Make Earrings from Copper Wire
Make Earrings from an iTunes Gift Card
Make Dog Earrings from Toys
Make Earrings from Scrap Wire  

Further Reading
"101 Wire Earrings: Step-by-Step Projects and Techniques"; Denise Peck; 2009.
"The Earring Style Book: Making Designer Earrings, Capturing Celebrity Style, and Getting the Look for Less"; Stephanie A. Wells; 2010.

Day 112. Month 5. Jewelry from Found Objects.  $ spent: 0
Found materials: ballpoint pen caps
New Jewelry a Day.