Beading Projects

Wired sea beauty

About Amanda:

"I've always loved jewellery and I've always loved creating things with my hands.

As a child I used to make all my own cards for everyone’s birthdays and as I got older I dabbled in other crafts: cross stitch, mosaic, scrapbooking, photography, decoupage, dressmaking, quilting, crochet etc. My craft cupboard is always overflowing!

When I discovered jewellery making two years ago, I did what I usually do, stocked up on all the things I thought I would need and just sat down to have a go. I quickly realised that this was something that I would be doing for quite some time ... the thirst for knowledge was such that I was constantly exploring tutorials on the Internet and in magazines such as this one and I soon picked up the skills I needed to delve even deeper into this craft. I’ve never taken a jewellery-making class (or any other craft-related class!) in my life, as I find that actually having a go is a far more unstructured approach and helps my creativity flow better. There are less constraints put upon yourself.
I have a passion for wire, which developed of its own accord really. Now I try to incorporate wire work into a good number of my designs. I love working with gemstones, pearls and crystals in particular. Sterling silver and gold-fill wire are wonderful to work with and it’s great to know that you could be making an item that may survive long enough to be handed down to future generations.  In my family, we have always loved jewellery and a fair bit of it has been handed down through the generations, so this is particularly appealing to me.

My advice to anyone who is interested in making jewellery is have a go!  You never know what you’re capable of until you try."
To make cuff:

Materials

• 50cm of 16-gauge wire

• 1.5m - 2m of 24-gauge wire

• Selection of 4mm to 8mm beads and crystals of your choice

Tools:

• Flat-edged pliers

• Cutting pliers

Step 1:
Using the 16-gauge wire, hand form it into a zig-zag shape, using the photo as a reference. Make sure the ends cross over by about 3-4cm.

Step 2:
Cut about 3cm of 24-gauge wire and use it to wrap the ends together securely, using the flat edged pliers to pull tight the wire on each turn. This is your cuff frame.

Step 3:
Cut a piece of 24-gauge wire that’s about 2cm longer than the end width of your cuff frame. Curve one end over — this helps to hook it onto the cuff frame.

Step 4:
Once your wire is hooked onto your cuff frame, wrap this piece of 24-gauge wire 3-5 times around one side of the frame, load with a selection of beads and then wrap 3-5 times on the other side of the frame.

Step 5:
Continue in this way — applying the extra 2cm rule from Step 3 to each piece of wire to ensure you cater for all the various widths of the cuff frame — until the whole frame is filled with beads. Try to mix up your beads so there are not two of the same colour bead next to each other and so that the sizes are varied.

Step 6:
Mould the cuff to fit around your wrist comfortably.
For more information about Pallina Designs, visit Amanda's website at www.pallinadesigns.com
Amanda Dick (Jewellery Designer)
76 Brabant St, Opotiki 3122, New Zealand
Website: www.pallinadesigns.com Email: amanda@pallinadesigns.com