One of the most simple jewelry accessory to make are memory wire wrap bracelets. Memory wires are preformed to maintain its circular shape. All you have to do is add your choice of beads, leather, spacers and charms to memory wire and make a simple loop at both ends. Here are some fun examples of how we used memory wire.
GoodyBeads EZ DIY Series: Swarovski® Crystal Flat Memory Wire Bracelet
We are in love with bracelets that wrap around and bling, of course! We have an EZ DIY tutorial on how to create this sparkling wrap bracelet with flat memory, Swarovski emerald-cut crystals and 24-gauge wire.
Tutorial
Items used:
WR00119 – Large Silver Flat Bracelet Remembrance Memory Wire
You’ll soon feel the love in the air because Valentine’s Day is coming. Our GoodyBeads Designers have new Valentine’s Day DIY kits to bling out your lovely look.
These kits include all the beads and findings, along with simple step-by-step instructions. They are also easy to make and give away as gifts.
Eat your heart out with a box of chocolates and a beautiful selection of heart earrings.
Introducing our new gift jewelry kits perfect for gift-giving. Created by our in-house designers, So Vang, Tory Vezina and Heidi Urlaub, these kits are easy to make and versatile to wear to all of your upcoming events and celebrations. Plus, the kits are conveniently packaged inside a plastic pillow-shaped container for easy gift giving to the DIYers in your life!
Thinking of what to give this holiday season or for birthdays or special occasions? Gift kits are the perfect gift to give to your girlfriends, sisters, bridesmaids, work buddies, etc.
Heidi’s kits have an earthy and edgy vibe with her love of leather and gemstones. You can easily wear her jewelry with the intent of going everywhere and still be on trend. Her Tears of Leather Earringsand On the Fringe Leather Earrings are so gorgeous, you’ll long to own one, two or all of her styles! Meditation Stretch Bracelets have a harmonic combination of round gemstones and emerald-cut Swarovski® crystals, while the Boho Belle Tube Necklace is decorated with small gemstones and curved tubes that gently hug your collarbone.
Are you ready to head bang to the beat of “Boys of Summer,” while cruising along the beach? We have three bracelets that feature trending flamingo and palm tree motifs. Easy to make and slip on, you can make these simple stretch or leather bracelets while catching rays on the beach.
Beach Party Stretch Bracelet
Designed by So Vang
Wear your oversized floppy hat, romper, flip flops and this cool bracelet to your next beach party! You can whip up this bracelet and still have time to figure out if you want to change your outfit again.
What you will need for this bracelet is the following:
Step 3 – Cut with your memory wire cutters 1/2″ away from the last palm tree.
Step 4 – Round the wire end to make a simple loop.
Blushing Flamingo Leather Bracelet
Designed by Tory Vezina
Can you imagine yourself wearing this bracelet, while humming and sipping on a fruity drink? We love the handmade flamingo glass bead surrounded with hues of pink.
Step 4 – Cut with your memory wire cutters 1/2″ away from the last cord end.
Step 5 – Round the wire end to make a simple loop.
Beading Essentials: Tool Edition (Part 1 of 2)
When it comes to tools, everyone has their favorite set of pliers, cutters or hammers. But there are newer types of tools that can even help your jewelry-making be more consistent and efficient. In this Beading Essentials: Tool Edition, we hand-picked a few tools that can help you with your next beading project. Who knows, you might even find a new tool to add to your collection.
For this segment, we will discuss different types of looping tools and cutters to assist you in your jewelry making.
Looping Tools
In our previous blog, Jewelry Beading Essentials, we pointed out simple pliers that all jewelry makers should have on hand, like your round nose and cutters for making simple loops. Did you know there are looping tools that can help with the consistency of your loops? Or making wire loops in a shorter amount of time.
Wubbers® has looping pliers in various sizes that helps make simple loops easier.
A012264 – Bail Making Wubbers
This Bail Making Wubbersis great for making small 2-2.5mm loops or coils. Using this tool instead of your round nose pliers will give you a more consistent loop every time.
A012263 – Wubbers Wire Looping Pliers
This Wire Looping Wubbers comes with instructions on how to use this plier to make eyepins and wrapped loops. One side is concave so that it holds your loop in place while you make a loop on the other side of the plier. This tool is also perfect for beginning jewelry makers that are learning about making wire loops because the tool guides the user to make a round loop.
Tip: When you have finished your loop, bend the wire back slightly so that it centers the loop with the wire.
TL00155 – Large Wire Looping Pliers
Large Wire Looping Pliers makes larger loops. This loop is great for making larger loops to attach to thicker chain pieces or making larger eyepin loops. One of our favorite ways to use this tool is making jump rings, especially for chainmail.
Make coils with your looping pliers. Cut off excess wire. Then cut in a straight line across the coils to make 7mm jump rings.
TLZ0207 – Memory Wire Finishing Pliers
These Memory Wire Finishing Pliers are best used to make loops on your round or flat memory wire. Because memory wire has a stronger gauge, these pliers will help make a simple loop end easy. Clamp the pliers at the tip of the wire and roll towards you until you’ve made a full loop.
TL00019 – 1 Step Looper
An innovative tool we have is the 1 Step Looper. Designed to make loops in literally 1 STEP! It loops your wire and cuts it all, in one step.
This tool is perfect if you need to make a lot of eyepins. Feed your wire until it passes the middle lever. Squeeze your pliers and it will make a loop while cutting the excess wire end.
Tip: When you have finished your loop, bend the wire back slightly so that it centers the loop with the wire.
You can use this tool when you are making a lot of dangles. Feed your wire until the top of the beads are close to the pliers. There will be a hole at the other end if your wire is long. Squeeze your pliers to make a loop. Bend your dangle back slightly to center your loop.
Cutter Tools
Side cutters are one of the essential tools you will need for jewelry making. Whether you are cutting excess wire off of a headpin or cutting thin chain links, cutter tools are versatile. But not all cutters are the same. Certain cutters are used for certain projects.
FTTL0005 – Memory Wire Cutter
Memory Wire cutters are used for the heavy duty cutting. Best to use on memory wire or larger gauge wire, but you can use them for cutting thick chain links without damaging your regular cutters.
FTTL0001 – Flex Wire Cutter
Flex Wire Cutter is designed to cut flex wire. With this precision cutter, you don’t have to worry about your flex wire having frayed ends. We also use these for our Beading Wire or Elastic Cordfor a closer cut on a finished project, when scissors cannot.
TL00017 – Xuron® Shear – Non-Serrated
Xuron® Shears are manufactured for cutting high strength fibers, wire, metal sheets, leather cords, and even Beading Wire. They are perfect to cut wire coils to make jump rings because they create a clean, flat cut.
We recommend this tool if you are wanting a flat cut to your jump rings. Because when cutting the coils with your side cutters, you will find that your jump rings will have a sharp, pointed end. This is because side cutters are best for flushing the flat side of your side cutters for a close cut. While Xuron Shears cut clean and flat especially for making jump rings.
As you can see here, the left jump ring was cut with a side cutter, while the right jump ring was cut with the Xuron Shears.
TL00053 – Licorice Leather Cutter
With a comfortable grip, this Licorice Leather Cutter is perfect for cutting your licorice leather or all of your leather or rubber cords with a clean and accurate cut.
Feature: Tool Wallet
TL00064 – Dazzle-It Tool Wallet
For all your pliers and tools, get the Tool Wallet to keep your tools in one area! It has convenient elastic straps to organize up to six pliers. It is the perfect tool storage and slim enough to carry along with you when you cannot part from making jewelry on your vacation.
To encompass the trend of boho, we have pulled our wonderful stock of silk ribbon and ribbon mixes to show you how to use silk ribbon in jewelry. We will show you how to make an easy wrap memory wire bracelet with silk ribbon and silk ribbon tassel earrings.
Boho Silk Memory Wire Bracelet
Designed by So Vang
This bracelet is perfect to wear on a beautiful summer day. We used the Hand Dyed Ribbon Mix, which has eight 2 yards of ribbon, yarn and fabric mix. When wrapped around memory wire, the colors and various fibers has a boho charm. You can finish off your bracelet with a tassel attached at the memory wire loop end or add charms scattered around the bracelet with jump rings. This memory wire ribbon wrap bracelet is easy to make and to pair with your everyday outfit. Just follow our easy instructions or DOWNLOAD our pdf tutorial.
Step 1: Cut memory wire for 2-3 wraps. Make a simple loop at each end.
Step 2: Gather your strands of ribbon mix to one end. Hold about 3 inches of the ribbon strands with the memory wire. Start wrapping your ribbon around a few times close to the loop.
Step 3: Tightly coil the ribbon strands around the memory wire. Make sure to keep your strands flat and not twisted when coiling the strands. Take your time.
Step 4: At the end, glue to secure. Wrap strands back towards the beginning of memory wire to create a fuller looking bracelet. Once you run out of strands, dab a small amount of glue to hold ends down.
Step 5: Wrap 26 Gauge wire around ribbon strands to secure the strands.
Step 6: Embellish with charms, bead dangles, tassel, or wear as is. Your boho fiber bracelet is complete!
Use silk ribbon to make a trendy pair of tassel earrings. Make some fun pair of earrings like what we have made here. OR create a longer tassel to use in a statement necklace.
Step 1: Cut silk ribbon in half. Take one half and fold in half. Fold again and again for a total of three half folds.
Step 2: Cut 4 inches of 22 Gauge wire. Insert under last ribbon fold a third of the way and cross the wire strands.
Step 3: Twist the two wire strands. Cut excess length of the shorter wire strand.
Step 4: Insert cone on wire and use flat nose pliers to pull tassel snuggly inside cone.
Step 5: Add a small bead and make a simple loop.
Step 6: Cut the ribbon loops.
Step 7: Attach ear wire and repeat for the other tassel earring.
Center a porcelain pendant to these mix ribbon and make knots on both sides. Then make another knot next to those knots and added seashell and starfish charms with copper jump rings in between each knots. This necklace takes you to the beach without even being there!
Rose Quartz and Serenity are Pantone’s color of the year winners. And for the first time they debuted a duo-color that blurs the line of femininity and masculinity.
We will show how we used these colors to inspire our Color of the Year Jewelry.
Link Earrings
Designed by So Vang
Made with blue foil tint beads and a hint of pink, these earrings pairs the two colors harmoniously.
Necklace
Pink Quartz Necklace Designed by Heidi Urlaub. Blue Serenity Neckalce Designed by Tory Vezina.
Rose Quartz Draped with a shiny tassel and beaded chain, this Rose Quartz necklace is the perfect statement piece to wear this spring. Can you imagine wearing it with your sweet summer dress and suede floppy hat?
Serenity This dream catcher necklace has the right Serenity hues for 2016. Made with handmade silk ribbon, Czech glass chip beads and feather charms, you can pair this with your trending flannel outfit and skinny jeans.
Bracelets
Designed by So Vang
Wire Wrap This wire wrap bracelet combines a darker shade of Serenity and square pink crystals. Accented with silver bali beads, string these colors onto memory wire for a three-loop bracelet with a simple loop on each end. This fun and easy Color of the Year-inspired memory wire bracelet is ready to flaunt.
Leather cord When it comes to transcending gender barriers, leather is best to use to create an accessory that both men and women can casually wear. Using the same darker Serenity color as in the bracelet above, we used red aventurine beads on 1mm leather cords. We cut the 1mm cords into three equal strands. Taking the three strands, crimp one end with a revolving crimp tubes. Insert a bead on your top two strands and then the next bead will be on your bottom two strands. Repeat until desired length. Cut the three strand ends straight and crimp them with another revolving crimp tube. Add your choice of clasp and it is ready to wear.
How will you wear this year’s colors of the year?
Link Earrings
(2) Z007149 – 30mm Antique Silver Hammered Round Pewter Link
(1) A008998 – Silver Base Metal French Wire Earrings
A fun new trend is memory wire leather wrap bracelets. They are easy to pair with your casual outfits, easy to slip-on on your way out the door, and definitely easy to make.
Memory wire leather wrap bracelets are easy to make and require only three components: leather cord, memory wire, and end/bead caps. The best type of leather cord to use for these bracelets has a hollow inner tube or has a hollow center, such as our braided leather and cork cord. The great thing about using memory wire with leather cord is that the bracelet will retain its round shape through many wears. For a clean look, cap off your leather bracelets with bead caps and end caps. You can also add extra character, color and movement to a bracelet with beads, spacers and/or charms.
Memory Wire and Leather Bracelet Tutorial
Memory Wire Tips
When making your wrap leather bracelet, don’t cut the memory wire before adding your bracelet components. First, slip all beads, leather pieces, and caps onto the loops of memory wire. Then you can see how the whole bracelet will look and still have a chance to make changes.
Use Memory Wire Cutters to cut the memory wire, as regular cutters may not be strong enough to cut through the wire.
For this bracelet, we broke up the leather into two pieces and used Czech beads and flat spacers to accent the middle portion of this bracelet. We added drop charms to each ends for extra movement.
Make a simple loop at one end of your memory wire.
Cut cork cord in half.
Refer to image above to slide on the following cork cord, end caps and beads.
Make another simple loop and cut excess wire.
Open one side of the memory wire loop and slide two drop charms. Close loop.
Repeat step 5 to other memory wire loop end.
Pink and Pearly Wrap Bracelet
Designed by So Vang
For this leather bracelet, instead of having beads in the middle, we added pearls to the ends of the bracelet for a for a pretty accent before finishing it off with a simple loop.
