beaded cuff | D.Ann's Crafting Whims

This week’s crafting whim is a change of pace from all the cards of late. It’s a wire wrapped, beaded cuff that I did for a friend.

It is difficult to photograph and I haven’t figured how to get videos to upload, so I uploaded a quick video of it to photobucket. You can see it by clicking HERE. I’m not the best video taker, but it does show the cuff fairly well.

Now a bit of the details…

She had previously brought me two Joan Rivers Classics Collection Bee Brooches that had the clasp broken off and asked if I could fix them. I was able to epoxy new clasps on by adding, of all things, an upholstery tack top to give it stability.

However, as I wasn’t sure of how they would hold up, I told her if they broke again, I could make her a wire wrapped, beaded cuff similar to the one I recently learned to make for myself:

She immediately left one of the pins and asked me to make the cuff.

First thing… to get rid of the clasp! I was surprised at how easily I could cut through the metal. No wonder they broke so easily.

Next, since the base was to be of different wire than I had worked with previously, I went back to my friend, Mary, of Wire and Wings. She taught me how to make my cuff and she helped me get the hammered wire base for this one ready, using 12 gauge wire. If you’re interested in classes, you can go to her website, HERE. She does a FAB job of teaching and is VERY patient!

Then it was just a matter of selecting the beads and crystals, stringing them on and wire wrapping them and the brooch to the cuff base with 24 gauge wire. It gets a little bit fiddly at times, but the end result is gorgeous.