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Pictures speak louder than beads even 
…updated every Tuesday…
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I didn’t want you to miss the Tuesday Tunes I’ve been putting up on Facebook!
BAD BAD LEROY BROWN
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Wire-wrapped Aurora Borealis Swarovski Crystal Pear Briolettes
I love briolettes! I love them in all shapes, sizes, colors and materials. So what is a briolette? A briolette is a pear or teardrop-shaped bead that is faceted and tip-drilled. Some briolettes are flat and some are round, kind of like a ball that comes to a point on one end. When they are flat, the hole can either be front to back or side to side.
There are several great ways to make jewelry using briolettes. You can use bails, simply string them onto necklaces (big ones make great center pendants) or you can take it to the next level with wire-wrapping! Wire-wrapping a briolette, or any tip-drilled bead or pendant, really transforms a piece into a one-of-kind creation. And though it’s a little tricky to get the hang of at first, the payoff is well worth it.
My favorite wire to work with is 22 gauge Artistic Wire in Gunmetal finish. The actual color on this wire is more of an antique brass than gunmetal, and looks great paired with antique brass findings such as those found in the Vintaj line.
The first thing to consider when wire-wrapping is what kind of wire you want to use. If you are new to wire -wrapping I recommend using an inexpensive Artistic Wire to practice. Anything from a 20 gauge to a 24 gauge works well. (20 gauge being the thickest, 24 gauge being the thinnest, and 22 gauge in the middle). Because this technique takes practice, it is good to learn on an affordable wire, since you will inevitably have to re-do your wraps several times to reach perfection.
An assortment of briolettes in crystal and gemstones
The next thing to consider is the briolette that you want to wrap. Flat shapes are the easiest to learn on because the edge on the pendant will hold your wire in place better. It is also good to start with a larger briolette, something that is over 15mm in length is ideal.
To begin you will need a briolette, wire, round nose pliers, chain nose pliers, and semi-flush cutter.
Cut a piece of wire about 18 inches in length. It is better to have too much wire than too little. On one side of the wire, create a bend of about 45 degrees using your chain nose pliers two inches in.
Slide your briolette down the wire until it is snug against the angle you have made in the wire.
Bring the long side of the wire up and using your chain nose pliers, pinch the two pieces of wire together snuggly against the point of the briolette.
Take the longer piece of wire and fold it over so it is horizontal. The short piece of wire should be vertical from the center of the top of the briolette and the long piece of wire should be perpendicular to the short piece. Begin wrapping the long piece of wire around the short piece, using your finger to guide the wire and keep it snug.
Slowly work the wire downward. Let the previous wire guide you down the briolette. I like to wrap the wire down until you have covered the hole in the briolette, but it is your preference.
Once you have wrapped down the pendant as far as you like, you want to bring that wire back up to the top of the pendant to secure it. The easiest way to do this is in one swift movement, using your finger to guide the wire after you come around an edge on the briolette. Wrap the wire around the shorter segment of wire at the top a few times to secure your wrap in place.
Use your semi-flush cutters to cut the wire short, and use your chain nose pliers to tuck any excess wire.
You are now left with a wrapped briolette that has a 2 inch piece of wire coming out vertically from the center of the pendant. Simply use your round nose pliers to make a wrapped loop with this piece of wire. Again use your semi-flush cutters to trim the excess wire and use your chain nose pliers to tuck the excess piece of wire.
Now you can take your completed piece and add it your jewelry however you like! Pair it with some sparkly crystals or use a wire wrapped briolette as a large focal pendant on a necklace. The possibilities are endless. Once you get your wire wrapping skills down, you can wrap all different beads and pendants that are tip-drilled.
Completed Wire-wrapped Briolettes
Wire-wrapped Briolettes topped off with clusters of Swarovski Crystal Rondelles!
Wire-wrapped Feather Bone Pendants, Amazonite Briolettes with Bronze wire, and Czech Glass Teardrops with antique bronze buttons from the craft store!
Please feel free to ask me any questions you may have about wire-wrapping or any of the beads pictured here! Have fun wrapping!
Tiffany
PS: here are some handy links to some other how-to’s in the Rings & Things blog!
Kameron used a Coiling Gizmo to make beads out of 22-gauge Artistic Wire for this bracelet
Whether you already love making jewelry with colored wire or you’d like to start, these new sampler packs from Artistic Wire are the perfect way to add color – maybe even LOTS of color – to your designs.
Buy the Dozen sampler packs of Artistic Wire
Each Buy the Dozen package contains – you guessed it – a dozen 5-yard spools of the same gauge wire, each in a different color. These packs are a great value. Even at the affordable price of $5.40 per spool (for 24-gauge silver plated), buying 12 colors would cost almost $65, vs. just $19 for the sampler.
The silver-plated Artistic Wire is slightly more expensive than standard Artistic Wire, but that little bit of silver really does make the colors significantly lighter and brighter. They also happen to coordinate quite nicely with the Pantone Color Fashion forecast for spring 2011.
Kameron's Pink Sprocket earrings are based on a design featured in Totally Twisted.
Since all Artistic Wire is pure copper underneath, it is super easy to work with. Which gauge to use is partly a matter of personal preference, but in general 20 gauge is good for making links and ear wires, while finer gauges (22, 24 and 26) are nice for making decorative coils. 28 gauge is sometimes used for wire crochet.
We also have dozens of jewelry-making books, but a current staff favorite for working with colored wire is Totally Twisted by Kerry Bogert.
Let us know what you think of our new wire variety packs. Are there other products you’d like to see packaged in assortments like these?
Cymbals of Happiness bracelet by Sondra: stamped, textured and domed copper and brass disks make a tinkling charm bracelet.
It took me awhile to accept “dapping” as a real word. Even now that I am obsessed with dapping every flat piece of metal that crosses my path, I still find the term awkward. Spell check, ignoring the facts as usual, still doesn’t believe.
In jewelry making, dapping simply means taking a flat piece of metal and curving it into a dome with special dies and punches, called a dapping set. The dapping block (or die if you prefer) has a series of concave impressions that correspond in size with the dapping punches.
Simply place your metal piece in the block and use a hammer (preferably brass) to repeatedly tap the punch into the metal. I say tap because your goal is to gently bend the metal into a smooth, even curve. If you just whack as hard as you can, the metal won’t shape up evenly.
The entire piece of metal needs to fit inside the impression, not sit on top like in this picture.
Here the metal pieces are inside the impressions, ready to be dapped.
Another tip: don’t hammer straight down on your metal. Hold the dapping punch at and angle, and tap tap tap with your hammer, turning your metal after every few taps to ensure that it is shaping up nicely.
For best results, keep rotating the die and the metal.
As you dap (tap, dome, whatever!), the height of the metal piece increases, while the width decreases. So after you’ve dapped as much as you can in one impression, you can move the metal into the next smallest hole and dap it with the next smallest punch to get a deeper dome.
Doming adds a professional quality to your work. Even just a slight curve instantly makes a metal disk reflect more light.
Just a few taps is all it takes!
Brass, copper, aluminum and sterling silver are all excellent soft metals to dap (most of my images are of raw brass blanks). Even copper coins can all be dapped, although coins are thick and will require you to apply a bit more muscle. If you want to stamp, texture, punch holes, or otherwise adorn your metal (and you will!) do all that before you dap for beautiful results:
Use stamps to monogram brass disks for easy, elegant earrings.
Dapped pieces can be layered too, like on my copper and brass ring.
One word of warning – you might need to upgrade your photography equipment to get good pictures of your dapped jewelry! I think the only way to get a clear picture of Mollie’s “God Save the Queen” necklace would be to use a professional light box. The domed Canadian penny is amazingly reflective. Since my photo-editing software lacks a “rhinestone-reflection remover tool,” this is as good of a shot as I could get. Believe me, the necklace is stunning in person!
A domed penny, brass filigree and snippet of rhinestone chain, all soldered onto a brass disk, forms the centerpiece.
I know you are quicker on the uptake than my computer: add dapping to your jewelry-making vocabulary today! ~ Cindy
PS: here are some handy links to some other how-to’s in the Rings & Things blog!
