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Silver Sea Urchin Bracelet Tutorial
Created by: Polly Nobbs-LaRue
Designer Tips
Memory wire is steel, and unkind to most jewelry tools.
Use heavy-duty flush cutters to cut the desired length: Most memory wire bracelets are 3-5 coils. The design pictured is about 3.5 coils. Tip: Flush cutters cut the wire flat, rather than pointed, so you don't have to file the end flat (flush).
Use memory-wire bending pliers (or other strong round-nose pliers) to make a loop at one end of the wire.
String a bit more than one full coil's worth of the silver "cornerless" cube beads (1 coil plus about 7 beads). Push to the end.
String a bit more than one full coil's worth of the bronze tube beads (1 coil plus about 5 beads). - Important Note - Dec 2017: Current batch of bronze tube beads has TINY holes that do not fit on memory wire!
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String silver cornerless (corner-cut) cube beads to almost the end; leave just enough wire for the final loop.
Make the final loop.
Place a 10mm crystal sea urchin stone in a setting. Use your fingers or nylon-jaw pliers to begin pressing the points of the "crown" evenly over the stone.
Finish by using a burnishing tool (or the rounded smooth end of a Sharpie marker) to smooth all the points firmly down over the stone.
Repeat with other stone.
Use the memory-wire pliers to twist an end loop slightly open, just enough to slip the setting onto. Completely re-close the loop. Optional: Use a jump ring for more freedom of movement.
