For The Love of Beads BlogThe adventures of Suzanne, Nibbler, and friends in the world of beads and jewelry making crafts

Branching off into a new craft can be incredibly daunting – the first few attempts at learning a new skill always feel so strange, almost hopelessly awkward, but everyone has to start somewhere, right?

For me that ’somewhere’ was a pegboard. An essential tool for forming wire into shapes which can then be put together, the pegboard is relatively easy to use once you get the hang of it. The trick of it is that wire has a tendency to spring back and, therefore, closing a shape can be the hardest part.

In order to make this easier, I added an extra peg at the top of the design I wanted (as shown above). I used this extra peg as the anchor to begin my design and then removed it and twisted the two ends together:

This way I was able to lock the shape together without taking it off the board and ruining it. I then carefully rolled the twisted top down into a fancy loop for stringing!

After taking it off the pegboard, I put the form under a towel and hammered it lightly to harden the wire. This makes it hold its shape better and resist being pulled or twisted out. Make sure to smooth and flatten your pieces carefully before hammering them as any unevenness will be much harder to fix afterward.

Once I felt more comfortable, I was able to make a few pieces I am pretty happy with; at least they are good encouragement to keep at it!

These black wire and blue bead earrings remind me of a cloudy night sky, the wire seems to suggest a full moon, half covered by dark clouds.

I also used the pegboard to create a human form to wrap and make a small wire doll.

When she was finished, she just looked so goth and cute I had to make something appropriate to string her on.

I found some black leather strings lying around and thought they would look neat wrapped in red.  I love the final result, but I have always had a love for all things candy goth.

I am thoroughly enjoying this foray into new territory but I feel I must be more ambitious so over the next week I am going to sit down and wrap as many gems as possible until I feel somewhat competent. And then I will share some of my experiments with you in part 2!

Wirework is lots of fun and very rewarding – there are so many things you can create once you get comfortable. I recommend everyone buy some cheap wire and try it out for yourself if you haven’t yet – the possibilities are endless and fantastic!