Shell Crafts

Shell Crafts around shells. There's free-form wrapping, where no pattern is involved. Most wire wrapped jewelry, however, involves patterned techniques. Surface looping is a knitting-based technique featured in the Mexican flat scallop shell pendant, and basket-weaving in the round is featured in the lantern-caged true harp shell pendant. No matter which technique you choose, Tools used for making jewelry. Top to it's important to first bottom: chain nose pliers, flush cutter, round nose pliers Wire wrapped shell jewelry acquire a general understanding of the properties and characteristics of wire DIY Shell Jewelry: so that you know which ones to choose for your wire shell capture project. Wire Shell Capture Most of us are familiar with round wire, but wire comes by Lily Rose in other shapes: half-round, square, flat and twisted, all of which lie differently against your shell and provide distinct ire shell capture is the process of design elements. Most beginner projects use basic round setting shells into a caged frame W wire which is what I used for all the designs featured in using wire-wrapping techniques. Wire this article. provides one of the most beautiful When purchasing wire, check for its gauge, hardness, ways to "capture" the beauty of a shell malleability and rigidity. Gauge refers to the thickness because it can be bent, shaped and of the wire. Thin wire in 28 and 24 gauge is mostly used textured in numerous ways, allowing for wrapping. The thicker gauges- 22, 20, 18 and 16- are you to showcase as much of your shell generally used to create wire frames around which to wrap as possible within a frame. th~ thinner wires. Wire sizing can be a bit confusing; the Wire in one or two gauges th1nner the wire, the higher its gauge number. (thicknesses) and three basic tools are all you need to get Hardness refers to the ease with which the wire can started in making beautiful wire-wrapped shell jewelry. be ~hape~ and indented and will impact how well your Although many books and videos are available, I find live, proJect w1ll present. Malleability refers to the ability of a hands-on instruction most helpful. The tools you'll need are chain nose pliers with pointed tips that are smooth and flat on the inside to help you grip the wire; round nose pliers which have conical tips for creating loops and a flush cutter with sharp angled tips to cut the wire and cut into tight coiled spaces. It's important that your cutter cut through at least 16 gauge wire. I'll discuss wire gauge later in the article. Optional tools include a hammer and steel block if you want to flatten or texture your wire. You can also use a micro-torch to melt the ends of your wire for balled tips. There are numerous ways to wrap wire Charm bracelet with wire wrapped shells 77th Annual Sanibel Shell Festival - 52 Shell Crafts Basket weave in the flat wrapped Ca/ococh/ia festiva pink snail Basket weave in the round Candy cane snail orbit wrap shell lantern wrap true harp pendant Olive shell candy wrap metal to be flattened without splitting or breaking and shell because of its globular comes into play if you want to hammer your wire flat for shape and hollow D-shaped a tapered look. Rigidity, the opposite of malleability, is opening. The apex or "eye" important in cage-building so that the wire does not have of the shark's eye is its any give and can retain its shape. most distinctive feature, so In building the lantern cage for my true harp shell finding a way to wrap the pendant, I used half-hard 16 gauge wire for the spokes shell without covering the to create a sturdy frame and dead-soft 24 gauge wire for eye can be tricky. Though weaving around the spokes. generally sturdy, the thinner After understanding about the properties and edges of the shark's eye can characteristics of wire, you'll need to determine if you want to easily crack when handling use craft wire or precious metal wire. Both have pros and cons. during wire-wrapping. The pros of craft wire are that it's economical and comes I designed a demi-lune in a multitude of vibrant colors such as magenta, fuchsia, herringbone cradle for my Flat basket weave fighting conch sea foam and amethyst, to name a few. It's usually made shark's eye pendant using cross-section pendant of a soft copper metal base covered in colored plating. brass-colored 18 gauge craft Colored wire is useful in creating contrast or camouflage in wire and 22 gauge, dead soft, pure silver wire. This design your designs. For example, I used blue craft wire to create provides a sturdy cage, while still allowing the beautiful contrast in the flat basket weave fighting conch cross bands of the shell and its apex to show. I used brown section pendant. I used black craft wire to create an orbit leather and brass beads to complete a uniquely rustic look. wrap which blended in with the spiraling black lines of the If you're short on time or patience, you can purchase Shell ornate candy cane snail shell pendant. Wrappers which are unique metal frames with grooved The downside to craft wire is that the color coating can edges. The grooves allow you to wrap thin wire around the be easily nicked by your tools revealing the copper wire frame to instantly create a little cage for small shells. They base. This can be disheartening if you nick the wire near come in four shapes and in two finishes -brass or silver - the end of a lengthy wire-wrapping project, requiring you and can be used as pendants for necklaces or as charms as in to start over. ' -... the easy, sea-side themed charm bracelet I created. Precious metal wire is ideal for smoother lines and a Finally, if you're not into wearing shells as jewelry, you more sophisticated look, as in the herringbone-wrapped can use wire to showcase your shells inside ornate wire olive shell pendant. The only downside is the ever-rising stands. All you need to do is create a lantern cage using price of precious metal. However, if you can make the basket weave in the round as in my true harp pendant investment, it's worth it. Pure silver wire is my favorite example. Just leave the bottom spokes extended instead of because one can melt the wire ends with a micro torch curled into coils so that the cage can stand on a flat surface. to create balled tips. It also doesn't tarnish, which is an Wire shell capture offers innumerable design options advantage over using sterling silver wire which quickly for showcasing your beautiful Sanibel and Captiva shells. tarnishes because of its copper content. Basic instruction, simple tools and a rainbow of colored One of the hardest aspects of caging shells is wire options are all you need to make your next one-of-a determining which type of wrap is best suited for the shape kind shell jewelry creation. For more information about any of your shell. As you may already know, our local shells technique, contact Lily Rose at info@thesanibelbeadshop. come in numerous shapes, sizes and levels of fragility. com. JP'" The shark's eye is a popular, but particularly challenging 77th Annual Sanibel Shell Festival - 53 .

Load more