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2/27/13 5:34 PMWire-Wrapped Tree Necklace
Page 1 of 25http://happyhourprojects.com/wire-wrapped-tree-necklace/
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07/12/2012
Wire-Wrapped Tree Necklace
I’ve gotten some comments recently about how often I use images of trees in my crafts. I really
do love trees. I know you have probably seen the wire-wrapped tree necklaces around (some
people call them Tree of Life necklaces) – so perhaps yet another tutorial is overkill… but I made
this little beauty for the Birthday Bash giveaway that starts tomorrow at SevenAlive, so I thought
I’d show you the how-to, since I was making it anyway!
This is going to be photo-heavy, but it’s not because it’s complicated – just difficult to explain,
and much easier to show you. If you checked out my Beaded Family Tree from a few weeks
ago, this is much the same – just on a smaller (wearable!) scale – it’s 1-1/2 inches from the bail
to the bottom of the pendant.
What you will need:
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...and welcome! I'm Adrianne. I'm a wife and amom who has a penchant for all things DIY. Ialso work full-time, so finding time for those funprojects can be a challenge!
Here at Happy Hour Projects, it's my goal tobring you tips and tricks you can do in an houror less, to simplify your life while making yourspace beautiful, your treats delicious, andadding a bit of creative fun to your day.Thanks so much for stopping by and I hopeyou visit again soon!
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2/27/13 5:34 PMWire-Wrapped Tree Necklace
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Around 30! of 24 gauge wire (I like to use a silver plated wire as a good mix
of economy and quality, but go with whatever you like) to make your tree
Around 5-6! of 18 or 20 gauge wire to form the base of the pendant
Stone chip beads (I used peridot for mine – you can find these at Hobby Lobby)
Ball chain or box chain
Wire tools: round pliers, wire cutters, nylon pliers, file – you can get by without some of these,
but it makes the job much easier
The first step is to prepare your wire. Trim up your 5-6! base wire (depending on what size you
ultimately want your necklace to be), and 6 – 5! tree wires (give or take, these are estimates).
They may be a little bent, so if that’s the case, I like to take my nylon pliers and pull them
through a few times to straighten them out.
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2/27/13 5:34 PMWire-Wrapped Tree Necklace
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See? Nice and straight now. You want all the bends out of your base wire if possible.
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The easiest way I have found to form the base is to find something that’s already the shape and
size you want, and wrap your wire around that. You can find special tools for this, or you can
just look around for something you might already have, like a pill bottle, or in my case – the cap
to my spray glue, which makes a nice 1-1/4 size circle.
Site Policies
I love it when you love my work! You may useany one photo from a post you enjoy here tobe featured on your site, as long as youprovide a link back to me and notify me eitherin the comments or with a direct email. If youfeature a photo, it may not be accompaniedby the project tutorial, whether in my ownwords as it originally appears or paraphrased. Ido not permit photos of my family to be sharedwithout my express written consent for eachphoto used.
I know that by publishing on the internet,anyone can see what I share, but it's still myintellectual property and it only belongs hereat Happy Hour Projects unless you get priorwritten permission from me for each post.
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~Adrianne
2/27/13 5:34 PMWire-Wrapped Tree Necklace
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This next bit is hard to explain and it might feel tricky at first, but I promise, it’s not as bad as it
sounds. I’ve found it’s easiest to make the bail of the necklace right now, rather than adding a
jump ring later. this is mainly because you can make it whatever size you want, and with it
being part of the necklace, you don’t have to worry later about soldering your jump ring or it
being strong enough over the long-term.
You’ll take one half of where your wires overlap, and wrap it around your round pliers (if you
have a pair). It doesn’t have to be perfectly round if this is something you’re just making for
yourself and it doesn’t matter to you – don’t buy a special set of pliers just for this project if
you’re not going to be doing a lot of wire wrapping.
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Now, take those little tails, and wrap them around the “neck” of the loop you just made. You’ll
probably have a little extra – I usually do.
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Just trim the excess off, and if you have a jewelry file, you will probably want to file the sharp
edge down too. Straighten your loop so that you’ll be able to run your chain through it. Now
you have a lovely round base to start work on!
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I usually bend my tree wires in half before I get started, you will be wrapping the centers around
the base of your pendant to create the trunk.
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I wrap each one about 3 times. If you want a wider-looking trunk, you can wrap it more, like 5
or 6 times or whatever you like the looks of. Do this with all your wires. You can also use more or
fewer wires than 6, if you think it needs to be a little more or less full – I just find 6 is usually a good
number to work with for the 1 – 1/4 inch size round frame I usually make.
Once they are all added, you can begin twisting them together to form your tree trunk.
2/27/13 5:34 PMWire-Wrapped Tree Necklace
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When you get to about the center of the circle, start separating your wires into the individual
branches.
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I like to keep a few together for a twist or two, to make thicker branches, before separating
them out to bead the leaves. This really makes your tree look more tree-like – but it will cut
down on the number of beads you’ll use. So test it out and see what you like best – whether
more tree or more beads.
Try to be somewhat random with your branch bends, it will look more natural that way. It can
be tough to vary something so small, but just play with it until you like how it looks.
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Now, you can begin beading. I tend to work my way up from the lowest branches, but I don’t
think it makes a difference.
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Add as many beads as you can fit. Then, wrap the end of your branch wire around the outer
wire a few times.
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Then you can just nip off the excess with your wire cutters. You may want to file the edge if it’s
still a little sharp. (Don’t let the photo below throw you, I turned it over to show you better – I
had to set it down to get a photo because I don’t have three hands.)
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Continue on to the next branch, and keep going with the lower branches. These brances were
spaced pretty close together, so they look decently “full”.
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If/when you run into space between branches that leaves a gap, you can fill it in with extra
beads.
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Instead of nipping off the wire after wrapping it on the outer edge, thread an additional bead
onto it. Position it to the inside of the circle, and then wrap your wire another couple times to
secure it.
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It’s hard to see, because it does blend in – but that’s the point.
Just keep doing that until you have filled in all your empty branches. One thing you will want to
be careful of is that when you wrap wire, it’s easy to get it too tight – which will distort your
circular frame. So as you work, keep an eye on it and make sure you haven’t pulled any of the
wires too tight. If you do – unwrap and re-wrap them, re-positioning your wires as necessary.
When it’s more filled in, you’ll probably need to use your pliers to thread your wire through and
to get it nice and snug.
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Now, all that’s left to do is string it on your chain!
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For this one, I have used a sterling silver ball chain, because it’s a giveaway piece and I like to
make sure it’s as hypo-allergenic as possible. Do you like it? You can enter to win it at Kadie’s
Birthday Bash at SevenAlive tomorrow! I’d love for one of my readers to get this piece. She has
a really nice lineup of sponsored prizes all day – so be sure to check them all out!
I link up to these great parties!
Posted by Adrianne ! 25 Comments
Filed Under: Jewelry, Tutorials !
Comments
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2/27/13 5:34 PMWire-Wrapped Tree Necklace
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Terry says:
07/12/2012 at 12:33 pm
Gorgeous. I don't think I've ever actually seen how to make one. Fabulous tutorial as
always!
REPLY
Liz says:
07/12/2012 at 12:44 pm
Wow, this is really beautiful! Liz
REPLY
Four Marrs and One Venus says:
07/12/2012 at 12:51 pm
Oh WOW! You really are so very Talented lady!! This is so pretty!!
REPLY
Robin says:
07/12/2012 at 1:14 pm
I love trees too, and this necklace is beautiful!
REPLY
Heather says:
07/12/2012 at 1:31 pm
Wow, wow, wow!! I've always loved your jewellery projects, but this one is the best by far!
Hope you'll share it on the All Star Block Party!!
P.S. Can we buy this anywhere?
REPLY
Morena Hockley says:
07/12/2012 at 2:13 pm
I love it!! Thanks for the great tutorial!
REPLY
Sarah Evans says:
07/12/2012 at 2:22 pm
This is totally awesome and it seems so simple too!! Thanks!!
Visiting via the Crafty Blogstalker Hop
Sarah
http://acatlikecuriosity.blogspot.co.uk
REPLY
Jessi W says:
07/12/2012 at 4:09 pm
2/27/13 5:34 PMWire-Wrapped Tree Necklace
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Aaaahhh I was looking at this tutorial this morning, it's amazing! I'm so glad you shared it at
The Fun In Functional! I'm no good at making jewelry, but I love this tree and it looks simple
enough, so maybe I'll try my hand at it
REPLY
SweetPepperRose says:
07/12/2012 at 4:27 pm
All I can say is Love It!
JoAnn
REPLY
Melanie says:
07/12/2012 at 5:04 pm
Lovely! Maybe I can win it! haha
REPLY
meet.make.laugh. says:
07/12/2012 at 5:09 pm
This is really beautiful! And I really like your pictures…. they make it easy to follow along.
REPLY
Heidi Fowler says:
07/12/2012 at 7:39 pm
This is so beautiful! You have quite a talent. Please come visit my linky party tomorrow at
OneCreativeMommy.com. I'd love for you to link up this idea and/or anything else you'd
like to share. That necklace is amazing.
REPLY
Dot says:
07/12/2012 at 8:28 pm
Absolutely beautiful!!
REPLY
Earning-My-Cape says:
07/12/2012 at 10:40 pm
Hi! Very pretty and great tutorial! I just pinned this so I can show my oldest daughter. She
loves doing wire crafts and jewelry!
I'd like to invite you to join in A Crafter's Dream Group Giveaway, hosted by My Merry Messy
Life, Little Becky Homecky, and me. Each blogger is offering her/his own giveaway worth
$25 or more. Please stop by and check out the details!
http://earning-my-cape.blogspot.com/2012/07/crafters-dream-join-our-group-
giveaway.html
I hope to see you there!
~Susie~
REPLY
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Kara at Petals to Picots says:
07/12/2012 at 11:05 pm
Love, love, love!
REPLY
Brooke Arellano says:
07/13/2012 at 3:31 am
This is great! Thank you for the share, I love how you so clearly explained each step. I
sometimes find crafts hard to follow from online instructions, but you made it seem so
simple, can't wait to try! Stopping by from the hop and am now your newest follower:) Hope
you can come check out Crazy Mama Drama !
http://crazy-mama-drama.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Crazy-Mama-Drama/259491484156846
REPLY
Hannah Gonzalez says:
07/13/2012 at 12:25 pm
I love this – it's just beautiful! Thanks you for sharing! I am now a follower of Happy hour! I
hope you can come visit me at Eat.Love.Inspire for more fun and creative crafts!
http://www.eatloveinspire.blogspot.com
REPLY
Vanina says:
07/14/2012 at 3:09 am
Wow! This is wonderful, Adrianne! I love it. Can't wait to try it
REPLY
Emily says:
07/17/2012 at 2:11 pm
I have a thing for trees too. I even have a board started on Pinterest. And I'm pinning this to
it.
REPLY
Aunt B says:
07/17/2012 at 10:26 pm
What a smart, pretty project! Thank you for sharing your tutorial. I'm looking forward to trying
this one myself.
REPLY
Jess from Coxs Corner says:
07/18/2012 at 2:13 pm
This is INCREDIBLE! I really like it and I am definitely going to give it a try. I totally just pinned
this yesterday, and then I saw your link at a linky party and I had to come over and let you
know how AMAZING I think this is. You are SO creative. I'm excited to be your newest
follower!
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REPLY
Full Circle Creations says:
07/18/2012 at 7:46 pm
This looks just lovely. My mom would love this. Thanks for sharing at the All Star Block Party.
Holly
REPLY
Heather says:
07/24/2012 at 10:55 pm
And because I love this so much, it's being featured on the All Star Block Party!
REPLY
Trackbacks
Made In Toys Blog says:
11/18/2012 at 4:10 pm
This Necklace Good…
[...] e my intellectual property, unless otherwise noted (for example, as in the case [...]…
REPLY
Antique Black Pearl Necklaces Blog says:
01/30/2013 at 7:40 pm
Wire Wrapped Crystal Necklaces…
[...] it’s my goal to bring you tips and tricks you can do in an hour or less, to simp [...]…
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