The wonderful thing about crafting and making wonderful stuff is that the stuff we start with doesn’t have to be particularly amazing in order for the end result to be terrific.

This graceful crystal and wire  necklace started with just a strand of crystals that were on sale at my local craft store.

Add a bit of chain, a few jump rings and a little wire wrapping know-how, and you’ve got something rather special.

So, what simple stuff is in your crafting space, just waiting to be made into something amazing?

Happy creating!

Materials:

• 11 crystal beads
• chain in the following lengths: two at 7 inches, two at 1.5 inches, one each at 3.5 inches and 2 inches
• spool of 22 gauge wire
• jump rings
• lobster clasp
• two pair chain nose pliers
• round nose pliers
• wire cutters

Note: These are the supplies required to make the 32-inch necklace pictured, but feel free to adapt the technique to suit your own personal taste and materials on hand.

Instructions:

To make wire-wrapped bead:  

1. Without cutting wire from spool, slide a bead onto wire. Grasp wire with round nose pliers 1 inch from end of wire. Form a loop around pliers (wires should be perpendicular to each other).
2. Hold loop with chain nose pliers and coil wrap 1-inch end around wire. Trim end with wire cutters and tuck in. Slide bead up to meet coils.
3. Use chain nose pliers to grasp wire just at point where it exits bead. Bend wire at 90-degree angle. Grasp bend with round nose pliers and wrap wire around pliers as far as possible to start to make a loop. Reposition pliers to finish loop. Keep round nose pliers in loop and wrap wire several times around wire above bead. Trim off wire and use chain nose pliers to tuck end in. File wire ends smooth if necessary.

To attach length of chain or another wire wrapped bead:

1. After completing step 1, slide end link of chain or loop of wire-wrapped bead into loop just formed. Proceed with steps 2 and 3.
2. To complete necklace, make two sets of three wrapped crystals and two sets of two wrapped crystals. Alternate wrapped crystal units with smaller lengths of chain, using jump rings to attach when necessary. Attach a 7-inch length of chain to each end. Attach a lobster clasp to one end and a jump ring to the other to complete.

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