5 Absolutely Remarkable Wire Jewelry Ideas To Make Today

Last Updated on January 8, 2020 by Katherine

Earlier this year, I got into wire wrapping as a jewelry-making technique (you can see my earlier post with earrings here). So this week’s post is expanding a little bit from just earrings as I had some great beads that I wanted to use to make pendants.

I like wire wrapping because you don’t need to spend a fortune on beads as they often are just accents, and the actual wire design is the focal point in your jewelry!

Where to Shop:

I have a vast collection of jewelry making supplies, so it can be hard at times to track where I bought that particular bead or finding. However, here are my favorite places to find jewelry-making supplies:

• Michaels
• Wal-Mart
• Amazon
• Create For Less (Affiliate Link)
• Local Dollar Store

If you have a local bead store or want to check out other online sites like eBay or LetGo, you can sometimes find some unique supplies there, but the above five are my main go-to places.

What You’ll Want to Buy:

• Round Nose Pliers (Check out my earlier post about different pliers and their uses)
• Jewelry wire (specifically 20 and 24 gauge)
• Closures (if you buy certain chains, they may come with these!)
• Jewelry chains
• Split rings
• Earring hooks
• Beads 

I used gold, copper, blue 4and silver with my designs this time. There are no limits when you’re designing your own jewelry, so let’s look at the designs I found for you this week!

Cool Earrings

I found this earring design on Emerging Creativity Tutorials. These earrings look complicated, but they were reasonably easy to make. I began with four lengths of wire of the same size and beads that were looped off with a headpin. Then I looped the headpin onto two of the wires and then formed a loop in the middle. Finally, I made smaller loops on the ends. Repeat with the other two, except you won’t be attaching beads to them. You should have four “triangle” shapes.

I had only one size of split rings, so I think if I make these again, I will find smaller split rings. Use the split rings to attach a beaded “triangle” at the smaller loops on the ends to the non-beaded “triangle.”

Now you need to add earring hooks to the top of your earrings, and they are ready for you to wear!

Braided Bracelet (or a Ring!)

Instructables has a ring tutorial that inspired this bracelet idea. Begin with two wires, one double the length of the other. With the longer wire, make a loop in the middle and then attach the second wire to that loop.

Now you braid the wire (just like you would someone’s hair) and add a small bead where you like. Instead of a ring, I lengthed my chain into a bracelet. Because the 20 gauge wire is thicker, you don’t necessarily need a closure, but you can add a hook in if you prefer. If you’re doing a ring, loop the working end into the loop you made at the beginning and close it off.

Wire Wrapped Pendant

I love the ease of making this pendant, and you can see other examples of beadwork at Moms And Crafters. You begin with your smaller (24 gauge wire), making the loop where your chain can attach and then grabbing six beads of your choice and stringing them on. Then you twist the end around your loop to close it off.

Next, you take your thicker wire (20 gauge), loop one end around the circle, and then begin to randomly loop around the beads until you’re happy with your design. Now you need your chain, and your necklace is ready to wear!

Leafy Like Pendant

I’ve seen numerous styles of this pendant on Pinterest; I chose to do mine sort of in a zig-zag pattern. Begin by making a loop that will top your pendant. Next string a crystal bead of your choice (or whatever bead you like) along and then loop it to secure it on the pendant, continue to do this, leaving a little bit of wire between each bead (to form the “branches”) until you are satisfied with the size. You can bend the wire into whatever arrangement you like, and I just went with the zig-zag like pattern.

“Cage” Pendant

This one is another pendant. If you have a lovely stone that doesn’t have any beading holes in it, a wire is a perfect way to make it into jewelry without having to resort to figuring out how to make a hole in it.

I began with a loop at the top as usual, and then I looped around the side of my crystal and then the front and back (creating a loose cage). Then I took my wire and wrapped it horizontally along the length, ending with wrapping right along the bottom.

I realized after I wrapped that I didn’t have a gold chain so that I’ll add later!

There are no limits with wire jewelry!

Wire jewelry is interesting in that it can be a complex or as simple as you like, and the result is equally as stunning. The main trick to wire wrapping is to practice your loops with your round nose pliers. Once you’ve got those handled, the rest I’ve found is much easier. 

I hope this article inspired you to go off and make your own wire jewelry, if it did, let me know down below in the comments and of course, please share this post on your favorite social media platform and pin it to Pinterest!

And if you’d like to snag a free copy of my crafting checklist to plan out your own jewelry projects (or any crafting project really), be sure to sign up for my email community below. It’s free of spam, and you can opt-out at any time!

That’s all for this week, and I hope you enjoyed it. Next week I’m doing a Christmas home decor post, so if you’re looking for inspiration to deck your halls for the holidays, be sure to tune in! Until then, stay crafty my friends!