March 3, 2011

Wire Crafts!

March 3, 2011

Since it’s been raining we’ve found new ways to busy ourselves inside. New crafts, new projects as well as new recipes. I’ve been planning the garden, which is mapped out and all into place. Some seeds are already planted this week as they take longer to germinate, other will wait another week or so before I start them. You should plant them about 6 weeks indoors before the last frost date, or outdoors after the danger of frost has passed. With the crazy way the weathers been around here, I’m gearing up to be keeping them inside for awhile. Last year they were pelted with hail, several times. Not a pretty sight to see poor defenseless seedlings bent over in half.

While planning the garden , I came up with another project, this one started when I saw this wonderful garden sculpture of just beads, wire and marbles several weeks ago. My kids are always picking up beads, buttons, rocks, just little items that end up filling up a box and sitting around. So I suddenly had an idea of what to do with all those little items that my kids collect!

This is what I came up with, My Wire Butterfly

I made a couple others as well, that hopefully will be made into one piece in the end. Still not sure, I’m just being crafty and making them as I can. You’ll all just have to stay tuned to see the project when it’s finished 🙂

Supplies needed to make a wire butterfly

beads of different shapes and colors
wooden thread spool or any other beads that can be long enough for the body
12 gauge crafting wire
18 gauge crafting wire
wire cutters (do not use scissors)
nylon jaw pliers

I didn’t measure these out which I should have. Whatever piece your using for the body, before cutting the wire, thread the wire up through it, leave about two inches for the antennas. Now make a small loop for the bottom wing to the butterfly and just an extra inch to wrap around the body. This is how I measured how much I needed, after that step I took the wire back out and cut wire to match it’s length .  The same steps are made to make the top two bigger wings, only you don’t leave so much hanging out. I looped about the half inch or extra wire around the bottom two wings. 

Step one, Thread the wire up through the body of your butterfly, make a small loop , before wrapping the end around the body. If the end piece is in front you can always cut it or curl it securely around the body so it doesn’t stick out.  Repeat to make the second wing.

Twist the two wires together to secure on the back of the spool

Repeat the same two steps for the bottom wings only instead of threading up the spool, thread down so the ends are sticking out the bottom. Loop to make the wing, and curl around the body just as the other wings. Once the wings are in place, twist the wire hanging out the bottom of the body around the bottom small wings.
I used two small beads for the antennas, just thread them on,  using pliers twist the wire gently around to make a small loop and secure the beads in place.
Using 18 gauge craft wire (I used blue and red) twist around the wings in different directions. If your using beads and any other items to decorate the butterfly place them on the wire before you start bending as it won’t be easy once the wire is bent. The kids can do most of this, but the edges can be sharp. Do not use scissors, use wire cutters. Once you’ve completed wrapping and using the beads twist the wire up in the back and make sure to flatten it down against the body so it’s not poking out. Now you have a Wire butterfly!

Stay tuned for other other wire crafts 🙂

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