Simple Hammered Wire Earrings

T.G.I.F.  Seriously.  This week has been a killer!  But it’s slated to be a gorgeous weekend around here, and I also have a fabulous new accessory to show you how to make today.  All this craziness in my household has translated to MUST USE HAMMER.  I’ve been playing around with a few hammered wire designs lately, and I finally hit on a design and supplies that I feel 100% comfortable encouraging beginners to try out – I’m excited to share with you how to make hammered wire jewelry.  I started with earrings today, but I love them so much you better believe this will be part of a matched set, I’m thinking next week I’ll play with a few other designs!

The aluminum wire is different than what I’ve seen other working with out  there.  I’ve tried my hand at a few silver plated copper wire designs, but they just didn’t turn out that well for me and I wasn’t comfortable saying to you guys, “here’s how you do it!” when I wasn’t thrilled with my own results.  So.  I’ve done some experimenting and now that I have a project I’m in love with… well, you’re welcome.  Haha.

What you will need:

• 12-gauge aluminum wire (you may have to try the floral department for this?)
• chasing hammer
• bench block (or anvil)
• wire cutters
• nylon pliers (optional, but helpful for straightening your wire off the coil)
• 1/16″ hole punch
• earring wires

The thing about banging on metal is, the impact hardens it.  So this aluminum wire starts out really soft, but as you flatten and texturize it, you’ll have a much harder element to add to your designs.

First, if you’re working off a coil, you may want to straighten your wire with nylon pliers before you get started.  Any curve in your wire will be retained once you start banging on it.  Maybe that’s a look you’re going for, and if so, hey – that’s cool!  But I wanted a slightly straighter start.  It will take on a more organic shape once you start manipulating it but I wanted it as straight as possible to start.

Cut off two equal-length pieces of wire.  I cut mine about 1.25 inches but this is really up to you and your tastes.

Now, it’s time to bang on stuff.  I started at the ends of each piece, flattening with the flat end of my hammer.  The flatter it gets, the wider it gets, and that’s what will accommodate a hole being punched.  I also hammered the center, but not as much, so it’s got a thinner appearance in the middle.  Once I had a shape and size I liked, I turned my hammer over and texturized with the rounded side.  Finally I popped a small (1/16″) hole in one end with my screw-down hole punch.  (If you have a hand punch, that’s fine too – this is just what I have for making holes.)

Then, just attach earring wires to each piece.

In just ten minutes, you get to take a hammer to something, form it and bend it to your will, and then put it on as a fabulous accessory.  That’s my kinda project!

You’ve got this sort of free-form metal appearance that’s both unique and easy.  And aluminum wire is really inexpensive, so if you need to practice a couple times before you get a pair of bars you like the looks of together, that’s okay!

What do you think?  Does it make you want to hammer on metal too?