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01/27/2014

Easy Wire “Love” Necklace

If you enjoy working with wire, then I have an easy jewelry idea that makes a great handmade Valentine’s Day gift, or a fun something to wear on date night.  Wire crafting is a pretty inexpensive craft once you have made your initial investment in jewelry pliers and it’s one of my favorite mediums, honestly!  You can manipulate wire exactly how you want it.  Today, I spelled a simple sentiment:

Easy Wire "Love" Necklace at www.happyhourprojects.com

Nearly anything you can write in cursive can be formed from wire as well.  What you will need:

Easy Wire "Love" Necklace at www.happyhourprojects.com

  • 16- or 18-gauge wire (I used 18 for this project, but 16 would also make a nice sturdy form).  I like using silver plated copper wire for most of my jewelry projects.
  • Round nosed pliers
  • Wire cutters
  • Chain, jump rings, and a clasp (I have a heavy chain pictured above but it didn’t match once I was finish, I ended up using 2mm chain for a more delicate look)
  • Flat pliers

First, cut a length of wire.  I used about 6 inches for mine, but it will depend on how large you make your letters and how long of a word you want to spell out.  It’s always easier to trim your wire down when you are finished; you can’t add more if it’s too short.  So cutting off 8-10 inches isn’t a bad idea.

Use your round pliers to help you form your letters.  There’s really not a specific technique to this – just start bending!  Your pliers are helpful in creating the sharper bends and keeping the wire nice and round.

Easy Wire "Love" Necklace at www.happyhourprojects.com

Once you have it how you like it, you will finish off the ends by looping them around your round pliers, and trim off the ends.  Let me show you.

Easy Wire "Love" Necklace at www.happyhourprojects.com

The key here is to make these ends long enough so that they rise up higher than the small letters.  That way, when you wear the necklace, it won’t flip upside down – it keeps the bulk of the wire below the level where it attaches to your chain.  I just wrapped it twice, then nipped off the end of the wire.

Easy Wire "Love" Necklace at www.happyhourprojects.com

Now, attach the word to the chain.  I cut 2 chains about 7-1/2 inches long (to make a short, 16-inch necklace), attached them to each side, and finished them off with a clasp.  You can also use a pre-made 16 or 18 inch chain.  Just cut a length of chain the same length as your word out from the center of the chain, and attach the ends.

Easy Wire "Love" Necklace at www.happyhourprojects.com

I have to make a quick apology that I haven’t gone into as much detail as I normally do on my tutorials today, I’ve got a toddler sitting here who keeps wanting to press all the letters on the keyboard that she knows, haha.  For anyone who knows their way around wire, you probably don’t need much explanation, but if this is your first go with it, you may have questions.  If that’s the case please feel free to leave questions in the comments and I’ll be back to answer them – or email me!  Wire work is really a lot of fun, and you can do so many things with it!

Adrianne Signature

Filed Under: Fashion, Jewelry, Necklaces, Seasonal, Tutorials, Valentine's Day Tagged With: easy, gifts, love, Valentine's Day, wire

copyright policy and terms of use

I love it when you love my work! All tutorials and photos published at Happy Hour Projects are copyrighted. If you would like to feature my tutorial on your website or share it on your social media you may use one photo to feature, as long as you provide a link back to the original post.

If you feature a photo, it may not be accompanied by the project tutorial or recipe, whether in my own words as it originally appears or paraphrased by you. This also includes personal sharing on social media and Pinterest. Publishing multiple photos from a project, or including instructions with an accompanying photo are not permitted and you will be asked to remove them.

I love to share my projects, and my tutorials, recipes, and e-books are ALL free for your personal use. However, photos and ideas that are published to this site are my protected intellectual property. You may print them at home, but please do not copy or distribute them. I also allow all designs to be made and sold at fundraisers, craft fairs, etc. If you are selling a piece made from one or more of my free tutorials in your online shop, I require that you use your own, original photography, and include a link back to my website to credit me as the designer.

I hope you enjoy what you read here, and please be fair when you share!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Michelle says

    02/03/2014 at 9:34 pm

    Think I actually have all of the tools to complete this project, so it won’t require a trip to the craft store. Yay! What a great idea. Thanks for Sharing, Adrianne!

    Reply
  2. Amanda (Moming About) says

    01/28/2014 at 12:18 pm

    I’ve really, really wanted to get into jewelry making. This is absolutely lovely! I had never considered working with wire!

    Reply
  3. Marilyn says

    01/28/2014 at 8:24 am

    Adrianne, my life is finally settling down so I hope to get some of the great jewelry making goodies I purchased from Consumer Crafts out and create some bling this weekend!

    Reply
  4. Tara says

    01/28/2014 at 3:19 am

    Adrianne – this is beautiful! I’m pinning this ASAP.

    Reply
  5. Tiff says

    01/28/2014 at 1:19 am

    I love it! You always have fantastic jewelry tutorials. I think I’ll repurpose this on my blog tomorrow and link back to you! Thanks, lady!

    Reply
  6. Kara says

    01/27/2014 at 8:24 pm

    This is beautiful, Adrianne! You always have such awesome jewelry!!

    Reply
  7. Kathy says

    01/27/2014 at 8:12 pm

    Very pretty! I have all of the supplies, thinking I might do some jewelry making during the next two snow days. YAY Sometimes I have a little “helper” at the keyboard too and I am in “just publish this” mode. lol

    Reply
  8. Michelle says

    01/27/2014 at 9:55 am

    Wow, I would love to be able to make these but not sure I could. While I’m crafty wire and I dont always get along. Love it!

    Reply
  9. Melanie says

    01/27/2014 at 9:53 am

    Cute! These kind of necklaces seem to be very popular!

    Reply

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Hello, and welcome! I'm Adrianne, an artist, author, designer, and blogger in mid Michigan. I work from home, chase my two kids, and this once-city-girl is learning how to care for chickens and adjusting to life out in the country. I have a compulsion for daily creativity... sometimes it's jewelry-making, paper crafting, metal stamping, mixing and baking, or giving new life to recycled items. But with 2 young kids, time is short! My goal here at Happy Hour Projects is to share projects and tips that you can do in an hour or less. The ideas you find here are designed to add a little creativity in your day, no matter how much (or how little) time you have!

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