The Wired Nautilus

We'll be doing a free form wire work demo on Sunday August 26 from 2 PM so come by to check it out!  I took 20 gauge copper wire, coiled it up with some tools, and then embellished it with beads and 26 gauge wire.  Sometimes it's fun just to play with wire to create organic free form shapes and I liked the way it came out looking like a nautilus shell with all the various segments.  Normally I don't like to mix colors with my metals but lately I've been into it so I guess my tastes are changing!  Thanks for stopping by!

Lynn H @ Mapunapuna BFC Bead Shop

Flower Wreath Earrings

Here's another jewelry project that would make a pretty Mother's Day gift! I took a variety of resin flowers from our Bead Soup mix and used the ball end head pins from our Sweet Beads finding line to attach them to the some 24 mm textured rings by Beadalon.  I really like these ball end head pins because they are very affordable since they are made from base metal but also because they are thin, which makes them very easy to bend and wrap!  After all my flowers were in place, I filled up the rest of the ring by using 26 gauge wire to wrap on fire polish beads.  When I reached the top of the "wreath" I wrapped a jump ring to the back to make it easier to attach my ear wires.  Because we carry both the resin flowers and the fire polish beads in so many different colors, it's very easy to change up the color pallet to fit your needs.

I'll be doing this as a demo at our Mapunapuna BFC Bead Shop on Sunday May 6 and 13 from 2 PM so stop by if you have a chance to check it out!

Thanks for stopping by!

Lynn H. @ Mapunapuna Ben Franklin Crafts Bead Shop

I took the solid 24mm textured rings from our Beadalon finding and used 26 gauge wire

Rue Among the Leaves

Here's our second Hunger Games inspired demo that will be held on Saturday April 7 and 14 from 2 PM at our Mapunapuna Bead Shop.  Spoiler alert for the purple text, skip to the next black text to find out how to make the necklace without any Hunger Games details!

"Orchards, huh?  That must be how you can fly around the trees like you've got wings." Thus the inspiration of Rue Among the Leaves. In the book, Rue was described as bird like due to her small frame and in her district she was able to get high up in the trees to gather fruit and see when it was quitting time. She gives Katniss a little more insight on what life is like in the other districts after they form their alliance and a friendship grows between them during that time. Rue was instrumental in helping Katniss when she was trapped up the tree and was also the one to tell Katniss how the mockingjays could be used to communicate messages.   

The majority of supplies used were from Vintaj.  I took the deco vines filigree and cut it in half with wire cutters to get the vines.  Then I used a chasing hammer to flatten 4 foli bead caps to make them look more like flowers.  I used the metal reliefing block to bring out the gold highlights in the vines and flowers just a bit.  Then I threaded rivets with gold 6mm heishi from Sierra Pacific Crafts, then the flowers and hammered to  attached to the vines.  Most of the rivets worked fine but there was one spot that gave me some trouble because the space between the vines was a little bigger so I just used some 2 part epoxy to glue it in place instead and it worked like a charm!


I used the Soaring Sparrow for the center piece and wire wrapped 20 gauge wire with 4mm fire polish beads to connect everything.  Because I wanted to echo the vines theme in the wire wrapping, I made looser wraps and coiled the ends to mimic the tendrils.  20 gauge wire was also used for the j hook and since it's pretty enough, I have it visible in the front which also makes it easier to put on and take off.  I used the delicate chain from our Sweet Beads line and the color matches perfectly with the Vintaj findings.


Well, that's it until next week when I'll have another jewelry piece inspired by the Hunger Games so stop by the Mapunapuna bead shop for the demo or to take a closer look at the jewelry!  I'll see ya later!


Lynn H. @ Mapunapuna Bead Shop