Having a Ball

Make your own 'scrunchie' wire beads to create brenda harvey's statement cards and accessories

Brenda Harvey, Project Designer

These colourful makes are all made using scrunched wire beads which are really easy to make and addictive too!

These stylish necklace and earring sets are great fun to put together and can be made in any colour that you choose. Why not turn them into Christmas gifts by creating festive cards and presentation boxes to match or whip up some extra 'scrunchie' wire balls and discs, and fashion co-ordinating tree decorations too!

Turquoise Necklace

1. Cut two black, two teal, four turquoise and three pale blue 1m lengths of 0.3mm coloured wire and make 11 scrunched balls (see How To...) then flatten into disc shapes. Lay these out on a bead mat along with four glass hearts, eight lava beads, five green cushions and one silver flower bead in the pattern of your choice, using black seeds as spacers between each one.
2. Measure the approximate length of your bead pattern, then cut a piece of nylon-coated wire that is 10cm longer than this. Make a crease in the wire 5cm from one end and thread on two crimps. Pass a lobster clasp onto the wire so that it sits in the crease, then thread the wire back through the two crimps and squeeze them into position with the flat-nosed pliers. Trim the short end of the wire to 1cm.
3. String the first couple of beads from your chosen pattern onto the wire, ensuring that the trimmed end is tucked neatly inside these beads. Continue adding beads to the wire then add two silver crimp beads at the very end - but don’t compress them yet. Make a crease in the wire 0.5cm from the last crimp and add a closed silver ring to form the other half of the fastening.
4. Cut a 25cm length of bright pink 0.3mm wire and scrunch it to form a ball with a 7mm diameter (see How To..), then flatten it into a disc shape.
5. Thread a 3mm silver round, a black seed, the flattened scrunched bead, a turquoise silver foiled heart and another black seed onto a head pin.
6. Trim the wire to 1cm above the beads, bend to a rightangle, then form a loop in the end but do not fully close. Hook to an earwire and close the loop to finish. Repeat to make a pair.

Pink Earrings

1. Cut two 25cm lengths of bright pink wire and roll each piece into a small ball with a 7mm diameter.
2. Thread a 3mm silver round, a black seed, a 9mm x 4mm antiqued silver spacer, a black seed bead, the pink scrunched bead, another black seed and another 3mm silver round onto a head pin.
3. Trim the wire to 1cm above the beads, bend to a rightangle, then form a loop in the end but do not fully close. Hook to an earwire and close the loop to finish. Repeat to make a pair.

Pink Neclace

1. 1Cut four 50cm lengths of bright pink 0.3mm wire and scrunch them into balls (see How To...). Cut a 48cm length of silver-plated foxtail chain. Thread a crimp bead, a small black agate round, an 18mm bright pink resin bead, a second small black agate round and another crimp onto the chain.
2. Let the beads fall to the centre point, then squeeze the crimps into position at either side using flat-nosed pliers. Leave a 2.5cm gap then thread a crimp, a black agate oblong, a bright pink scrunched bead, another oblong and a second crimp bead.
3. Squeeze the crimp beads to hold the sequence in place on the chain and repeat this pattern for the other side of the necklace. Add another two sets of beads to either side of the necklace as shown, securing each one into place with crimp beads as you go.
4. Thread one end of the chain through the centre of a calotte, add on a crimp bead and squeeze this into place with pliers so that it sits at the very end of the chain. Gently close the calotte over the flattened crimp so that it sits inside it and attach the open hook of the calotte around a lobster clasp.
5. Repeat step 4 for the other end of the chain, this time adding a closed ring instead of the clasp to finish.

Bracelet

1. Decide how long you want the bracelet to be, then cut a length of nyloncoated wire that is 10cm longer than this. Thread two crimp beads and the bar of a toggle clasp onto the wire. Make a crease in the wire 2cm from one end so that the toggle bar sits in the loop of the crease.
2. Take the tail end of the wire back through both crimp beads and squeeze into position with flat-nosed pliers so that they lie close to the toggle bar. Trim the excess wire to 1cm. Thread three seeds onto the bracelet wire, then tuck the trimmed end inside these beads for a neat finish.
3. Add a 9mm x 4mm spacer bead, a black agate shape, a second 9mm x 4mm spacer and three seeds. Thread on a 9mm x 5.5mm spacer, a blue scrunched wire ball (see How To...), another 9mm x 5.5mm spacer, three seeds, a 9mm x 4mm spacer, a lava bead and a 9mm x 4mm spacer.
4. Repeat the stringing pattern in reverse for the rest of the bracelet, leaving out the lava bead and substituting the blue scrunched wire ball for a pink one. Adding more bead combinations where necessary to fill the entire length of the bracelet.
5. Slip on two silver crimp beads, make a crease in the wire 0.5cm after these and add the other half of the toggle clasp. Thread the end of the wire back through the two crimps and secure the last one into position with flat-nosed pliers. Trim the short end of the wire to 0.5cm, tuck this inside the first bead, then compress the remaining crimp to finish.

Christmas Card

1. Fold an A5 piece of bright pink card in half lengthways. Measure 1.5cm from the bottom edge, cut a small slit in the fold, then thread a short length of turquoise ribbon through this. Secure the ribbon into position at the front of the card with a double knot.
2. Cut a tall pot shape from silver mirror card and a slim triangular Christmas tree from black card. Wind lengths of turquoise and bright pink wire around the tree shape, then affix a selection of self-adhesive crystals in a random pattern to the front of this piece.
3. Attach the tree and the pot motifs to the card using 3-D foam pads, then glue a small silver sequin and a self-adhesive crystal at the centre above the tree to finish.

How to... Make a Scrunched Wire Ball

1. Cut a length of wire, crumple it up and form it into a ball by rolling it in the palms of your hands. The shorter the piece of wire and the more pressure you use, the smaller the ball becomes. Any sharp protruding wire ends can be hidden simply by grasping them firmly in the tips of round-nosed pliers and pushing them into the centre of the bead.