Supplies:

15 inches of 18ga copper wire

One pair earwires, I used Sterling

Alphabet beads 10mm acrylic

    2 letter B

    4 letter O

If you don’t have alphabet beads you can use black and orange beads.

Tools:

Round nose pliers

Chain nose pliers

Flat nose pliers

Flush cutter

Bur cup or emery board for smoothing cut ends

Hammer

Optional: Steel block

You can hammer your wires on just about any hard surface.  A brick, cement block, driveway or sidewalk all make nice texture on the hammered wire.

Step 1:

Cut your wire into two 3” pieces and two 4”  pieces

Start with a 4” piece and make a loop on one end.  You want the end of the wire to extend over the base wire by about 1/2 inch.

Step 2:

Grab your loop as shown with your flat nose pliers and hold firmly.

Step 3:

Now take your chain nose pliers and grab the tail and bring up and over the base wire.  Stop there leaving a tail.  You’ll need it a bit later.

Step 4:

Now thread one B and two O’s onto the wire.

Step 5:

With your round nose pliers grab your wire.  You’re going to make another loop.  Keep your pliers just a tiny distance from the bead.  You’re going to make a “hangman’s noose”.

Step 6:

Bring the tail up and over between your pliers and bead.  Try and keep this snug.

Step 7:

Bring the wire tail around the back….

Step 8:

Now bring that wire back around again.  I find it’s easier if you hold your loop with the flat nose pliers rather than keeping the round nose piers through the loop.

Step 9:

Clip the end of your wire, smooth the end and squeeze in as much as possible.

Step 10:

Repeat steps 8 and 9 for the other loop.  You want the wire to hold the beads as tightly as possible so they don’t spin around. 

Here you can see how tight the wraps are to the bead

Step 11:

Now take a hold of each end and bend upward slightly.  You won’t be able to bend much, you just want a slight curve.

Step 12:

This is what your base should look like.  Now repeat steps 1 through 11 for the other base.

Step 13:

Now take your 3” pieces and using your round nose pliers bend them at the middle (1 ½“).  Once you get this bend started you can use your hands to push the ends together until they are the same distance apart as the ends of your base pieces.

Step 14:

Here’s where your hammer and bench block, anvil, brick or what ever your using comes in.

Once your wire is bent into a V shape you want to pound it to flatten and give it texture.

Step 14:

Using your round nose pliers and bend both ends of your V piece upward.  Leave open for the next step.

Step 14:

Hook your base piece (back side shown) onto your V piece and close the hooks. 

NOTE:

If your alphabet beads don’t want to stay straight put a drop of super glue between them on the back side so it doesn’t show

Step 15:

Add your earwire, complete your other earring and your done.

(put “finished” photo here)