Copper Wire Jewelry: A Guide to Making Your Own
Copper wire jewelry is one of the very earliest forms of adornment. Beautiful and long lasting with a long tradition amongst artisans, copper is easy to fashion into all kinds of jewelry. Popular recently with crafters using copper for wire wrapped jewelry and copper sheets for more substantial structured work. A natural choice for jewelry beginners as it is very economical.
Copper Jewelry Materials
Copper used in jewelry form can be copper wire (or copper cloth), copper sheet, copper tubing, copper wire, bead or copper crystal. Wire should be clean and unbroken as the cleanest, most beautiful work can be achieved. Some of the most popular materials used for wire wrap jewelry are:
Copper sheet
Copper wire or wire cloth
Silver wire
Brass wire
Silver plated wire
Silver wire beads
Silver plated and nickel plated bead
Colored glass beads
Fabric beads
Find great places online to find Copper Wire Jewelry:
Rio Grande
and many others found with a simple search on the internet.
Copper Wire Jewelry
If you're new to wire-wrapping copper and you want to learn the basics first, don't worry, we've got you covered! Before you can make your copper wire jewelry, you will need to know how to form and shape copper wire.
Wire cutters
Wire file
Clamps
A ring clamp to hold your work
etc. Please read my article on jewelry tools for a fuller explanation - Wire Wrapping Tools
Wire
There are many different styles and techniques for copper jewelry construction. Here are some basics:
Both copper and silver are used most frequently. Bronze and stainless steel are also great choices. Each type has distinct advantages and disadvantages. Both will tarnish from exposure to chemicals and have a tendency to expand and crack if they are too warm or humid.
Due to the fact that the act of working with metal lowers its temperature and warms it up, copper is the best choice when working in a building. Using stainless steel has the potential to weaken the structure and/or make it brittle and prone to breakage. Aluminum is great for jewelry, as it is a more durable metal, soft and easy to form.
The Jewelery Designer:
The designer of the great grandmother’s cup and the first lady’s brooch to create a famous design, and the more recent jewelry designer Tiffany’s jewelry designer today, Annie Gavrel. Annie creates unique jewelry that reflects her imagination and care for craftsmanship. Each of Annie’s copper wire creations has a depth and a legacy which is drawn upon in making them.
Finding new ideas for your copper wire jewelry
Just be mindful of what the end-result is – if you’re like me and want to develop new copper wire jewelry ideas then I recommend giving your imagination a break and just creating a necklace. Or, just play. It’s what you want to do and it’s what you’ll love doing.
Conclusion
Having previously sold thousands of crafts, I’ve learned a thing or two on how to make the best and easiest-to-sell pieces.
Making copper jewelry is really easy as it’s very small, safe and affordable. If you want to make a change this year to make your jewelry a bit more interesting then try making some of the simple and fun copper wire jewelry projects on my tutorials section.
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