"In summer, the song sings itself." -- William Carlos Williams
Summers mean long walks along the shores of Lake Michigan in search of perfect pebbles. I love their smooth texture in a range of earth tones. This past week I introduced my niece to this lovely past time. We collected dozens of pebbles for use in making jewelry, paper weights and other fun reminders of vacation.
Check out a some of our stash!
To make your own pebble (or sea glass) charm you will need the following:
MATERIALS
Pebble (My own is 1" x 1.25".)
24 gauge non-tarnish silver wire (I used Artistic Wire from Beadalon.)
Wire cutters
Needle nose pliers
Round nose pliers
Ruler
An 18" length of ribbon, chain or other necklace strand (I used a silver necklace my mother gave me years ago.)
DIRECTIONS
Cut a 12" length of wire.
Fold the wire in half and place the pebble in its center.
Bend the wire around the pebble, wrapping tightly as you go.
Proceed until you have completed three wraps.
Firmy grasp the wire ends with your needle nose pliers. Hold the pebble steady and proceed to twist the wire with the hand holding the wire ends until you achieve the desired twist.
Once you have achieved the desired amount of twist, use your round nose pliers to bend a loop approximately 1/4" from the top of the pebble.
Using your needle nose pliers (or your fingers) bend the tail along the shaft of the loop covering the entire 1/4" length.
Split apart the remaining length of wire.
Using your needle nose pliers, bend the wire into a flat spiral.
Once you have completed both spirals, bend them flat against the front of the pebble charm.
To further tighten the wire against your pebble (thus holding it securely in place) and to add a bit more texture, pinch the wire with the tip of your needle nose pliers. Twist slightly to add several crimps.
A charming reminder of sunny summer days that you can wear year round!
For more vacation craft ideas, checkout the work in the Designer Crafts Connection webring wherever you see this logo.
Each blog in the hop is written by a designer associated with the Craft and Hobby Assocition. We each have unique styles, so be sure to hop through to see what each is doing with this month's theme on vaction crafts.
What a super fun idea! Wish I had read this before our vacation to the lake... next time!
Posted by: Jen Goode | July 03, 2012 at 11:17 AM
What a beautiful idea!
Posted by: Einat Kessler | July 04, 2012 at 02:21 AM