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Winter Dreams bracelet



When I saw a bead mix assortment packet in wintery shades of blue and white, I knew that I had to make something from the lovely mix. Since I am always working with my hands, making stuff, writing about it, or cooking, I really can't wear jangley bracelets that move too freely, so I figured out a way to combine the solidity of a cuff with the fun of a chain charm bracelet. End of problem! Lots of movement, but not flopping about uncontrollably.

Materials & Tools: 
Bead mix packet in color scheme of your choice, approximately 75 to 100 grams
18 twisted leaf pendants, color to match beads
9 inches 16 gauge sterling silver wire
7 ½ inch sterling silver flat curb chain bracelet
Approximately 70 jump rings
30 head pins, 2 inch
Giant lobster claw clasp
Ball peen hammer
Wire cutters
Round nose pliers
Flat nose pliers
File
Measuring tape

1. Cut a piece of 16 gauge wire to 9 inches. Flatten the last ¼ inch on both ends of the wire with the ball peen hammer. File the edges to round and smooth them.


2. Create a gentle bend 1 inch from each end. Using the round nose pliers, curl the the end into the beginnings of a spiral, with the flattened end flat against the outer curve. Remove the clasp from the chain bracelet, and attach one end to the closed loop with a jump ring.




3. Create an identical curl on the other end of the wire. Wrap the bracelet loosely around the wire cuff and attach it to the other loop with a jump ring. Form the bracelet into a cuff shape with your hands or around a mandrel.



4. Hang 18 twisted leaf pendants from 2 jump rings each. Space 9 of them evenly along the bracelet, and anchor them through the chain and also around the wire with the top jump ring to keep the chain from untwisting. Hang the second set of 9 leaves from the pendant wire of each of the first set so that they dangle down lower.



5. Make 30 dangles from the bead mix assortment. Close each with a wrapped loop. Divide them up and space them out so that there are 3 dangles between the first two leaves on each side, and 4 dangles between each of the rest of the leaves. Use jump rings to attach them to the chain, also occasionally going around the cuff wire too.




6. Attach the large lobster claw clasp to one loop of the cuff, using enough jump rings to make the bracelet fit your wrist comfortably.


Copyright 2014 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact.

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Comments

Berina RGA said…
very beautiful bracelet!!
-Berina
Moxie Craftie
Now that is tooo "cool"....and so easy to make....excellent job!
Anonymous said…
Could you post a picture of what this looks like on a person? It looks gorgeous, but I'm concerned that the "danglies" might be a bit much...
Cyndi L said…
Sorry, can't post more pix...it's long gone. You can cut back as much as you want on the number and length of dangles.
Cherie Burbach said…
Love the colors and style so much on this one. It has my name on it. LOL
Cyndi, I struggle with the same issue. Plus the bracelets always seem to end up hanging the wrong way (with clasp on top). Do you have a solution for that? I think it has to do with proper weighting of commponents. Do I need more weight around the clasp area?

This is so timely! I'm finishing up a bracelt for Valentine's right now and was concerning about the floppiness issue, plus the clain alone looks so puny.

Then I'll go back and add thiese rings to some of my other charm bracelets.

Thank you. Thank you!
Cyndi L said…
You're exactly right about the weight thing, Eileen. The only way to keep a bracelet from spinning is to control where the weight is greatest. See how there are no dangles attached directly to my clasp or right next to it? Inevitably, that spot will twist and end up on top! Having the stiffer wire inserted does help though, because you can mold the shape to an oval that is less likely to spin quickly.
lOVE THIS and I think you are very clever as well as a creator of beauty!
Eileen, when I made a lot of charm bracelets I made a signature out of a heavy charm dangle, unlike the others, right next to the clasp...it was a heart usually, made of venetian glass. People seemed to like the OOAK addition and none of my bracelets we alike anyway! It weighed the bracelet down so that it fell right jean xox
Cyndi L said…
Thank you for that tip, Jean!!