Wire Wrapped Wood Leaf Earrings / Pendant

Hello Everyone

This is my Second Instructable :D

I had lots of fun making my first instructable and finally got around to making my second :)

I really love wire wrapping and some people think that you need a bunch of fancy tools and materials to make a good wire wrap. In some cases that can be true depending on how complicated you want to get in to it, you can make a lot of great wire wrap with just a couple pairs of pliers and wire cutters. Using any thing from shells and drift wood to buttons and beads, and in this instructable I used some wood leaves that where actually from some scrap booking supplies.

This is a bit more of a simpler wire wrap compared to my last instructable, and can be applied to almost any material you don't have to use wood leaves.

Step 1: Tools and Materials

You will need:

Crystal beads (make sure not to overwhelm your wood leaves with the size of your crystal / bead )
Wood leaves (the ones i used where about 5/8'' long and are from the "stampin' up wooden elements pack" but if you have access to a scroll saw or coping saw you can make them out of any thin wood)
A very thin wire make sure that it will fit double in the beads hole with out breaking your crystal I think this was a 30 gauge wire, cut 2 strands to 10" long
Earring hooks
Wire cutters (ones that can fit in to tight spaces are handy)
Needle nose pliers preferably ones that don't have teeth this will minimize markings to the wire and from breaking the 30 gauge
Round looping needle nose pliers

Step 2: Making the Loop

Take one of the two cut 10" wire and fold one end at about 3/8"
Fold that fold in the middle around the loop pliers
Take the other pliers and twist the strands wile still holding in the middle with the loop pliers (but careful not to go to tight and break the wire 30 gauge can be quite fragile)

Step 3: Starting the Wrap

Place the looped end of the wire behind the leaf stem and begin wrapping around the stem
Make sure your first pass around the stem is at the base of the loop to hold it in place
Start at the top and work your way down to the base of the stem make it tight but careful not to snap your stem off

Step 4: Adding the Crystal / Bead

Once you reach the base determine what side you want to be the back
Pass the wire down to the notches to where you want you bead to be and fold the wire over to the front of your leaf
String the bead on to the wire at this point and then fold the wire back to the back of the leaf taking care to keep it tight
Pass the wire across the back then to the front and pass the wire through the bead again (this will make the bead more secure)
Then pass the wire a couple times around the leaf again this time passing on both sides of the bead to box it in

Step 5: Almost Done :)

After the last pass on the front loop the wire around the wires on the back of the piece
Start by ducking the wire underneath and pulling it strait up to make it tight and than duck it under again do this 2 or 3 times making sure to pull it tight
Once you are done looping the wire cut off the excess close to the base and smooth the part that was cut in to the looped wires so it does not catch on anything