Very Simple Wire Craft Projects

While some wire crafting can consist of elaborate sculptures that require years of practice and days or even weeks of work to create, wire crafting doesn't have to be complicated to be good. For beginning wire crafters, a number of simple, yet satisfying and useful projects are within your grasp. These basic designs and ideas can help you learn more about the art of working with wire while still creating something that's easy to get right and do well on the first few tries.

Beaded jewelry items are some of the simplest and most beautiful wire crafts. Use wire in the place of cord for jewelry designs whose shapes are more rigid and stay in place, such as finger rings, earring hoops, or necklaces with a round shape (rather than hanging down in the center). Twist the ends of the wire around one another when you're finished. With necklaces and bracelets, twist each end into a loop, then attach a metal clasp to this loop.

Wire wrapping stones or marbles for jewelry can be a complex form of wire art, but it can also be quite simple. For a cross wire wrap, take two equal-length pieces of wire and cross them at their centers at a 90-degree angle. Place the object to be wrapped at the center of this and bring the "arms" of the cross up around the object, as if you were wrapping ribbon around a gift package. Twist the arms together on the opposite end of the object, then use your pliers to grip all four strands and twist them tightly together, tightening the wire around the object. Continue twisting the arms until they form one tightly-bound strand, then twist this into a loop to hang the pendant.

Fake flowers are a popular craft project with heads made from materials such as cloth, sheet foam, tissue paper or craft clay. Make bendable stems for these flowers by cutting some lengths of craft wire and coloring them with a coat of green spray paint.

If you want your stems to be a little thicker, color them by wrapping them in green floral tape instead. Twist the top of the wire into a flat spiral with the tip of your needle-nosed pliers, then glue that section to the underside of a bud.

Wine glass charms are open rings that attach to stemware stems to help guests identify their drink from those of others at parties. Create a ring slightly smaller than a finger ring by wrapping some thick wire around something round and cylindrical, like a marker or craft dowel. Attach a unique charm or bead to each ring, then bend each end of the wire into a small, tight loop with pliers in order to protect users from the sharp edges of the wire.