I love working with wire. There are so many great things you can make with it. (Check the list below of my past projects for just a few of my favorites!) But there has always been one limitation to working with this material that has limited its use: color. Wire has always been the color of whatever metal it is made from, with the exception of insulated electrical wire, which is too flexible to be used for most craft purposes.

Whether for jewelry-making or some other project, there have been times where I'd have been in heaven if there was such a thing as lime green wire! I'd have settled for purple, or even red!

Well, heaven is now on earth! There is a new project that must have been invented with me in mind. It is called (lamely, if you ask me!) "Fun Wire" and it comes in every color from purple to black to orange to red to yes, lime green! It turns out that this wire is actually insulated, like electrical wire, but is stiff enough to be useful for many things. It comes in a selection of gauges as well as colors. It cuts easily with a nail clippers or junky scissors.

I've made tons of wire jewelry, and was excited to try this new material for that purpose. The project below is the result. I hope you'll enjoy making some of these baubles for yourself, or as gifts. As I write this, Christmas is about sixty days away, so it is not a moment too soon to start making presents! Okay, make one for yourself first, just for practice, right?

What You Need

Fun Wire, several colors, either gauge 22 or 24
Needle nosed pliers
Lobster claw clasps
Assorted pea sized glass beads, if desired.

What to Do

1. To make one wire bead: cut 12" length of wire. Use pliers to make a small double loop at one end of the wire. Make another double loop about ½" up the wire. Use your fingers to wind the remaining wire around and around the ½" shaft between the two loops, changing direction, as if winding a ball of yarn. When you get to the end of the wire, use pliers to loop end of wire over one of the "threads" of wire in the ball. Tighten loop down and place raw end to the inside of the ball so that it will not stick out and snag clothing.

2. To make one wire bead with glass bead inside of it: Make first loop in length of wire as above. Thread glass bead onto wire, then make second loop at the top of the bead as above. Wind wire round and round bead until you come to the end of the wire, and finish off end as above.

3. To join beads of either type to each other: remember that you can open the loops on only one end of the bead. Wind open the loops that you made first on a bead using the pliers. Thread that end of the wire through the loops that you cannot open on another bead. Use pliers to roll them back into their loop shape. The reason we made double loops here is to be sure that by going through the loop on the next bead twice, the bead would attach securely. Continue in this manner until the bracelet is the right length, usually 8-10 beads long.

4. Use needle nosed pliers to attach lobster claw clasp pieces to each end of the bracelet.

Variations: Once you have had some practice, use this technique to make a choker length necklace. Add a larger bead at the center, and hang it from a jump ring it you'd like it to dangle.