Wire Beaded Flower Basket

Welcome to the February Pinterest Challenge Blog Hop, hosted by Erlene @ My Pinterventures. The purpose of this Pinterest Challenge is to motivate all the participants of this hop (and you too) to not just pin, but to make it happen! 

This month, I chose to create a wire beaded floral basket that you can wear as a necklace or pin.  I was looking on Pinterest for ideas to use some of the beads I've  accumulated over the years and came across this pin/video.  I thought it would make a lovely gift - especially for a special friend!

I love how the wire beaded flower basket looks - it's adorable! But the video is in Vietnamese and the measurements were in centimeters translated into inches. The sizing on my first attempt didn't seem right. It was too tiny!  My basket looked so much smaller and not like what was pictured, so I ended up increasing all the wire gauges, lengths of wires, and size of the beads to make a lovely piece of jewelry!  

Here is my version of how I made the pendant and interpretation of the video:

Materials used:

• 18 gauge gold wire 
• 24 gauge gold wire
• Bicone beads - 6mm
• Needle nose jewelry pliers
• Nylon jaw flat nose pliers
• Wire cutters
• Yard stick/ruler 

Let's begin by cutting 10 inches of 18 gauge wire.  Next, criss-cross the wire to make a loop at the top .  .  .  .

pulling the wires to make the loop smaller.  Using jewelry pliers,

squeeze the wire loop closer together after straightening the entire length of wire. I used a nylon jaw flat nose pliers to straighten the wires.

Next, measure from the wire loop 1 inches and fold wire up making another loop on each side .  .  . 

 for a total of  three loops on one side and two loops in the center of two extended wires. Turn the piece upside down with the wires extending up. Make sure to squeeze each loop closer together and to try and keep the wires as straight as possible. 

Next, make circle rings on each extended end using needle nose pliers.

Flair out the bottom ends a little with fingers.

Next, cut a 6 inch piece of 18 gauge wire for the basket handle. Make a oval loop - I used a craft glue bottle to help form the round shape.

Curl the ends of the basket wire out.

Then smooth out the wire shape using a small round object like a craft paint bottle.

Next, place the handle behind the basket and curve the wire matching on the left side of the basket wire. Repeat for right side.

Next, cut 40 inches of 24 gauge wire. Fold together and straighten wires. Then open the wire by the loop and place between the handle and basket on left side with wire across (horizontal) basket. Begin weaving wire over and under the wires of the loops .  .  .

and back. Keep going over and under through the loops, across to the end and back over - keeping the wires straight, side by side and not twisted. 

 Make sure to keep pushing the end circle loops of the handle and basket down together, curving out because they will ride up. 

Also, push the wires close together as you weave each row. Continue weaving the wires over and under, through the loops until reaching the bottom.

Once reaching the bottom and there's no more room to weave, separate the wires and begin wrapping each one around the loop closest to the wires at least three or four times.

Make sure all three loops are wrapped neatly, cutting off excess wire when finish.

Next, fold the center top loops over with pliers and adjust the wire handle to a round or oval shape.

To make the beaded stems, cut off 60" of 24 gauge wire and fold in half.  Thread on a bead to the center loop and twist wire several times to secure bead and form a stem.  Check the height by placing it behind the basket.

Continue adding beads and twisting each one on at various lengths along the wire.

You will need to twist on 20-25 beads. Make sure you make short bead stems for the lower portion, too.

 Once satisfied with the fullness of the bead stems, squeeze them close  together to fit within the basket frame and place on the backside of the basket. 

Begin wrapping the end wires (left and right) through openings around the top of the basket to secure in place. Leave enough wire ends on each side to wrap loosely around the basket handle. 

If you don't have enough wire left to wrap around the handle after making the bead stems, make sure the beads are secure enough to the basket and cut off the excess wire. Then cut off enough new wire to wrap around the handle, securing the ends on the basket.   And finally, adjust the flower stems.

I love how this turned out! Looks really beautiful and it's so versatile to make just by using different types and color of beads and wire for almost any occasion!

To join next month's #pinterestchallenge, click here to sign-up ⇒ March Pinterest Challenge

Now let's see what other things Pinterest inspired! Head over and visit the other hosts to see what they crafted, cooked, built, or tried!

Erlene - My Pinterventures • Jenny - Cookies Coffee and Crafts 
Debbee - Debbee's Buzz • Bri - Halfpint Design 
 Julie - Sum of their Stories •  T'onna - Sew Crafty Crochet
 Beverly - Across the Boulevard • Debra - Shoppe No. 5 
Roseann - This Autoimmune Life • Cherryl - Farm Girl Reformed 
Leslie - Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After • Kelley - Simply Inspired Meals 
Lydia - Lydia's Flexitarian Kitchen •Joanne - Our Unschooling Journey 
Kristie - Teadoddles • Gail - Purple Hues and Me 
Ashley - Emory Farm Kristie - Love My Little Cottage  
 Crissy - First Day of Home Habiba - Craftify My Love 
 Marie - The Inspiration Vault • Emily - Domestic Deadline 
Lauren - Mom Home Guide • Maria - Simple Nature Decor 
Alexandra - Eye Love Knots • Lynne - My Family Thyme 
Marci - Stone Cottage Adventures 
Susan - SuzerSpace • Kim - Kimspired DIY 
 Pili - My Sweet Things Kelli - K's Olympic Nest  
 Erin - The DIY Nuts • Shirley - Intelligent Domestications  
Terri - Our Good Life

Pinterest Inspired Projects

An InLinkz Link-up

Decoupage Owl and Burlap Wreath

It's that time again for our monthly Craft Room De-Stash Challenge!
Every month a group of bloggers are challenged by C'mon Get Crafty to create a new craft or project from their own stash of goodies! 

It's always fun shopping your craft stash to come up with something to make for this challenge - especially when it's cold and dreary outside! I love buying beautiful napkins whenever I see a design that catches my eye - and of course if it has purple in it too! And I've collected a lot of paper napkins over time. But the biggest problem for me is deciding what to make with them! How many different ways can you use napkins in crafts? Most involves decoupage and this time I'm trying to switch it up a bit using burlap, too!   

So I gathered all of these from my stash to make a decoupage owl and burlap wreath!

• Napkins
• Mod Podge/brush
• 12" & 14" Cardboard circles 
• Craft knife
• White Multi-Surface Acrylic craft paint/pouncher
• Fiber-fill polyester stuffing 
• Tacky glue
• Burlap
• Floral wire
• Dew Drops
• Fabri-Tac fabric glue

I love owls and I couldn't resist this napkin in turquoise and purple! But first, we must make a puffy burlap wreath to go along!

Using cardboard circles - you know the kind used for baking displays - cut out a two inch wide 14" circle, or you can cut one out of regular box cardboard instead. Then lay it on top of the burlap and measure a 1" outer circle seam and a 1/2" inner circle seam around cardboard and cut out the burlap.

Next, add tacky glue along wreath facing and place fiber-fill stuffing in strips on top of glue.

Cover wreath completely with fiber-fill.

Then, cut short slits around the burlap circle and lay the fiber-fill wreath form on top. Run short beads of hot glue along the long cardboard edge first and wrap edge of burlap over the cardboard, smoothing sides out.  Once the long side is glued, begin on the inside edge.  Be sure to push the fiber-fill in while smoothing out as you glue on the burlap for a smooth puffy look!

Next, paint on white multi-surface acrylic paint over the 12" cardboard circle and let dry.

Then tear out decorative floral sections of paper napkins - separating the print from the plain sheets.  Place the pattern napkin on the cardboard circle and paint on Mod Podge from the center out - smoothing away any wrinkles.

In hindsight, I didn't leave enough white area for the owl, so I painted over some of the flowers.

Once the paint and decoupage was dry, I cut the owl out and decoupage it on - by painting Mod Podge on it from the center out, all around. If I found any wrinkles, I use my fingers dipped in Mod Podge to smooth them out.

A word of caution, though - this was my first time decoupaging on cardboard and the cardboard absorbed the glue causing it to buckle a bit and not lay flat. So after the decoupage dried, I placed a sheet of parchment paper over it to prevent it from possibly sticking and added another blank cardboard circle on top. Then I weighed it all down overnight with a large board to make the cardboard level again. And that seemed to work!

Once the cardboard was level, I hot glued the burlap wreath to it.

Since the burlap wreath was looking a bit plain, I made a few burlap wire flowers to glue on to the bottom. I made some for another wreath years ago and this time I'm using the same stiff burlap fabric that was left over!

 

To re-cap on how to make the burlap wire petals, shape the wire around a round object and twist close, cutting off excess wire. Remove wire and shape into a petal by squeezing center onto a oval point. Next, run Fabri-Tac glue around the floral wire petal edge and pressed firmly on the burlap. Then place a heavy book on top and wait a few minutes and they're ready to trim the excess fabric off, just like that! 

They can then be shaped and glued together for a beautiful flower!

Next, added Dew Drops around the owl and also to the center of the burlap wire flower for a bit more dimension.

How cute is this to make!  

If you'd like to join in the Craft Room De-Stash Challenge, you can request to join our Facebook group here!

Check out some awesome creations you might be able to make from your own stash! #CraftRoomDestashChallenge

Meet Your Hosts:

C'mon Get Crafty | Purple Hues and Me 

EyeLoveKnots | Stone Cottage Adventures | Across the Blvd

Domestic Deadline | Shoppe No 5 | Modern on Monticello

Salvage Sister and Mister | Sew Crafty Crochet

My Pinterventures | This Autoimmune Life | The Inspiration Vault

An InLinkz Link-up

Share Some Love Party Features - 2/13

It was truly exciting to see so many wonderful ideas and inspirations shared at our Share Some Love Link Party! Thanks to all who stopped by to "Show the Love!"

Today, all of the co-hosts are sharing some of our favorites from the party! It was really hard choosing my favorites, so I narrow them down to focus on the heart - a symbol of love! 

It's all about the hearts!

Mel @ Decor Craft Design painted a "Roses of Love" art piece that's simply divine for Valentine's Day or any day for that matter! A heart filled with roses! It's absolutely beautiful and very romantic!

Amanda @ Loops & Love Crochet created adorable soft and squishy heart pillows along with a full tutorial for anyone to try! I never could pick up how to crochet and truly admire anyone who can! I love this fun looking project! 

Claudia @Create with Claudia is actually a quilter and she had me at "No-Sew" when I first saw this! Her lovely creation of an embroidery hoop wall hanging brought out the crafting in her for Valentines's in addition to this being her first post in her new blog! Look at those adorable patch-work hearts! What a wonderful way to share her creativity with us!

Kristie @Love My Little Cottage shared a tutorial for making mini heart pillows - a project where she teaches twenty-seven young girls from her church on how to be "workers at home." It's a wonderful cause and a great way for the girls to learn homemaking skills like sewing! How cute are these pillows!

Kristie is on a roll with these Valentine Napkins and Rings! Learn how to make cloth napkins including tie-dying and also how to make complimentary napkin heart rings! A three in one tutorial! How cool is that!

Be sure to stop by each of the co-hosts to check out their favorites, too!

Across the Blvd | My Husband Has Too Many Hobbies 

Purple Hues and Me | This Autoimmune Life

Stone Cottage Adventures | Our Unschooling Journey

Domestic Deadline | Sew Crafty Crochet

Cookies, Coffee, and Crafts

Have a great Happy Valentine's Day!