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Here’s how to make an amazing wire-wrapped fish charm. Such a cute little pendant.
Do you love the sea? I sure do. This wire-wrapped fish charm is easier to make than it looks and is so adorable. I am excited to wear mine on a gemstone beaded necklace. So cool! All you need is a carved fish bead and some thin silver wire (and some pliers and pizzaz!).
Please note that this tutorial contains affiliate links for which we may receive a commission.
You’ll need the following tools and materials to make your fish charm:
1: A carved gemstone fish charm with a hole drilled into the tail. I used a pink rose quartz fish.
You can get a similar fish charm here:
Or these ones which are more simple and drilled at the head:
2: Some wire. The hole in my charm was quite small so I used 26 gauge (0.4mm) round wire made from silver.
You can get silver wire here:
3: Pliers. For this charm I used my round flat pliers, cutting pliers and flat nose pliers.
You can get a pair here:
You can get cutting pliers here:
You can get flat nose pliers here:
Here are the steps to follow to make your own adorable fish charm:
1: Take one end of the wire and loop it around the round side of your round flat pliers. If you don’t have any, you can use something small and round like the barrel of a pen or chopstick.
2: Wrap the short end of the wire around the longer end to secure the loop.
3: Thread the charm onto the long end of the wire so that the loop sits between the split of the tail. I forgot to photograph this step… sorry!
4: Wrap the wire around the thinnest part of the fish tail tightly
5: Bring the wire back up to the base of the loop you first made and wrap the long end around it to secure the wire in place.
6: Trim the end of the wire using cutting pliers and squash it down using flat nose pliers to secure the end and finish your charm.
Now your adorable fish charm is finished and ready to string onto your favourite chain or beaded necklace. So cool! I love this DIY so much.
Here’s another one I made using a labradorite carved fish.
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Here’s how to make some pearl wiggle charms to add to some charm connector earrings.
I love charm connector earring findings, because you can make your own unique charms to create a one of a kind pair of earrings. This tutorial shows you how to transform some silver wire into some playful pearl charms that add some personality to your earlobes!
Please note that this tutorial contains affiliate links for which we may receive a commission.
You’ll need the following tools and materials to make these earrings:
1: Two pieces of sterling silver wire with the ends filed, about 4cm long.
I used wire recycled from a previous project, but you can get some here:
2: Two half drilled pearls.
You can get pearls here:
3: A pair of charm connector earrings. I used some peridot ones I made some time ago.
You can get some charm connector studs here:
4: A pair of flat nose pliers.
You can get some here:
5: A pair of parallel pliers.
You can get a pair of parallel pliers here:
6: A pair of round-flat pliers.
You can get a pair of flat-round pliers here:
7: Two part epoxy glue like Araldite or similar.
You can get some glue here:
8: A piece of scrap paper.
9: A skewer or toothpick for mixing the glue.
You can get some here:
10: A piece of scrap wire or something small to apply glue to the wire and pearl.
With all your tools and materials gathered, you can follow these steps to make your wiggly pearl earrings.
1: Use the parallel pliers to bend the tops of the wires to form a right angle.
2: Loop the bent ends of the wires into a circle shape using the round-flat pliers.
3: Grasp the wire between the jaws of the flat pliers and bend it to form an angle.
4: Then move the pliers down and bend the wire back in the opposite direction to form a zig-zag shape.
5: Continue making the wiggles until there is a little bit of the wire left. This will be the part that is glued into the pearl.
6: Push out some of the glue onto a piece of paper and mix it.
7: Add glue to the end of the wire and the pearl using the piece of scrap wire.
8: Place the wire into the pearl and wipe off any excess glue. Set the charms aside to dry.
9: Once your charms are dry and secure, use your pliers to attach the charms to the loops on the bottom of the charm connector earrings.
Once your charms are connected, your earrings are finished and ready to wear! So cute and unique. I can’t wait to wear these out!
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Want a new pair of hoops? Here’s how to turn two pieces of wire into a unique pair of wiggle hoop earrings.
Want to work with metal but don’t want to invest in all the equipment? Then this tutorial is for you! Follow along to make a unique pair of wiggle hoop earrings using pliers and some wire. I love how simple but stunning this tutorial is. Please note that this tutorial contains affiliate links from which we may receive a small commission.
You’ll need the following tools and materials to make your wiggle hoop earrings:
1: Two pieces of wire, I used 0.8mm diameter sterling silver and cut mine to be about 18cm long each.
You can get silver wire here:
If you’re feeling fancy, you can get solid gold wire here:
2: A jewellery file or emery paper to ensure that the ends of the wire aren’t too sharp.
You can get a jewellery file here:
I have my emery paper attached to a stick for more control. You can get some here:
3: Half round-Flat pliers. These pliers have a half-round side and a flat side to make curves.
You can get a pair here:
4: Round-flat pliers.
You can get a pair here:
5: Parallel pliers.
You can get some here:
6: A bangle mandrel or something else that is the right diameter so you can shape your earrings into a circle.
You can get one here:
7: Butterfly backs.
You can get butterfly backs here:
8: A nylon or leather hammer for shaping the earrings against the mandrel (Don’t use this if you are shaping your earrings around something breakable).
You can get a hammer here:
9: Sticky tape. I used plastic tape but masking tape would likely be more suitable.
You can get masking tape here:
Follow these steps to make your own pair of hoop earrings:
1: File the ends of the wire so that they are flat and have no sharp edges.
2: If you have emery paper, sand the ends as well to further break down any sharp ends.
3: Tape the two pieces of wire together.
4: Take your half round-flat pliers and create the first bend at the end of the wire by clamping the wire into the jaws of the pliers and pressing them together.
5: Flip the pliers around and place them on the other side of the wire and repeat step 4 to make a curve in the wire in the opposite direction.
6: Repeat steps 4 and 5 until your pieces of wire are formed into a squiggle shape, but leave about 1cm at the end for the earring post.
7: Remove the tape and separate the wires.
8: Wrap the wire around the bracelet mandrel to form it into the earring shape. Use the nylon hammer to hammer it into shape. Repeat this for both of the earrings.
9: You can further adjust the shape of the earrings by pressing the half round-flat pliers around the earring, making sure to match the curve of the pliers with the inner curve of the earrings. Doing this will add more tension to your earrings to help them hold their shape.
10: When you are happy with the shape of your hoops, Take the round flat pliers and push the straight ends of the wire around so they sit sideways.
11: Then take your parallel pliers and use them to adjust the straight ends of each earring so that they are centered in the middle of the wiggle to sit evenly in your ears.
12: Once you have adjusted the ends, your earrings are finished and ready to wear. Pop the butterfly backs on to secure them on your lobes.
Here’s how the finished product looks! How will you style yours?
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How to make a simple clasp out of wire!
This is a cool tutorial!
Imagine, you want to make a necklace or a bracelet, but you’ve totally run out of clasp findings. Rather than ordering some online, and waiting for them to arrive, check to see if you’ve got some wire on hand, and then come back here and keep reading about how you can turn this wire into a simple, but elegant clasp.
Please note, this tutorial contains affiliate links.
You’ll need these tools and materials to make your own clasp out of wire:
1: Some wire. I used a piece of copper wire recycled from an old project.
2: Some cutting pliers.
3: A jump ring that matches the wire colour.
4: Round flat pliers.
5: A small needle file.
Follow these steps to make your wire clasp:
1: Take the wire and wrap it around the widest part of the round on the round flat pliers to create a fold in the wire with the ends crossing each other. When you do this, have about 2.5cm on the short side, you can trim the long side later.
2: Using the cutting pliers, trim the long part of the wire off to be slightly longer than the short side.
3: File the ends gently so they aren’t spiky (You can skip this step if you don’t have a file).
4: Take the side that was longer to start with and create a loop at the end of the wire, this loop will turn away from the first loop you made and will sit flush against the other side.
5: Using the round-flat pliers again, create a loop at the other end of the wire, this loop will be higher up and sit flush against the other wire above the other loop.
6: Now your clasp is done. Thread the jump ring through the point where the two wires meet, this is how it opens and closes.
If the clasp feels a little soft or like it will pull out of shape, you can harden the wire a bit by squeezing it flat using some flat nose pliers or flat nose parallel pliers. This will work harden the metal a bit. Another alternative to work harden your clasp is to hammer it gently using a rubber or leather mallet on a steel block (be careful, this is likely to mark your metal or flatten it too much.)
This clasp might widen over time, you can put it back into place using some flat pliers and round flat pliers to make sure the wires sit closely together to prevent your jewelry from falling off!
Here’s an example of the same style of clasp on a bracelet I received as a gift.
Open version of the clasp on a bracelet from Peru. 
Closed version of the clasp on a bracelet from Peru. -
Here’s how you can make your own sterling silver earring hooks that are embellished with gorgeous beads!
I love using pre-made earring hooks, but sometimes I want to add some additional luxe to my earring designs, so I make my own one-of-a-kind earring hooks that are embellished with some special beads. Follow along if you want to learn how to make your own, unique earring hooks out of sterling silver wire. Please note that this tutorial contains affiliate links.
You’ll need the following tools and materials to make this pair of earring hooks:
1: Two pieces of sterling silver wire, about 0.8mm in diameter and 7cm long each. (cut the wire with your cutting pliers).
2: A pair of parallel flat nose pliers, or ordinary flat nose pliers. The parallel pliers makes it easier to grip both earrings at once when you are shaping them.
3: A file and some sandpaper.
Find files here:
Find sandpaper here:
4: Two beads. I used some agate gemstone beads.
5: A pair of round flat pliers for forming the loop at the end of the earring hooks. It is also handy to keep your round nose pliers around as well.
Follow these steps to make your own bespoke earring hooks featuring a beaded embellishment:
1: File the ends of the wires so they are no longer sharp, use the sandpaper afterwards to soften the ends.
2: Use the round flat nose pliers or flat nose pliers to bend the end of each piece of wire to form an angle.
3: Create a loop using the bent part of the wire as a guide. You want to make a loop at the end of each piece of wire.
4: Add a bead to each of the wires
5: Grip each wire between the mouth of the parallel flat nose pliers and bend them at the same points, so they sit at equal lengths. Bending the wire will mean that the bead won’t come off (but be warned, seed bead sized beads can still slide around the corners of this design, the bigger the bead, the less likely it is to fall off your earring hook).
6: Once you have bent your earrings, you can adjust them slightly to form the square top to your liking using your fingers and pliers.
Now your earring hooks are done! They’re ready for some cute dangly charms!
Here’s what they look like with some brass triangle charms on them.
And here are some similar designs I have made using this earring hook technique. These ones feature patinated copper charms, you can learn to patina copper here.
This fun pair of earrings features a rainbow of seed beads and an adorable mushroom charm, you can purchase them here.
