Make & Fable is a UK based craft and creative lifestyle blog, a handmade jewellery line and host of creative workshops. Creativity you can wear, make and experience!
This cute little bead bunny necklace DIY is made from a pearl, pink seed beads and some wire, its the perfect accessory for spring!
Followers on Instagram will know that I am a cat lady- my cat Aston often graces the grid with his floof. But I also love rabbits; the way they wash their ears, the way they eat and those mad runs and hops they do…. So I tend to choose bunnies as my spring/Easter creature of choice! Read more
Everyone loves an initial necklace, right? Grab your pliers and the template and make your own wire monogram necklace!
I have used a lovely free opensource font called Made Likes Script as the basis for my alphabet, adding loops at the beginning and end. I haven’t added any arrows to the letters to show how to form them because it made them look far more complicated than they actually are! Move the wire just as you would if writing with pen and paper.
All the letters start in the same way; with a round loop. Depending on the letter, this will be the loop at the top or top left of the letter. We will then end the wire at the bottom or bottom right, ending in another loop.
If you are new to working with wire, I would recommend having a few practice runs first – wire doesn’t always do what you want it to! Also bear in mind that some wires can be quite soft and easy to bend and others quite tough to manipulate. Look for wire that is meant for craft and jewellery or that is referred to as ‘soft’. Read more
Use beads and wire to make this Crescent Moon Necklace!
I have a bit of a thing about symbols and signs; those images that seem universal, that we keep coming back to time and time again. The crescent moon is one of them that seems to be having something of a moment right now! You can use any type and colour of wire and whatever selection of beads you like. This project uses a wrapped wire loop, if you would like a reminder of how to make one, click over here first!Read more
A clean and simple wire wrapped ring, with a gorgeous Swarovski coin pearl bead as the main feature.
In my day job working at my local bead shop, I have had quite a few people ask me how to make wire wrapped rings. Most ways involve quite a bit of wire being on show, which is fine, but creates a reasonably chunky ring. Someone asked me if there was a way that resulted in a more dainty band and allowed the bead to be the star of the show. At the time, I couldn’t think of a single one! Never one to back down from a challenge, I set about coming up with how to a wire wrap a bead onto a simple ring band, and this was what I came up with. Read more
These DIY Pearl Stud Earrings are so simple to make, and only require beads and some wire!
Pearl Studs never go out of fashion. Making your own normally requires gluing special half drilled pearls and stud fittings with a cup base and pin together. But with this easy tutorial, you can use any pearl beads and just some basic plated wire. Read more
Don’t settle for the standard furry cat ears this Halloween, DIY your own stylish beaded cat ears headband instead!
When it comes to fancy dress parties, Halloween and New Years, I’m not great at coming up with costume ideas so I usually fall back on dressing up as a cat. It makes sense as the owner of two myself. Having made myself a felt pair a few years ago, I decided to upgrade to this far more elegant version. Read more
Make your own cloud shaped coat hanger!A while ago I saw some cute cloud shaped coat hangers made from laser cut birch plywood online, and it sparked the idea of making my own from wire. These would be so adorable to hang kids clothes, display your jewellery or just as decoration.
We all need a necklace that goes with everything, and this easy wire-work DIY is just that! Using wire, chain and some jump rings, you can create this light weight but detailed design, the perfect necklace for taking you from daytime to a night out!
-Thick brass wire, minimum of 1.2mm to 1.5mm
-Thin brass wire, 0.4mm to 0.6mm
-Household wire cutters
-Chainnose pliers
-Nail File
How to:
1.Cut 40cm of the thicker wire. Bend in half and use something like a Sharpie pen or similar at this mid-way point to create a smooth curved teardrop shape.
2.Take the chainnose pliers and grip one side of the wire just below the point where the two wires cross and bend it straight up.
3.Repeat on the other side
4.Cut a short (20cm approx) length of the thinner wire. Create a right angle bend about 1cm from one end. Hold this short end along the length of the thicker wire and begin tightly wrapping around the bangle, moving towards your hand.
5.Wrap about 5 times before tucking the end under the wrapped section, pulling tightly and cutting off the excess. Use youe pliers to make sure there are no sharp ends poking out
6.Use a cylindrical object (I’m using my craft storage stacker!) that is slightly smaller than your wrist to form the shape of the bracelet.
7. Measure the bangle around your wrist allowing an extra 1.5cm to create the hook. Cut off any excess wire (use household pliers on thicker wire so not to dent your nice jewellery pliers!). Use another piece of thinner wire to create another wrapped section approx halfway around the bangle.
8. Use the chainnose pliers to bend the end of the bangle back on themselves, creating the hook. You might want to use a nail file to smooth the ends.
9. Create a final wrapped section just before the hook. Adjust the bangle to fit.
Let me know if you use this tutorial to make your bangle, by commenting with a link or message me on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook! Happy Making!
These simple, rustic star decorations use wooden beads and some wire. You can even add some glitter for extra Christmas sparkle. You will need-
-25 round wooden beads. I’m using 6mm ones, but you can use any size.
-0.4mm wire
-wire cutters
Optional –
-Washi Tape. Helps hold the wire in place.
-Glitter glue. Well, it is Christmas.
1. Cut a 50cm length of wire. Thread on 10 beads, leaving a 10cm tail (you can use some tape to hold this bit of wire down and stop the bead coming off!)
2. Pick up the longer end of wire and thread it through the first bead you added, which will be the one at the shorter end of wire.
3.Pull the wires tightly to form a circle.
4. Thread 3 beads onto the longer end of wire, find the bead that this wire come out off, skip the next bead along and thread through the next. Gently pull the wire until the 3 beads make a point on the outside of the circle.
5. Repeat step 4 until you have five points. Both wires will now be coming out of the same bead, just on different sides.
6.You can just hang your star like this, but I prefer having the wires coming out of a point. To do this thread the short end of wire through the beads again to the nearest point. For the longer end, thread it round through the inner circle again and up the other side of the same point as the other end.
You can then add glitter or ribbons, or use larger 8mm beads. Let me know if you make your own Beaded Star Decorations by commenting with a link or message me on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook! Happy Christmas crafting!