Make your own 'scrunchie' wire beads to create brenda harvey's statement cards and accessories

What you need...

• BEADS Agate, black: oblong x 4, round x 10, cushion x 2, Lava stone, rounds, variety of sizes x 9, Cushion, glass, silver foiled, green x 5, Heart, silver foiled, striped, turquoise x 6, Flower, silver imprint x 1, Resin, round, satin finish, 18mm, bright pink x 3, Seeds: black; teal, Rounds, silver-plated, 3mm, Spacers, corrugated, antiqued silver: 9mm x 4mm; 9mm x 5.5mm
  
  FINDINGS Wire: nylon-coated; coloured copper, 0.3mm (28 gauge), bright pink; black; teal green; turquoise; pale blue, Chain, foxtail crimp, silver-plated, Clasp, silverplated: toggle; lobster, Calottes, silver-plated, Closed ring, silver-plated, Crimps, silverplated, Earwires, silverplated, Card: black; bright pink; silver mirror, Ribbon, satin, turquoise, Crystals, flat back, selfadhesive, Star-shaped sequin, silver, 3-D foam pads
  
  TOOLS Pliers: flat-nosed; round-nosed, Cutters, wire
  

instructions

1. Bracelet - 1. Decide how long you want the bracelet to be, then cut a length of nyloncoated wire that is 10cm longer than this. Thread two crimp beads and the bar of a toggle clasp onto the wire. Make a crease in the wire 2cm from one end so that the toggle bar sits in the loop of the crease.
   
   2. Take the tail end of the wire back through both crimp beads and squeeze into position with flat-nosed pliers so that they lie close to the toggle bar. Trim the excess wire to 1cm. Thread three seeds onto the bracelet wire, then tuck the trimmed end inside these beads for a neat finish.
   
   3. Add a 9mm x 4mm spacer bead, a black agate shape, a second 9mm x 4mm spacer and three seeds. Thread on a 9mm x 5.5mm spacer, a blue scrunched wire ball (see How To...), another 9mm x 5.5mm spacer, three seeds, a 9mm x 4mm spacer, a lava bead and a 9mm x 4mm spacer.
   
   5. Repeat the stringing pattern in reverse for the rest of the bracelet, leaving out the lava bead and substituting the blue scrunched wire ball for a pink one. Adding more bead combinations where necessary to fill the entire length of the bracelet.
   
   6. Slip on two silver crimp beads, make a crease in the wire 0.5cm after these and add the other half of the toggle clasp. Thread the end of the wire back through the two crimps and secure the last one into position with flat-nosed pliers. Trim the short end of the wire to 0.5cm, tuck this inside the first bead, then compress the remaining crimp to finish.
   

2. How to... Make a Scrunched Wire Ball - Cut a length of wire, crumple it up and form it into a ball by rolling it in the palms of your hands. The shorter the piece of wire and the more pressure you use, the smaller the ball becomes. Any sharp protruding wire ends can be hidden simply by grasping them firmly in the tips of round-nosed pliers and pushing them into the centre of the bead.