Tree of Life
Ornament
By Terri Clement
You will need:
6mm beads and smaller - can be seed beads (or polished
rock beads)
Needle Nose Pliers
Wire Cutters
A metal ring (I
used a 2 inch ring for this example)
Nine – 10 inch strands of
24-gauge wire (if using a 4 inch ring – use twelve – 12inch
strands of wire)
Step 1 - Gather supplies
Step 2 –
Take one strand of wire and thread it through the wire ring, make
sure the sides are even. Wrap each side around the ring twice for a
total of four coils. Pull them tight around the ring. Repeat with
remaining wires.
Step 3 – Start on one side of the wires and twist or braid the first 3 stands approximately 1/4” - 1/2”. Continue with the remaining strands.
Step 4 – Gather twists
and and twist them all together - up a little ways.
Then take 2 – 4 strands, depending on
how thick you want your branch to be, separate them from the large
group of wires. Repeat until you have the beginnings of a tree with
many branches and all wires have been used.
Step 6 – Now twist the branches just like you did the big group, but twist them to the ring yet. Break your larger branches into smaller ones.
Step 7 – Separate the individual wires and make sue they are evenly
distributed around the ring. If you twist them too far, just leave
them. They will probably break later.
Step 8 – Add a bead
(or more depending on how full you want your branches). Finish the
branch by wrapping it around the ring a couple of times, clip off the
excess and pinch tight with pliers. Repeat for all remaining wires on
this branch. Push the finished section tight against the roots.
Step 9 – Repeat step 8 on the other side of the roots. Continue repeating this changing sides after each branch. Remember to push them tight against the roots. The last couple of branches will be the most difficult because you will be running out of room on the ring.
Options:
If you want to make a larger or smaller
tree, simply pick a different ring size and adjust the number of
wires using multiples of three (3, 6, 9...) The smaller ones can be
worn as pendants or the really small ones could even be made into
earrings.
Adding Charms: If
you want to add charms to your tree, just ad them while twisting the
branches or before you add beads to the branch, depending on where
you want the charm to hang.
Want trees to look a little more
bare – twist the branches closer to the end and only add one or two
small beads. - Your choice - Have fun!