Copper Wire Crafting

I seem to pick up lots of things on a fancy…and while I’ve always liked to work with wire (french beaded flowers and whatnot), I found some copper wire not too long ago and started hammering away on it.  Tappa Tappa Tappa into the night I went.  Then I started adding glass and metal beads to the hammered wire.  Now I’m hooked…until the next fancy comes along. 

It’s a good thing I have lots of creative outlets for my stress!!!

I have a big anvil type vise out in the shed, but it’s cold out there still and it’s bolted to the work bench.  My husband went upstairs and came down with a small 5×2x2 piece of steel for me to use while inside at night.   But he yelled at me around 11pm last night to cut out all the racket…phooey.  It’s hard to hammer copper wire quietly, eh?! 

This is what I made while sitting on the floor…watching Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives last night. Just love that guy ~ I could take him and Bobby Flay home with me any time.

My little inside hammering set-up ~

Copper Wire & Beads

Well…feeling a little better than yesterday ~ lots of praying for God’s intervention helped immensely.   Families can stress the hell out of a person.

Anyhoo…I picked up some copper wire from a garage sale a couple of years ago, stuck it in the Round-To-It box and forgot about it.  Heh…big sigh.  I pulled it out when we moved the downstairs bedroom upstairs and the upstairs bedroom downstairs.  (Remind me to smack my husband upside the head when he wants to rearrange the furniture again)

You see…the upstairs was my crafting room and hide-away.  It’s the only room upstairs (besides my glorious cast iron tub on claws) with two huge windows ~ one facing SW and the other NE.  My husband thought it was a great idea for me to have the whole downstairs master bedroom for crafting…and started moving things when I wasn’t home.  I hid the tears and helped him move the beds.

What was my point?!  Holy crap!  Oh yeah…I found my Round-To-It box in the move and while rummaging through it, found the wire.  Sunday afternoon we headed to the El Rancho Swap Meet like usual and I picked up a small ball-peen hammer and a few beads ~ both for $1.  Definitely hope that lady will be next week, as I’m bring lots of $1 bills. 

I have a really big vise that has to bolted to a surface out in the shed that has a flat surface to whack wire with.   So I gave it a try last night.  Didn’t put any thought into it, just did it really fast to see if it’d work. 

First is just hammered. Second with a bead and “antiqued” copper or brass spacers.  Will work on the bottom part when I get home ~ needs to be looped differently and then hammered.

The beads I got at the swap meet.

I think I’ll have fun with this.  Will have to get longer pieces so I can make the trees some hanging do-hoppers. 

 Toodles!