Pendant with your own hands

The best present is the one which made with your own hands with all love and patience that you can bring into it. It's not difficult to make your beloved people happy, you just have to want it very much and be ready to try something you've never done before.

Supplies and Tools:

• 1 pendant-size stone or other object, with a hole drilled front-to-back.
• 1 piece of 20-gauge round wire - about 6 inches (15 cm) long.
• Chain nose pliers.
• Round nose pliers.
• Flat nose pliers.
• Side cutters.

Procedure:

For example you can use an olive jasper stone that measures about 45 mm x 35 mm. You can make a simple wire spiral for the front design on the pendant, or feel free to get as creative as you like with your pliers if you don't want a spiral.

Start making the wire design that will grace the front of the pendant stone. You can grow the spiral by gripping it with the chain nose pliers, while the fingers of your other hand continue to curve more wire around the spiral.

When you've finished your design (whether it's a spiral or something else) - hold your wire design so its top end points up. If necessary, bend your wire stem so that it points straight up also.

Now use your flat nose pliers to make a 90-degree bend in your stem wire, and thread your stem wire through the hole in your pendant stone.

Your spiral (or other wire design you've just made) is on the front side of your stone. Now, while pressing your wire design tightly against the front of your stone, bend the stem wire straight upward. Use your round nose pliers to start shaping your pendant's bail.

Keep using your round nose pliers to make nice even bends as you create the rest of your bail. You can try to make the bails large enough to accommodate any size chain or cord, including the smaller end of whatever clasp that chain / cord may have.

When you've finished shaping your bail, use the remaining stem wire to make several nice, neat wraps below the bail. As always, the secret to easy, even wraps is to pull the winding wire so it's very taut, and wind it firmly around the stem wire. Grip your bail with your flat nose pliers while you wrap.

When you're finished wrapping, use your side cutter to clip off any remaining wrap wire. Then use your chain nose pliers to clamp that cut wire end down tightly.

Important Tip: On the finished pendant, it's better if this cut wire end is not on the back side of the pendant, where it might scratch the skin or snag the clothes of the person wearing it.

So when you clip off the excess wrap wire, you should leave just enough wire to bend around to the side of the main wire stem before clamping it down.

You can also add extra effects to your wire - hammering, oxidizing, etc. If you use an interesting variety of pendant stones you'll find it's a popular and profitable jewelry line to add to your display.