Twisted Wire & Paper Charms

Today I have a really fun and totally unique charm for you to try...

Twisted Wire and Paper Charms!

These babies are so much fun because no charm will ever be exactly the same and it uses items that are in your stash already!  When I started thinking about these charms I originally had in mind a leaf shape but as you will see the ideas grew from there.  You're not limited by the shapes I share below...the sky is the limit.  If you can dream it and twist the wire into that shape it's fair game!

NOTE: I was trying to hurry so some of the pics didn't turn out very good which is why there aren't many with this tutorial.  I will try to remake & take more pics possibly later this week.

Supplies:

Wire (any gauge)
Glossy Accents or Similar Medium
Paper Ephemera ~ Dictionary Pages, Book Pages, Sheet Music, Map Pieces, even pattern papers if you like.
Embellishments (optional) - seed beads, mini gears, glitter, etc.

Instructions:

1. Twist wire into desired shape.  I started off with a leaf shape but then I made a curly leaf, a bird wing and a couple sets of butterfly wings.

KEEP IN MIND: If you are going to use this wire & paper shape as an embellishment you don't need to worry about adding a hanger.  If it's going to be a charm be sure to add a loop in the wire for hanging.

2. After you have twisted the wire into the desired shape you will need to make sure it is pretty flat.  You can flatten the piece several different ways: 

* Place the wire shape on your work surface and stack several books on it and leave it for a couple hours until it flattens out and stays there.  

* Run it through your die cut machine with enough blocks/plates to ensure it gets smooshed flat.

* Bend it and manipulate it until it's pretty flat (that's what I did)

3. Lay the twisted wire pieces onto your paper ephemera. 

4. Fill each shape with Glossy Accents.  I found that it worked best if I ran a small bead of GA around the inside edges of the wire and let it dry for a couple minutes.  I then went back and filled in the entire piece.

Don't worry if some of the Glossy Accents runs out under the edges.  You can cut off the excess later.

 

5. (optional) If you would like to add a bit more interest to your charm/embellishment you can do so quite easily.  After you have filled the wire shape with GA, let it dry for a minute or so then drop in desired extras.  Here I am using watch gears but you could also add seed or micro beads, glitter, tiny screws, faux gemstones, seed pearls, etc... 

6. Let the charms dry completely.   You may be tempted to mess with them before they are dry...DON'T!  You could easily mess it up and have to start all over again.  (don't ask how I know this!)  Leave it set until the Glossy Accents is completely clear.  Several hours to over night is best.

7. Trim the charms from the paper ephemera.  Cut as close to the outside of the wire edges as possible. You can easily trim through excess Glossy Accents as long as your shears are sharp.  I like to use my Fiskars Micro Tips because they stay very sharp and can get in all of the small areas around the twisted wire.

and here is how they turned out....

(backs)

Geared Wing...

And here are the butterfly wings. 

I have a plan for these that I'll be sharing with you in a day or so ;) 

I think you'll like where they end up!

Told you it was easy!

Now it's your turn!