Tutorial Time - Making Copper Wire Ornament Hangers

Been a while since I've written a tutorial..so this is LONG OVER DUE!  I was looking for an alternative to the plain ole ribbon or hemp I was using to string up my ceramic ornaments.  So I started playing around with some 18g copper wire I had laying around and VOILA!  I think the end result turned out rather nicely. This tutorial will be VERY photo centric with captions.   ENJOY

Materials: 18g copper wire, ruler, round nose pliers, flat needle nose pliers, wire cutters, and an object to wrap the wire around.  I used a pottery tool I had available to get the right size I wanted for the hanger.

 

STEP 1 (not pictured) - Cut the wire into approximately 6" lengths.  This size worked well for my purposes.  Adjust the length based on your needs and trial and error.

STEP 2 - Ensure the end of the wire is flush cut, not beveled.  Grasp the end of the wire at the very tip of the round nose pliers and make a small loop.  To get a nice even loop, grasp the wire at the very end (so it's not hanging over the top of the pliers.)  Rotate your hand/wrist towards you a quarter of a turn, release the wire being careful not to move the position on the shaft of the pliers, rotate the pliers back towards the wire, grasp again and rotate towards you another quarter turn.  Repeat this process until the end of the wire meets the tail.

STEP 3 - Grab the tool you will be using to make the hanging portion of your ornament hanger.  In my case, I used a tool often used to hollow out solid lumps of clay.  Hold the end of the wire against the tool with the edge of the loop you just made facing the tool.  Wrap the wire around the object until you have about a finger's width of space left between the tail of the wire and where the loop is.  When you pull the tool out of the wire loop, it will widen the larger loop you just made, which makes it "just right" for what we're going for.

STEP 4 - Grasp the tail of the wire in your fingers approximately parallel with where the smaller loop is now positioned.  Gently bend the wire down so that it makes a sharp bend in the wire.  It should look like a question mark at this point.

STEP 5 - I used my thumb to gauge this next distance.  Place your thumb at the edge of the bend you just made.  On the opposite end of your thumb, grasp the wire with your round nose pliers at the largest part of the pliers.  Bend the wire around until it makes a full "U", or so that the two ends of the wire are now parallel to one another.

STEP 6 - Grasp the end of the wire you just bent up with the flat needle nose pliers slightly above the round needle nose pliers and bend the wire back down.  In the pictures, I had grabbed the wire right above the pliers but ended up needing a tad more space.

STEP 7 - Now that the wire is bent on top of itself, use the flat nose pliers to tighten up the bend and flatten it out.  In the images the wire is on top of itself.  In subsequent renditions, I rotated the wire so the bend ends up being side by side.  It makes the spiral we make later on sit more flat on ornament hanger.

STEP 8 - Now grasp the end of the tale of the wire.  Remember that loop we made at the beginning?  Do it again. :)  Then we're just going to keep on winding until we make a spiral.  Once you've made the small loop, use your finger to guide the wire as you wrap.  Once you get 1.5 loops, you will need to grasp the wire with the flat needle nose pliers to keep wrapping (continue guiding the wire with your finger).

 

 

STEP 9 - Once you spiral the wire all the way up to the bend, it gets a tad tricky.  You want to continue the spiral, but putting the spiral over this bend.  The spiral hides the bend in the wire and adds just that little extra "something" when you put the ornament on.  Once you get the spiral over this bend in the wire, use the flat needle nose pliers to compress everything.  It makes it nice and tight and pretty.  It also hides the pierced hole in the ornament.  Win-Win

 

 

 

 

STEP 10 - String on your ornament!  

 

BONUS - For a little extra flair, I added a cute reindeer charm to this Santa Boot ornament.  Take your flat nose pliers and turn the small loop at the top perpendicular to the rest of the hanger.  Gently open it up and slide on your charm.

Want one of these?  I have 10 available in my Etsy Shop. :)

 

It will take some time and fidgeting to the spiral to look the way you want.  With subsequent ornament hangers, I was able to get the spiral to completely hide the pierced hole in the ornament.  Just takes a little bit of fiddling with the wire spiral, and how much wire you actually need for that *U* where the ornament sits.

Have fun!  Let me know how yours turn out in the comments below!  Looking forward to seeing your own renditions of this simple ornament hanger. :)

Shoutout to JustinCredible Pottery!

I don't know Justin in person... but we potters are crazy.. and make close connections via a variety of online groups and communities.  I met Justin through one such group, "Clay Buddies" on Facebook.  (Side note...I REALLY LOVE THAT GROUP! :) )

Name: Justin DeWitt

Business Name(s): JustinCredible Pottery

Date Business Was Opened: June 2013

Types of Items Offered: Oddball one of a kind functional pottery

Why did you decide to open/start your own business?: I needed someplace to put my excess pottery, so why not sell it and get paid

What is your inspiration?: Still working on that…….. :P   My family, to constantly better myself

First Solo Art/Craft Fair

  So.. the weekend after Thanksgiving this year was my very first SOLO arts/craft fair.  I've done a few in the past, but it was always with a fellow potter, or other Maine artisans.  With the type of ceramics I make.. nearly ALL of them are personalized, so I make the orders as they come in.  That being said...I had virtually NO inventory to speak of.  So for the end of October and all of November, I was busting my @$$ trying to make sure I had inventory for the Christmas show.  I made a bunch of earrings and ornaments, thinking those would be big sellers.  Lower price points, great gifts for the holidays, etc.  Needless to say, they weren't!  I had a smorgasbord of sales.  My goal, was to bring in enough profits so I could replace my iPad that I got two years ago. 

The Internal Debate

Don't mind this post... more to do with me thinking out loud, and seeing what you all have to say...  Looking for input.

Right now, I do a lot of hand building.  95% of my work is hand building, working with slabs of clay rolled out with my slab roller.  Which, don't get my wrong, I enjoy doing...or I wouldn't be doing it at all.  But I have found that my true calling/niche is in sculpting.  And I really want to delve into that some more...explore the possibilities.

BUT, I have just gotten to the point where I have 5 stores where I have my items displayed, and soon to be 6!  This is HUGE for me!  What great opportunities!  But I don't know if my sculptured work would fly in these spaces.  One of them, perhaps..  Actually..  2 .. now that I think about it.  

With Christmas coming up, I know I'm going to be busy with Christmas ornaments and Christmas orders, so I don't know if I'm going to be able to "play" now..but maybe after Christmas I'll get to let this creative muse explore the ideas floating around in my head.  I've been trying to get better at sketching them out so I don't loose them.  It's helping quite a bit, surprisingly.  I need to find a way to balance my "good days" with fulfilling orders for the hand built stuff, and still giving me time to play and sculpt..  Hmm..

Footsteps For Freedom

I am thinking for my next sculpture, that it's going to be another set of military boots...thinking about creating a series..  And the series will be titled "B.O.G. - Boots On Ground".  No two sculptures will look alike, but they will all share a common theme and be somewhat similar....  So if you have any ideas, please feel free to let me know!  

http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/

Very small fish vase I made

Playing Catch Up

So much to do, so little time...I had that feeling all summer with the wedding coming up, and now that the wedding is done.. I still feel that way!  But in a good way.  So here's a brief run down to get ya all caught up.
- Got married August 10 to the man that completes me in every way imaginable.  It was a windy day, rained right up until the ceremony and then it stopped.  It wasn't a heavy rain.. a sprinkle really..  but it was a great day, filled with laughter, family, and fun. :)  OH!  And I made all the wedding favors. :)

- Have had several doctors appointments the last month ranging from neurology to urology.  Fun stuff, huh?  bleck.  As a matter of fact, I have 2 more appointments coming up on Monday!  But I think those are the last two for a while...unless something drastic happens.
- Got my son all enrolled in school (my big 6th grader!), attended an orientation, and he started school August 21.  They start fairly early here, because it is still a very rural community with farms all over the place.  They have a 2 week vacation in September/October so that the kids can help with the potato harvest.
- Re-opened my Etsy shop (www.etsy.com/shop/jsbarts) after it had been on vacation for nearly 2 months while we were doing all the wedding preparations.  And in the last week, I've gotten 3 orders!  All for the same pumpkin spoon rest!  I guess I need to make lots more of those!
- Began selling my stuff at a gift shop in Caribou, Maine; that is known for carrying quality, handmade items, but MOST known for carrying Amish made furniture.  Hoping to do well there.
- Started making Christmas ornaments to get all stocked up for the big art/craft show that is done up here in Fort Kent at the University.  I've been told it's a big to do and that I SHOULD do relatively well.  Keep your fingers crossed!

I think those are all the major items...I've also decided to nix the themed days.  They're not really helping me stay on track at all...I am going to keep Mudita Mondays, as I believe those are important.  It's always nice to recognize someone for their efforts and be genuinely happy for their successes, whether it is of any benefit for you or not.  There needs to be MORE positivity in the world.. and more recognition of the good things people do.  So yea... that's staying.  :)

Lots of ideas for upcoming posts.... so stay tuned my friends!

OH!  and I almost forgot.. I am running a Labor Day sale at my Etsy store.. until 2 September.  Just enter "LABORDAY" in the coupon code to receive $5 off any purchase of $15 or more in my shop.  Please spread the word!

TTFN

Tuesday Tips - Loading A Greenware Kiln

Wow... can't believe it's 5 pm already!!!  I have been searching all my links and references in an effort to be able to tell you guys where I got my information about loading a greenware kiln.  If I find it... I will definitely share it!  If any of you potters/ceramic artists out there can share the link if you know what I'm talking about.. PLEASE, feel free to leave it in the comments!  :)  Anyway... back to the tip of the week...

New Traditions

Sitting in the living room alone tonight while my fiance has been in bed for hours, I'm left with late night television and my thoughts.  2012 has been a hard year for a lot of reasons.  I am forever the optimist...always finding the silver lining in every situation.  My fiance and I are looking for a home closer to where my son lives with his father to make things less difficult for my son (Side note - my son lives with his dad due to my health.  long story short.  One of these days I'll get more in depth with the explanation...).  But looking for a house that works with what I need as far as accessibility (need to be able to get around in the wheelchair), and what my fiance wants as far as land, and being in a good school for Caden...and still trying to find something within our price range...HA.  NOT happening...  But then things started getting busier with my business.  Ya know the saying that when one door closes, look for the open window??  Or something along those lines...This may be it.  Patience is not my forte, but I may need to embrace it for this house hunt.  My business is growing in popularity and sales...perhaps the increase in sales and exposure is the window that opened up for us for finding the right home...Silver linings in every situation...  :)

Along those same lines...I was speaking to a friend of mine that made one helluva suggestion.  I am thinking of starting a limited edition ornament for each month, that will only be created during that specified month.  I have a few ideas floating around...but would LOVE your suggestions.  What kind of limited edition ceramic ornaments would YOU like to see??  I was thinking of an edited version of the Mayan Calender for January 2013...We survived the apocalypse!  :-D  Looking forward to your thoughts!

TTFN

From Raw Clay to Finished Ceramics

Happy Hump Day!!

I get a lot of questions as to why it takes so long to get a custom order done.  People don't understand that turning raw clay into a finished ceramic piece takes a lot of time.  The more intricate a piece, obviously the more time has been spent.  So, I figured I would give you a run down on what it takes from start to finish.  :)

Busy Working...Could Really Use Some Christmas Elves!!

The last few days have been CRAZY busy!  Trying to get all the custom orders I received for Christmas done and mailed so they actually arrive in time to be put under the tree.  I've been making LOTS of ornaments.  I'm working on a custom ornament now that I'm actually pretty excited about.  It's VERY detailed, but if I can make it work...it will be exquisite!  Don't worry...I'll post pics here. :)  But with all this over night business, I haven't had much time to work on Christmas present for MY family...So I'm still heavily in production mode!  Can you believe Christmas is only 22 days away?!?!?  OMG!!  Where did the time go?!?

 Lots of new goodies pulled out of the kiln and listed on Etsy last night and today...Here's a sneak peak!

I've been doing LOTS of hand building and not as much work on the wheel.  I'm really loving what I'm coming up with though....Especially the fused glass ring holders!!!  REALLY love the way the purple flower and the fused glass turned out..  BEAUTIFUL!!

Well, I guess that's enough procrastinating for today...time to get back to work.  Really does make me a happy camper though.  People LIKE my ceramics enough to buy them for themselves or as gifts.  I'm helping bring in a little extra money to help our family...You have no idea how much of a boost that can be to someone who cannot hold a regular job.  I have to be able to work on my schedule, which is never predictable.  Just last night/this morning...I stayed up all night and finally fell asleep at 0800 this morning!  Slept for 4 hours...and now here I am!  So anyway...being able to bring in a little extra money by doing something I absolutely LOVE is amazing...

Well, I guess I shall get back to work now.  :)  Thank you all for "listening" and participating in my endeavors!  <3

TTFN