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Working
with Wire
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| Wire
is a wonderful medium that can be used to create many types of embellishments
for your pieces. Best of all the more you work with it the more creative
you will get and the more fabulous designs you can create. Working
with wire does take practice but once you master this skill you will
find it has hundreds of uses on your layouts and cards. |
| Wire
Tips on this Page are divided into categories. You may click on any
category to be taken automatically to that category or just scroll
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| Wire
Basics |
| Wire
is a wonderful way to add texture and dimension to your
pages. Best of all it can be used in so many different
ways the only limits are your imagination. Wire comes
in gauges, the smaller the number on the gauge the thicker
it is. Therefore 22 gauge wire is thicker than 26 gauge
wire which is thinner and more flexible. |
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| Working
with wire you might find it helpful to have a few tools,
these include round nose pliers (many also have a cutter
on them) and a jig. |
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adhere wire you will need a glue that is liquid and tacky.
Recommended glues are Gem-Tac (not acid-free), Perfect
Paper Adhesive (acid-free) and Memory Mount (acid-free
but takes longest to dry) which are both liquid and tacky. |
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can also adhere wire with thread or 26 gauge wire by "sewing"
your wire objects to your paper. |
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| Wrapping
Wire |
| Wrapping
wire is a great way to start using wire as it is easy
and even your "mistakes" come out artistic.
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| For
best results start with wire on the back of your die cut
and secure the end with tape. Wrap securely but not too
tight or you might cause your paper to tear. |
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| To
create a special title wrap wire around letters. Here each letter
is wrapped in a different manner to create an interesting look. |
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Another
wonderful tip to try with wrapped wire is to add beads. Each
time you wrap around your item add one or more colorful beads
for an even more three-dimensional look. |
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| Creating
Shapes |
| Shapes
are easy to create with a little practice. The best shape
to try first is the swirl. To create a swirl, start with
round nosed pliers at the tip and make a tight curl, twist
the pliers to make a loop and you have a swirl. Continue
swirling to create multiple loops as shown at right. |
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With
a little more practice and imagination you can create more intricate
shapes. Try drawing a shape on a piece of paper and wrapping
the wire to form that shape, for more intricate designs you
might want to try using a jig. |
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| Using
A Jig |
| For
more intricate or precise designs you might find that
a jig is a useful and necessary tool to create your designs. |
| The
jig is filled with many holes and use use pegs to create
your design. Once the pegs are inserted into your design
you just wrap the wire around the pegs as shown at left. |
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| Twisted
Wire |
| Twisting
groups of wire together is another way to create interesting
shapes from stems, to trees to twigs. Experiment with
several gauges of wire until you get the desired effect.
The effect created at right is just done by taking 8 pieces
of wire, folding them in half and twisting together the
loose ends at the base. |
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By
taking the sample above and twisting two of the loops together
and repeating with the remaining loops you end up with a tree
branch or a flower stem. All you need to do is add die cut
flowers or leaves to finish the look.
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| Creating
Words |
| This
is a great way to create titles for your pages. You can
bend the wire so the words are block or script, just have
fun with it! I have found that it makes it easier to write
the words on paper first and then make your wire letters
in similar shapes. You can do this with or without the
use of pliers or a jig. Practice and you will be creating
professional titles in no time! |
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| Crimping
Wire |
| By
running straight wire through a crimper tool (shown right)
you can add texture to the wire that can be used for all
sorts of things. Create "chain", braces on a
child's teeth, or just adding dimension to your pages. |
| Here
is a sample of crimped wire: |
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| Coiling
Wire |
| Coiling
is another fun technique to add texture and dimension
to your layouts. The fun thing about coils is that they
can be shaped into many things once the wire is coiled.
You will need a special coiling tool (shown left) to create
your coils. |
| Try
letters or other fun shapes for a wonderful three-dimensional
look! |
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Tight Coil |
Coil Slightly Stretched |
Coil Stretched Wide |
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here to return to the main scrapbooking page with links to other tips. |
