Copper wire is a fairly convenient material for needlework, which allows you to create original crafts at home. In this case, even children can cope with work.
What is necessary for work?
Before you start creating crafts, you need to prepare all the materials that you may need while working. The material, of course, depends on the kind of crafts. In addition to the wire itself, we can talk about multi-colored threads, beads, sequins, beads. Fabric patches with beautiful patterns, foil and colored paper can also be useful. Additionally, it is worthwhile to prepare such natural materials as roots and branches of plants of unusual shapes. Plasticine will not be superfluous. In addition to copper wire, you can additionally use other types of wire with different thicknesses in order to be able to make the frame thicker, and parts and connections - thinner.
Nippers will be required to obtain wire pieces of the required size, and pliers and pliers will allow you to give them a beautiful bend. Quite often, to create voluminous copper crafts, a soldering iron is required to connect key parts. Since it is not possible to hold the hot wire with your bare hands, it is worthwhile to prepare tweezers, at least ordinary (medical), first.
Before you begin to solder a piece of jewelry or a decorative figure, it is better to practice unnecessary scraps.
The combination of a hammer and anvil will add the necessary flattened parts to the product. The role of the anvil is able to fulfill some dimensional metal object with a flat surface.Other tools required for working with copper wire include sandpaper, scissors, and reliable adhesive tape.
Interesting ideas
For beginners, it is recommended to start familiarizing with copper wire with the creation of simple products, for example, animal and plant contours, as well as geometric shapes. Contour (flat) crafts made of copper wire are suitable for embodiment even with children's hands. Some complicated schemes are not required for this. It is enough just to start from the contour, then separately design the internal parts, and at the end connect one to the other with a thin wire. If necessary, the gaps are filled with a dense winding formed of thick wire.
Volumetric crafts have a more complex three-dimensional design. It can be a keychain, stand, basket or any other decorative object. It is to create voluminous work that a soldering iron is required.
Before the New Year holidays, you can make a decorative Christmas tree yourself. If the planned height of the tree is from 15 to 20 cm, then for crafts it will take no more than 1 meter of the main material. The exact amount is determined depending on the angle of the spiral. Such a tree is decorated with an ordinary garland or a hanging “rain”.
However, it is important to remember that copper heats up well and acts as a conductor of electricity, so it is better to refuse a faulty garland.
Christmas decoration can also be created with the addition of tinsel. In this case, the trunk will need such a wire length that will correspond to the height of the craft, and for each pair of branches - more by 1-1.5 centimeters. First, each copper thread is “dressed” in tinsel, slowing down the slip, and then the branches are wound on the trunk with one or two turns or almost completely “wrap” it.
To create a keychain in the form of a ladybug, you will need one long piece of copper thread and 4 short ones of equal length. The first will serve to create the body of the insect, and the rest - for the legs. The head can be made separately from a medium-sized wire piece. To create a body, a long wire will have to be twisted so that a three-dimensional hemisphere is formed that resembles an egg. Using red and black beads, it will turn out to decorate the basis of the ladybug. The insect head is made by winding the middle wire around the body so that the free ends "go" forward. Thus, it is the ends that will form the antennae, and the lump of wire will become the head. The legs of the insect are connected at the last moment.
A heart made of wire piece, mounted on a wooden cube, looks very beautiful. First, the metal is bent so as to form the desired shape. At the base, the thread should be twisted, and then make the heart double. The end of the piece is fixed at the bottom so that the leg remains. A hole is drilled in a wooden cube, after which glue is poured into it and a copper craft is inserted.
To make a butterfly decorated with curls, you must first learn how to work with tongs. Having mastered this technique, it will turn out to completely construct a graceful insect from one wire. A beautiful curl can become the upper part of the wing, after which it remains to make its lower part in the form of one curl and to “mirror” the wing. To complete the work, it remains to stick in the center a large bead, acting as the abdomen.
A wire spider is pretty simple to create: To do this, prepare 8 metal threads of the same size and 2 beads. It is important that all materials have a similar color. Beads are put on one of the wires so as to leave a minimum distance between them. The remaining wire pieces are tied at this point, and then bent to form legs.
A hot stand is created from one thick piece of wire or two thinner ones.
It is important to select metal fragments whose length is at least 1 meter.
Thick wire can be applied immediately, while thin wires need to be twisted around each other to form a spiral. In addition, a fairly wide range of suitable lengths will be required. First, the wire is wrapped around the ruler, and then the workpiece is bent so that the rings begin to look in different directions. If everything is done correctly, then you should get a kind of sun, the ends of which are additionally fixed.
Recommendations
Interacting with wire, it is better to adhere to one of the basic methods of work. For example, the material can be twisted in a spiral, or else form other curls. Thin wire is suitable as a reliable basis for weaving with beads.
The ganutel technique allows you to create crafts from wire using silk threads, beads, rhinestones and pearls. Before starting work, it is better to draw or print a sketch for more convenient work.
The following video shows a master class on creating a sword from copper wire.
