Living On Air: Repetition Is A Good Thing

Learning something new can be exciting... or make you want to pull your hair out. I had an Asian Charm Swap that just drove me N-U-T-S! First... I couldn't think of what I wanted to do. Then, when I finally had an idea, I couldn't think of how to 'pull it off'. So back to the drawing board looking for a new idea.

EUREKA!!! Or should I have said, "Ahhhhh Sooooo". An idea came flying out of thin air. I knew what I would make... An Asian Locket. Do a little paper folding, add a cover and ribbon to keep it closed, throw on a jump ring and... Ta Dah!

No, of course it wasn't that easy. Why would I have thought that?? Nothing is ever as simple as you think it's going to be... at least not in my world.

I unearthed my roll of rice paper the other day... so that part went smoothly. Folding paper that was cut 1 1/2" square was a little challenging, but not difficult. The covers were cut and glued to card stock to make them sturdy... so far so good. Moving right along to assembling the charms (all 30 of them)... looking good.

Folding

In progress

Last is to insert a grommet and jump ring... UGH! They look B-O-R-I-N-G! Lacking PIZZAZZ! Hmm... they need a little glitz. Soooo... here comes the hard part... at least for me.

It's time I learned how to wire wrap. I have the beads, the wire, and the tools. Now, let's put it all together and get these things finished. Uh... I've never done this before. Never even seen someone else do it either. Where do I start??? I know... the Internet! After watching a few videos I feel I'm ready to take on the wire! It's only a spool of wire and some pliers. I'm not intimidated!!!

Thank heavens I had to make 30 charms for this swap. Wire wrap number 1 and 2 (the top 2 in photo) were AWFUL!!! By number 10 (third in photo) you can see I've made some progress... but number 16 (bottom one) is the winner!! Isn't it pretty????