Memory wire and rubber tubing provide a great canvas for art beads • by Jean Yates

Using memory wire is so effortless, it’s amazing how beautiful the final result can be. When you use art beads with memory wire, that handful of beads that you just had to have — but haven’t figured out how to showcase — can finally find a worthy backdrop.

Art bead memory wire band

1 Separate four coils of memory wire from the stack of coils.

Hold the wire with chainnose pliers and bend it back and forth at one place until the wire breaks. You also can use heavy-duty wire cutters. Do not use jewelry-weight wire cutters.

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SupplyList• 5 10–20mm art beads • 7 8mm beads • 7 4mm round crystals• 7 4mm bicone crystals• 4 charms • 2 60 metallic bronze seed beads• 2 5mm jump rings• memory wire, bracelet diameter• 9.5 in. (24.1cm) 2.5mm diameter rubber tubing• roundnose pliers• chainnose pliers or heavy-duty wire cutters

2Using roundnose pliers, make a small loop on one end of the

memory wire.

3String: round crystal, 8mm bead, bicone crystal, 2 in. (5cm) of

rubber tubing.

6Open a jump ring (Basics, p. 108) and string a charm, a 60 seed bead, and

another charm. Attach the jump ring to a loop at one end of the memory wire and close the jump ring. Make another charm unit and attach it to the loop at the other end of the memory wire. ✤

4String: art bead, round, 8mm, bicone, 1½ in. (3.8cm) of tubing.

Repeat this pattern four more times.5String a bicone, an 8mm, and a

round. Cut the memory wire ¼ in. (6mm) from the last bead. Make a small loop on the end of the wire.