Opaline and Sapphire Snowflake Pendant

Designed by Gale Pressman

materials

beads

• 1 *8mm sapphire swarsorski crystal
• 2 4mm sapphire swarsorski crystals
• 18 small white potato pearls
• 1 round 2mm white pearl
• 8 ss 1 mm balls
• 3 ½“ ss ball head pins
• 2 opaline tear drops

wire

• 3 16 inch lengths of 26 gauge ss soft round wire for inner frame
• 18 inches 28 g.round ss. soft wire for making coils
• 12” 21 g. half round wire for wrapping to form bail
• 12 inches 21 g. round ss wire for outer snowflake shape
• 12 inches spiral square wire for center spiral coil where small round pearl is attached with ball head pin

tools

• ruler
• tweezers to shape snowflake more firmly
• long nose pliers
• bent nose pliers
• round nose pliers
• bail making plier
• nylon and brass plated pliers.

directions

1. First I took a bundle of 3 - round ss. 16 inch wires and slipped a 1nmm silver ball a little over ½ down. I left the center wire sticking up (which later became the sixth snowflake arm) but bent down the other two wires on opposite sides.


2. Next I make a square knot over the bundle (a macramé knot-- but used two nylon pliers --one on each end--to pull the knot securely). See picture with blue sapphire bead on it as a way of understanding how I began this project.


3. I added a pearl to center wire and made another square knot.


4. I continued with another pearl and formed a second sort of arm. It looked like a set of wire wings as I put the sapphire crystal on the wires below this heart shaped wire form.


5. From this point on I built four more arms as shown in the second photo.


6. I took the three wires, added a silver bead, an1/8 in wire coil that I cut from a premade longer piece of coil, a pearl, another 1/8 inch coil and connected it to the initial winged base.


7. Five arms were made from the initial three wires in a continuous manner.


8. The sixth arm was made from the beginning raised wire in the initial bundle wire with two silver balls and 4 pearls with square knots holding them tightly underneath.


9. The Opalines, the two smaller sapphire crystals, and the pearls were attached with separate wires and woven through the base.


10. The three dangles at the bottom were made with 3 1/2” ss ball pins.


11. I made a small spiral coil in center with a round pearl and ball head pin holding things to the frame to add more of a focal point.


12. Using 22 gauge round soft ss wire, I wove wire through the ends of the arms (starting with the top arm with the four pearls) to form a frame around the snowflake.


13. I formed the bail where both sides equally met.


14. I used tweezers to shape the wire.


15. This pendant can be worn with a silver chain, ribbon, leather cord, or wire collar.