Alphabet: L...M...N...O...P...

This series is pretty straight forward. Depending on where the second letter starts after a capital O, the O can end up looking a bit like a letter Q.  To avoid that, I try to make the loop on the O come out about half way down--regardless of what letter follows.  On the capital P, I tend to loop at the end, as opposed to crimping on top of itself, like the lower case P.

Alphabet: H...I...J...K...

Since I use cursive, there are many ways to make all of the letters.  H is one that is especially easy to make fancy by simply following regular cursive embellishments.  The trick to the H is to start at the top.  After reaching the bottom, crimp it back BEHIND itself until just above half of the length.  At that point, make a 90 degree to the right.  Another 90 degree upwards to the top of the height, before crimping it back ON TOP of itself for the second cross bar.  I've never much cared for the capital letter I in cursive, but there aren't a lot of different ways to make an I, so that they're legible as a capital letter.  For the letters J and P, you simply have to make the capital letter significantly larger than the rest, so that when you start in on the lower case letter, it looks proportionately larger.  K is a little tricky.  For the capital K, I always crimp behind.  For a lower-case K, there are a couple of options.  The one shown is how I normally make them; I do that because it's easiest, not necessarily because it looks the best. 

Alphabet: E...F...G...

The E is pretty straight forward.  As with all of the letters, you just have to trust that you can crimp the wire on TOP of itself, as opposed to always trying to place it side by side.  The F is the first tricky one. For starters, it's difficult to place an embellishment before the letters F or T, without making the letter hard to read.  But there is a crimp somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3 way down from the top.  It doesn't matter which direction you go first (left or right) but you need to make sure that the length of the crossbar is on TOP.  So...shortly after starting downward, you make a 90 degree turn to one side.  After a short distance, you will crimp that wire on top of itself going back in the opposite direction (180 degrees).  You're now forming the crossbar, so you will cross the center in an equal distance before crimping the wire UNDER itself, to go back to center.  When you're back to center, you do another 90 degree turn downward to continue the F.  This G reminds me of the General Mills brand.

Alphabet: A...B...C...D...

I'm right handed, but when I work with wire, I hold the wire with pliers in my right hand, and most of the bending / shaping is actually done with my left hand.  The lettering I use is just standard cursive.  Personally, I like it a lot more than the "sloppy" cursive that is widely available at scrapbook supply stores.  The secret to my lettering is in the crimping.  You will notice that I commonly crimp the wire and double it over itself.  Many of the lower-case letters are formed with the basic C shape (like the beginning of the letters A and D).  Obviously, you can do any number of embellishments either before or after the letters...

Different Wires

The gauge of wire I use depends on the size of the project.  Obviously, the larger the project, the thicker the gauge--both so that it's more visible, and so that it holds its shape better.  I use 20 gauge wire for most of my projects, but I like to experiment with different wires and thicknesses.  I did this name in both stainless and copper.  And the second picture is of several unique names that I did for someone at the scrapbooking show that takes place at the South Town Expo Center in Sandy.  

A lot of people ask how I do the lettering, so my next posts will go over the alphabet...

Baby Names

I sat next to a young mother who named her baby girl Evie (pronounced eevee).  The stork design is a popular one for scrappers.  I've also done a lot of those for post-baby shower thank-you cards.  At the foot of the stork, it then reads "thanks" instead of having the baby's name.  For thank-you cards, I lean towards using brass wire--both because it looks nice, and because it's thin and still holds its shape well.

As for baby Rose...well, I just couldn't resist.

Scrapbook Party Request

At one of the scrapbooking parties I attended, there was a scuba diver who was scrapping a recent cruise.  During her stop in the Cayman Islands, she got to snorkel with the stingrays in Stingray City.   How lucky is she?!

Special Request: A Frog

This was a special request I did for someone at a scrapbooking party (I've been to a TON of those).  I'm just sad I didn't get a better picture.

Special Request: Girl Jumping Rope

Just to mix it up a bit, I made the girl from behind--so it would appear as though she's skipping away from the viewer.

Vacation Memento

I have traveled by plane for many years, and I'm delighted when I sit next to someone who is SO personable and interesting that I'm actually sad when the flight comes to an end.  I met someone like that this winter, and he was on his way to a "once-in-a-lifetime" ski trip to Utah with three of his life-long friends.  I mailed this to him after the flight, so he would have a way to remember it.

Special Request: Lioness

For some reason, I truly enjoyed this special request project. 

What's in a name?

Everyone loves their name.  A wire name is a simple gift that seldom fails to bring a smile--especially for people whose "creative" name spelling prevents them from being able to buy a mug a Disneyland...like Brendhin or Alexea.  I've written a LOT of names, and they've been used as name tags for Christmas gifts, glued to picture frames, put in scrapbook pages, made into mobiles, or used as a fun way to assign seating at a fancy dinner party (like the ones below).

Special Request: A Fairy

Fairies seem to be "in" at the moment.  As I'm sure I will end up doing more of them, I will have to put some effort into the detail of their wings...

Remembering the Cayman Islands

This was a simple "project of the week" I did a while back. All it did was make me want to go back to the Cayman Islands and snorkel with the stingrays!

Eagle in flight

This eagle was a design I found on one of those motivational posters they sell in airplane catalogs. It wasn't terribly complicated, and it kept me amused for the entire flight.

In the beginning...

My darling wife likes a challenge. That's probably why she married me (?). But that spirit of adventure is what makes her "game" for trying a number of different hobbies. Unfortunately, her attention span is quite short. So my house is full of countless unpainted pieces of wood from her tole painting days. We have drawers of unused scrapbooking supplies, old camera lenses, and even sports equipment. But years ago, during Christmas vacation, she worked on a project that involved two separate pieces of painted wood that were wired together. That masterpiece eventually hung on our front door...and scraped the paint off of it...but that's a whole different story.

That day, she left a roll of wire and some needle-nose pliers on the table. I've always been a bit of a doodler, so I picked them both up and began shaping forms out of the wire. Over the span of a brief conversation, I had made a few simple designs that I used as Christmas tree ornaments. I made a candy cane, a wreath, and a very simple angel.

I was hooked.

I travel quite a bit for work, but I get motion sickness if I attempt to read on a plane. For some reason, bending wire doesn't have the same effect. So, I carry a roll of wire with me on my business trips, and I'm able to engage in something that both amuses me and allows me to occasionally bring a smile to a random stranger's face.

The simple shapes evolved into more complex designs, lettering, and a combination of the two. Almost everything I do is made out of a single piece of wire, and I actually enjoy the process of trying to figure out where to start and end some of the more complex pieces..like this piece I made for Kyra, a young gymnast: