Swirly

I really like this ring because it's a rather clever use for a very pretty button. It would have been cooler if the green swirly etched button had been made of glass, but when is the last time you saw a button made of glass? I got the button at JoAnn's and I used inexpensive copper craft wire for the rest.

I was inspired to make this after seeing some stacked button rings online. Of course the way they take the pictures makes it impossible for you to see how they made it, but I figured it out and was sort of surprised how easy it is. I showed it to the ladies at work and was asked if I wanted to teach customers how to make it. I'm not sure how well a wire wrapping novice would do, so I said I'd have to think about it to get the logistics down. When I make stuff, it's all, "oh use a some of this and tweak it a little that way so it looks okay". I may tend to waste material (which is why I used the craft wire and not sterling silver) but it is SOOO satisfying to figure it out on my own. But I suppose if you're paying me to teach you something, you'd want a little more structure.

Since the last time I posted a ring I made back in May, I bought a ring mandrel. It's a long tapered wand marked with ring sizes. It made keeping the ring the right size a lot easier. But if you have a dowel or something the same size as your finger, you can use that too.

The button I used is about 3/4" so the ring is rather large and frankly, verging on the edge of crazy bead lady. But you can always use smaller buttons or beads or if you want to be crazy bead lady you can stack a few buttons to make it even bigger.

I'm working out how to make a ring from a pin back button and I'll post that when I have it.