14 Days of Valentine's - Day 6 Heart Ring

You've already made some treats for family and friends, so now, it's time to make something for yourself!

Here's a simple heart shape ring that's easy to make.
 

Start with some jewelry wire. I'm using 16 gauge silver wire with a copper base from Bead Smith. If you are making smaller rings you may want to use a thinner wire like 18 or 20 gauge.

I started with about 8" of wire because I want to have room to play when I'm shaping the heart. Not quite in the middle of the wire, I started to shape my heart.

I was tempted to wrap the bottom of the heart first, but since that's easy to do, I learned it's easier to shape the ring first.

Use a ring mandrel if you have one, or use what you have like a dowel or in my case, a glue stick, to start the shaping of the ring. Use your pliers to bend the wire to keep the heart shape, then bring the rest of wire around to the top of the heart. Remove from your "mandrel" and fit to your finger, leaving a little extra room.

Wrap the end of the wire around the top of the heart a couple of times. Cut the end of the wire shorter to make it easier to wrap. Cut the excess wire off with a flush cutter. Use your chain nose pliers to push the cut end closer to the wrap so it doesn't snag you.

Now, wrap the other end around the bottom of the heart. Cut the excess off with a flush cutter and use the chain nose to push the cut end closer to the wrap, again so it doesn't snag you.

You can shape the ring more by placing it on the mandrel and pressing it close to get a rounder shape.

Thank You for stopping by today and hope you're having a really sweet week!