I have made a
Tree of Life Pendant and taken step by step photos so you can make one too! As I mentioned in a previous post that there are lots of variations. This is one of many and it's fun to experiment with the different ideas and techniques.
Here's what you'll be making! I made an oval frame and attached seed beads. Its about and inch and a half long. You can make whatever shape or size you want in any colour.
You will need:
- Pliers - you will definitely need wire cutters, round nose pliers and flat nose pliers, bent nose or chain nose pliers are handy too.
- A mandrel - this is to make your frame. You can use anything around the house of the desired shape and size. I sometimes use a shot glass for the shape for a large pendant.
- Wire - for the frame I recommend 0.8 (20 gauge), 0.9 (19) or 1.0mm (18) wire for bigger frames I'd even use 1.2mm (16). I'm using 0.9mm.
- Wire - for the tree I used 0.6mm or 22 gauge. I wouldn't recommend any thicker wire because it gets a bit tough to wrap. If you would like a more intricate tree use 0.4mm (26).
- Optional - Beads, you can add beads for interest or leave the branches bare.
- Optional but recommended - If you can, a jewellers hammer and steel block to hammer and strengthen the frame. I know a lot of people don't have this so you just need to be a bit more careful not to distort the frame, you can always use a stronger or thicker wire as a precaution.
