Wire-wrapped rings!

My best friend, Sang, bought me a beautiful wire-wrapped purple pearl ring several years ago. I love it and wear it all the time. Because I enjoy that ring so much, I've always wanted to be able to make them myself. I assumed it was really difficult (and probably expensive). 

Then, I read this awesome tutorial on wire wrapping. It didn't look too hard. Plus, the AC Moore near me was closing (sadness), but it had a ridiculous clearance on all its beads (happiness!). I picked up some wire (and a few more beads... I'm weak) at Michael's and found a sturdy cardboard tube roughly ring-sized, and I was ready to go.

OK, I went a bit overboard. But, each one takes maybe half an hour to make, and it's addictive!

This was my first attempt. I like how everything is clustered. These are just cheapo acrylic beads, believe it or not. I have piles of these leftover from a craft project I worked on with my mom in 6th grade. It's nice to finally use them for something.

Second attempt. These are all Czech glass beads (according to the label) that I got at AC Moore.

This one might be my favorite. The round stone is Jasper, and the others are also Czech glass beads. Lavender is one of my favorite colors, so I'll wear this a lot.

I'm not so sure about these two. I was trying to recreate the shape of the ring that Sang gave me, but it didn't quite work. The setting is really, really tall. Definitely wearable, but not every day. Oh, and those center stones are also jasper. I'm amazed how many shades it comes in!

So, that was my first adventure into wire-wrapped rings. It's unbelievably addictive, and I'm sure I'll be up to my ears in them before long. I already bought a ring mandrel so I can make more precisely-sized rings. I don't think I'll bother selling them on Etsy, since the market is already saturated with wire-wrapped jewelry. I'll probably just make these for fun and for gifts.