Bird's Nest Wire Pendant

I am pleased, and very much relieved, to say that my youngest son does not have pneumonia.
Which, incidentally, is not something you want your 1 year old to get.

After three weeks of coughing (first croup, then a chest infection), and an apparent lack of improvement after a full round of antibiotics, we took the little guy in for more testing and the outcome was that the xrays of his chest were clear, it's likely just bronchial inflammation still, and he should have it cleared out over the next few days.

Poor baby.

While it's not pneumonia, for which we are very grateful, he still is feeling crummy. Which means I can't leave the room without him screaming at me.
Joy.

So once we got home from the doctor's office and the medical imaging office, we had a pretty laid back day (given that I couldn't even go change laundry loads or do dishes).

To fill my time, I did a wee bit of crafting!

On Pinterest a few weeks ago I saw a gorgeous Chan Luu triple wrap, leather-strapped, beaded bracelet. Unfortunately, I don't have a couple hundred dollars to buy such a beautiful thing. I do, however, have Pinterest. And Pinterest has tutorials for nearly everything (it can tell me how to make gorgeous wallart out of toilet paper rolls, so I think it can figure out how to make a bracelet).
I had the tutorial, but next I needed the materials: Enter Ebay. I found enough small turquoise beads to make two bracelets ($5 plus free shipping), and I found enough dark brown leather cord to make 5 bracelets ($4 plus free shipping).

Unfortunately, I did not make my bracelet today (I know... I got your hopes up), since I am still waiting for my leather cord, but I did get the beads last week and since I've got more than I'll need, I figured to use a few for another project: bird's nest wire pendants!

I've seen these things on Etsy, at Farmer's Markets, on Pinterest (of course), and even in high end artisian stores. The concept seems simple enough - put some beads on the wire, wrap the wire around and around, and you're done! I figured I'd give it a try.
So last week I stopped by the dollar store and I picked up some wire. I actually picked up 30 meters of wire for $1. And today I sat down and gave it a try.

Surprisingly - it was just as easy as they made it sound. The tutorial I followed basically covered everything I needed to know. My first try didn't come out perfect, but really, I never expected it to. I wrapped something funny, let the beads sink instead of keeping them raised up, and I didn't hold everything as tight as I ought to have. But still - it's cute!

The second one I made is good enough to give away. And I have a feeling that the third one I'll make will be good enough to sell.

Check out the tutorial and give it a try! You won't be disappointed!

Mrs. VanderLeek ;)