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Wired About Words

By Becky Lemire
Crafty Cruisers
Intermediate Scramping Team Designer

When you need the perfect title for your scrapbook layout or a fabulous embellishment for your card or other art project, a 3-D wire embellishment can be just the thing you are looking for.  There are many different wire embellishments for sale out in the crafting world, but now you will learn how to make your own.  There are a couple of different tools you can use to make your own wire words and phrases.  You can find a peg board type system in your local craft or scrapbook store that will enable you to put the pegs where they need to be to form letters when you wrap wire around them.  You can make your own pegboard by drilling holes in a piece of wood and using headless nails or wooden dowels as the pegs.  Just remember that your letters will all be connected by the wire, so think "cursive writing".  It is a fun technique to do and once you have it figured out, there will never be a shortage of wire embellishments for your projects.  You will always have just the right word in just the right colors.  You can add beads to your wire words or attach the wire word to your project using colored brads to make them pop even more.

Supplies:

• Retro Flowers Rubber Stamp Set (TAC)
• Rain Dance Chalk Ink Pad (TAC)
• Moondance Chalk Ink Pad (TAC)
• Blue Dot Background Paper (DCWV):  12" x 12"
• Blue Illusion Distressed Paper-Dawson Collection (Basic Grey):  two pieces cut to 3 3/4" x 12", the rest of the 12" x 12" piece will be cut into three tags
• Tan Textured Cardstock: (DCWV)
• 1~cut to 4" x 12"
• The rest of the 12" x 12" piece will be cut into the mats for three tags
• Dark Copper 22 gauge wire (Artistic Wire, Ltd.)
• Jean Jacket Blue Mini Brads (All My Memories)
• Baby Blue Mini Brads (All My Memories)
• 1/2" Circle Punch
• 1/4" Circle Punch
• Wire Writing System (Artistic Wire, Ltd.)
• Scotch Double Stick Tape (3M)

Instructions:

1. Cut papers as directed in the supplies.

2. Randomly stamp the circle image from Retro Flowers stamp set (it just so happens that it matches the background paper) onto the two 3 3/4" x 12" strips of light blue cardstock.  Adhere these stamped pieces to the tan 4" x 12" pieces of cardstock using double stick tape.

3. Trace three 2 1/2" x 4 3/4" tags onto the remainder of the light blue cardstock; cut out.  Adhere these three tags onto the remainder of the tan cardstock leaving space in between each tag.  Cut the tan cardstock around each tag leaving a 1/8" edge around the entire tag.  Punch a 1/4" hole in the top center of the tag.  Punch three 1/2" circles out of tan cardstock.  Punch a 1/4" hole in the center of each of these circles.  Attach the tan circles to the tags using denim blue mini brads.

4. Wire words:  Place pegs in pegboard, lining them up so that you get the shape of the letter you are trying to make.  The pegs should go where the letter or line of the letter would start or end or have a curve/bend.  Think cursive writing and start by wrapping the wire around the peg at the very bottom left.  If the letter looks a little loose wrap an extra time around the peg.  See the photos for more of a visual explanation.

5. Attach the title ("Funny Faces") to the left side of one of the 12" strips using the two different colors of brads in the loops of the letters.  Attach the word "silly" to the right side of the other 12" strip in the same manner.

6. Adhere the title piece to the top of the circle/dot background paper using double stick tape.  Adhere the other strip to the bottom of the background paper.  Adhere photos to the right side of the top strip and to the left side of the bottom strip.  Adhere two 2 1/4" x 3 1/2" photos to two of the tags.  Adhere these two tags to the middle right side of the page.  Adhere the remaining tag sideways to the middle left side of the page.  Use this tag for journaling.

If you would like to print this technique including a near-full size image of the layout, click here.  Once you've saved or printed the technique sheet, use your browser's back button to return.

Note: You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to obtain this file.  If you do not have Adobe Acrobat, click here to download and install.