Turning an Eggshell into an Ornament

 Here is part two of the Egg Ornament explanation.  Because I have started collecting up supplies to make beaded push pin ornaments, I have some gear specifically designed for jewelry making or beading projects.  These things are not necessary, but they do make things a lot easier.  The main one here is a bead design board.  This keeps your beads sorted and stops them from running around on you.  You can find these at craft stores but there are many different layouts.  I found a layout I thought would be useful to me on Amazon.  Amazon also has more affordable choices than my local craft store did.  I chose this 3 pack of bead design mats.  

The time consuming part of any bead project is the design.  I went through all of my parts and pieces and assembled an example of the top of the ornament and the bottom of the ornament.  Then I laid out the pieces in order in the wells of my design mat.  I use pins or short pieces of wire and stud earring backers to put working examples of the designs together for visual reference as I work.

I can hold them up to the egg and visualize what it will look like before I string it together.

Above photo is the top and below photo is the bottom.  The fancy cap with the diamonds below can be found on Etsy.  Flower Bead Cap

Once I have decided on the layout, I set out my beads, keeping the finished examples handy.

(that black square on the mat is a stick on magnet for holding pins)

Next you need to straighten out some wire.  I leave the wire on the coil until I am done and then cut the ornament off of the coil.  This gives me something to hang onto and avoids wasting wire.  But it is a personal choice.  You can cut a length of wire to work with instead.  You would need a piece at least six inches long and you will have some waste that way.

Now you need to get your wire through your egg from hole to hole.  This is easier than you would think even with the little tiny holes of the bead caps.  Make sure there is a clean cut and no burr on the end of your wire. First place your top pieces on the wire in correct order.  Pass the wire through the hole on the small end of the egg.  Hold the egg up with the wire and twirl it around.  As long as your wire is mostly straight and has no burr, the wire will find the hole within a minute.  Trust the process....  it will go through....

Now add the pieces to the bottom end

If you push them all together you can see what your finished ornament will look like.

Now you have to crimp the bottom end.  I've done this two different ways.  In my first attempts I just added a clear bead to the bottom.  

And then used my round nose pliers to make a very tight loop and the end of the wire.

This will stop your bead from coming off the end and looks OK.

I thought there must be other ways and I found a crimp bead that I tried while making these examples.  These just arrived today so this is the sum total of my experience with them.  They are supposedly designed for both wire and thread.  I hope they are easier to use on thread because they are NOT easy to apply to wire.

This is how they work.

Well... they finish the wire beautifully but they are a pain in the ass.  First off, while you are working with them you need to turn a hook in the end of your wire so the crimp bead does not go flying off.  You can snip that off once you get the crimp closed.  IF you get the crimp closed.

Firstly, these little boogers are next to impossible to get ahold of and I can't see how they would be any easier to get ahold of on thread than on wire.  You need a very flat surfaced plier like a needle nosed plier and once you get ahold of it in the right direction, closing it down on wire instead of nylon thread takes a lot of pressure.  A lot.  But once you get it crimped down it looks very nice and holds securely.  It looks just like a 3mm gold bead.

Now the only thing left to do is put a loop on the top to attach an ornament hook.

This is what it looks like expanded.

You want to leave a little wiggle room in the wire.  If you crank down on it too hard, you will crack the egg and the whole thing will be ruined.  I put a needle nose plier above the top bead and bend the wire 90 degrees.

There is a little length left in the wire from top to bottom so there is no hard pressure on the egg.  You will use that short section of wire to wrap your tail around.

Now use the round nose pliers (needle nose would work you just won't get a neat circle) to wrap the wire in a loop.  This is where I find that the rest of the coil of wire comes in handy.  You can get a good grip on the wire.  All you really need is about two inches extra so you may prefer to work with a length of wire instead of the whole coil.

And make at least one wrap around the neck.  The more wraps I make, the messier it looks so I only go once around.  Now this is only my twelfth attempt.  It would be a skill that improves over time.  There are YouTube videos by jewelry makers that are very helpful.

Now cut the wire off close to the wrap and add the ornament hanger of your choice.  Since I had wire and pliers, I fashioned one of my own.

And that's it.  Once you get your design set and your beads laid out, you could string an ornament together in a matter of minutes.  I figured I could do one in about three minutes but I ended up wasting ten minutes fiddling around trying to get those crimp beads placed right in the needle nosed pliers.  Finishing the end with a bead and a loop takes all of ten seconds.  So are the crimps worth it?  No.

          

Since these big green eggs were experimental for the blog, I think I'll keep experimenting and add some gold paint.  Actually, first I'll experiment on the breakfast eggs ad if those look nice, then I'll tackle painting these ornaments.