Ever see something, love it, and then realize... 'Hey, I can make that!"? I love it when that happens! I saw this ring on Instagram (via user the_fashion_spot), and knew I had to make one.

Oh, and if you've got Instagram, you could follow me @sarahg2285. If you wanna. :)


The love ring? Not so sure about that one yet... but the heart ring, that I can do! Mine is a little different, but it's really pretty easy to make! You'll need:

•  20 gauge or thicker wire - I used 20 gauge silver plated copper wire
• Wire cutters
• Round nose pliers
• Flat nose pliers
• Ring Mandrel... or a tube of Chapstick...
• A ruler

Start by cutting a 6" length of wire.  This is the length I use to make a ring to fit my fingers, and I typically wear a ring size of 5-ish. Which also happens to be the diameter of a Chapstick tube. (Oh, and here is a fun post about ring sizes : http://uctuk.com/blog/?p=75) When you make a ring with the same measurements as I have posted here, the band of the ring measures to be about 1.75". It may take a little tweaking and trial-and-error to get the right size for you, but I would add on about 1/8" to 1/4" of length for a size bigger.  I'm no jewelry expert, so don't quote me on that! :)

Once you've got your length of wire, take your flat nose pliers (I'm using round nose again, because that's what I've got... flat nose would be much easier to work with) and hold onto the wire 1.5" from the end.



Using your fingers, bend the ends together to make a 'v' shape.



Do the same thing on the other end of the wire, but in the opposite direction, and you'll have this funky 'n' shape.


Take your round nose pliers, and grab onto the wire right at the bend, and pull the wire down around the nose.



Now grab the wire on the other side of the bend, and do the same thing to create the heart shape.



 Hold the wire at the base of the heart, and give it a slight bend, to straighten the heart on the wire.


Now take your flat nose pliers (again, do as I say, not as I do...) and hold onto the heart straight across it. Wrap the tail end of the wire around the base a few times, snip off the excess, and press the edge in with your pliers. Try to cut the wire so that the end is on the top, not on the bottom where it can scratch your finger.


Now repeat these steps on the opposite end of the wire, and you'll end up with this bone-shaped piece of wire.  I think it kind of looks like a bone, anyway.


All that's left to do is wrap the wire around your mandrel, or anything else that is round and the right diameter. I actually used a big drill bit from my husbands tools. Wrap the wire around to form your ring shape. You can used your round nose pliers to gently curve the hearts, too.

It would also be a good idea to harden the wire to keep it's shape, by lightly hammering it, or tossing it into a tumbler.

Cute and simple! I want to try this ring in some colored aluminum wire, maybe with 18 gauge next time. Let me know if you make one, I'd love to see it! Send me a picture, post one to my Facebook page, tag me in a pic on Instagram (@sarahg2285)... I'd love to feature some pictures in a post! :)