1. i found the bead wire in the same area as the beads in my local craft store. i bought two sizes: burgandy (left) in 24 gauge and copper (right) in 26 gauge. both spools of wire had 24 yards on them. also, note that the larger the number, the thinner the wire.

2. i bought two sizes of pearls, used for the angel heads: 12 mm (8 small pearls in package) and 18 mm (4 large pearls in package). they were called "white round pearls." for the halo, i opted for "transparent/rainbow" seed beads.

3. for different sized angels, you only need household items in a cylinder shape. i used a small medicine bottle (1-1/4" diameter), a medium size can of mouse/gel (2" diameter) and a large can of hairspray (2-3/4" diameter).

4. to begin, leaving about a 6 to 8 inch tail of wire at the beginning, wrap the wire around your cylinder. wrap around the object up to 25 times. do not overlap the wires as you wind them around your object! when finished, leave another 6 to 8 inch tail at the end and cut wire from spool -- ordinary scissors will cut through the wire.

5. carefully remove the wire from your cylinder, gripping at the end where you two tails meet. wrap the tails twice around the top of the rings to gather and hold them together.

6. next, separate a few (5 or so) wires from the main circle and roate them toward the top. you should have a figure eight shape. these will become your angel wings.

7. push down in the center of the "wings" and touch the portion with the two tails. wrap the tails (left from step 5) twice around the center of the "wings" to hold them to the main body.

8. take one of your tails and pull it out straight above the wings and thread one of the pearls onto the wire.

note: i found that carefully putting the bottom "body" portion back onto the cylinder originally used to wrap it on, helps hold the angel in place while putting on the head and halo.

9. thread your seed beads onto the wire with your "head" bead. the seed beads wanted to fall down into the hold on the pearl, so i took the first seed bead and threaded it onto the wire. then, i took the wire back through the hole on the seed bead again, kind of making a knot to hold it in place and keep it from falling through into the larger pearl.

10. form your seed beads into a circle, making a halo. thread the wire back down through the head. wrap the two wire tails around the neck area to secure.

11. if you want to create a wire for your angel, just form a loop with the remainder of one tail and secure it by wrapping ti at the neck area. cut off any remaining tails/wire.

12. spread out the wires on your wings. be careful not to mis-shape them.

13. push in the bottom portion to shape an upside-down heart.

14. to have your angel stand up on her own, repeat the process used with the wings. you may have to adjust, as necessary. of course, if she's going to hang somewhere this isn't a big deal, but it still looks nice to have the bottom fanned out.

15. the details on three sizes i completed (from left to right):

large: burgandy wire, wrapped 18 times around hairspray can (2-3/4" diameter). 18 mm pearl bead for head. 25 seed beads for halo.

medium: burgandy wire, wrapped 15 times around mouse/gel can (2" diameter). 18 mm pearl bead for head. 15 seed beads for halo.

small: copper wire, wrapped 13 times around medicine bottle (1-1/4" diamter). 12 mm pearl bead for head. 10 seed beads for halo. includes hanger.

:: questions, comments, suggestions ::