Floral Fruit Punch

Use a 5-inch piece of 18 gauge Artbeads Designer wire and position the smallest barrel of the wubbers small bail making pliers about a quarter of an inch from the end. Push the wire around the barrel to form a petal for a flower. Cut the wire so that the petal is a quarter of an inch long, then cut each end of the wire to a taper. Then, use nylon jaw pliers to close the ends of the wire together. Repeat this step 41 times if you are making seven flower links like we did. There are six petals per flower so if you are making more or fewer flowers than we did, keep that in mind.

Wubbers Tools Video Tutorials

Cut a sheet of plastic into squares that are 1 1/2 to 2 inches in size, making one square of plastic for each of your flowers. Lay the squares onto your work surface. You can also cover your entire work surface with a plastic sheet so you have somewhere to mix your epoxy clay. Stick a piece of double stick tape onto each square of plastic, or fold over regular pieces of tape so that the sticky side is facing up.

Arrange six petals on each piece of tape. Tweezers can help you to place the petals in the perfect floral shape. The tape will keep them stable while you work with epoxy clay and chatons. We used random colors of petals for each flower.

Form a small ball out of the epoxy clay. This ball will become the center of a flower. When you have it sized the way you like it, repeat to make six more of the same size.

Epoxy Clay Text Tutorial
Crystal Clay Epoxy Clay Video Tutorial

Gently press one of the epoxy clay balls into the center of a flower. Make sure the clay covers the ends of all the petals, but try not to flatten the clay too much. Use the Crystal Katana to add 13 PP14 chatons of the same color in either Padparadscha, Fuchsia or Light Topaz to the epoxy clay. Start by adding a chaton to the center of the ball of epoxy clay and working out from there. Repeat this step for all flowers.

While the epoxy clay is still sticky, apply powdered pigment, powdered eye shadow or blush in coordinating colors to each epoxy clay center with a soft brush. Allow the epoxy clay to dry according to the manufacturer's instruction. Do not brush any excess powder away until it is completely dry. You should be able to handle them in about 12 hours.

While the epoxy clay is drying, you are going to create the backs of the flowers. Make seven jump rings using Designer Wire and the large barrel of the Wubbers medium bail making pliers. Once you have cut them, close the jump rings.

Make a small ball of epoxy clay and push it into a jump ring so that it fills the center. Brush the epoxy clay with pigment and powder and allow to dry along with the flower tops. Repeat this for step for all jump rings created.

Once the flower tops and jump ring backs are dry, carefully peel the tops from their plastic squares. Turn them upside down and use a toothpick to apply the epoxy resin adhesive to the center back of each flower. Be sure to get the resin in between each petal. Then, place the jump ring back over the center. Allow to dry. If a petal comes off while peeling the tops from the squares or while adding adhesive, don't add the back yet. Dab the fallen petal with adhesive and tuck it back into place, lying face up on the plastic until it dries. Peel off the plastic and then apply the jump ring back.

Wait for the flowers to completely set. This will take about 72 hours for the epoxy clay and 24 hours for the adhesive. Once they are set, you can link them together with jump rings. Make 21 jump rings using the Designer Wire and the small barrel of the Wubbers small bail making pliers. Link three jump rings together and add them to a petal of a flower. Attach the other end of the linked jump rings to another flower. Link three more jump rings and attach them to the opposite side of this flower. Repeat until all flowers are linked. You should have three jump rings left over, which you will use for adding your clasp.

Make your clasp out of a piece of Designer Wire. Use the small barrel of the small Wubbers pliers to make the loop at the end of the hook and then use the large barrel of the medium Wubbers pliers to make the hook. Finish the clasp with a wrapped loop formed using the small barrel of the small Wubbers pliers. Attach the clasp to one end of the bracelet using a jump ring you made in the previous step.

Make a large jump ring for the closure using the large barrel of the medium Wubbers pliers. Attach it to the other end of the bracelet using two small jump rings from step ten linked together.

List of Components:
Summer Designer Wire Blend - 18 Gauge (ADB0031, qty 1)
1088 PP14 Chaton Tangerine (1088-TGR14PP, qty 26)
1088 PP14 Chaton Fuchsia (2mm) (1088-FUS14PP, qty 26)
1088 PP14 Chaton Light Topaz (1088-LTO14PP, qty 39)