EAT+SLEEP+MAKE: Brass and Rope Bracelet {Jewelry Blog Hop}

*** Want to buy a finished brass and rope bracelet? You can find it HERE in my shop!**

Hi everyone, Shannon and I are thrilled to be a part of a fun handmade jewelry blog hop and giveaway today! Several of us got together to create tutorials for jewelry that would make great gifts for the holidays. Check out all the gorgeous pieces these talented ladies came up with:

Be sure to check out all of the amazing tutorials for these jewelry pieces on these fabulous blogs: Flamingo Toes, Bombshell Bling, Eat.Sleep.Make., Crazy Little Projects, and The Scrap Shoppe.

For my contribution to the jewelry party, I made some brass and rope bracelets with supplies that I found at my local hardware store. I love the modern edge that the brass tubing gives these bracelets. Warning: once you make these, you'll be buying out your local hardware store just to make jewelry (check out Shannon's paracord and scarf ring necklace for another hardware store-inspired piece.) And with all the different colors of rope available, you could make a whole slew of these bracelets to match your outfits or give as gifts.

This project does require using some tools, so get your hand saws ready (or save your fingers and get a man to do all the cutting for you like I did ;) and lets make some jewelry!

SUPPLIES: 18 gauge gold wire, 1 1/2 inch diameter brass tube, rope, round nose pliers, flat nose pliers, wire cutters, lighter, hand saw (or Dremel) and clamp, and sand paper.

You can find the rope and brass tubes at your local hardware store. There are many sizes of tubes to choose from, so if you'd rather make smaller bracelets for stacking go for it! Each brass tube will give you a bunch of beads when cut, so I suggest cutting the entire tube in pieces all at once so you don't have to go back and cut the beads one at a time in the future (just remember to sand the edges well!)

Making Your Brass Bead:

ONE: first, cut 15 inches of rope.
TWO: next, mark 1 inch of brass tubing with a pencil.
THREE: gently clamp your brass tubing (not too tight or you'll squeeze it out of shape) and carefully use a hand saw or Dremel to cut your tubing to size. Use sandpaper to sand the edges smooth.
FOUR: fold your rope in half and thread your brass bead onto the middle of your rope.

Use a lighter to carefully melt the ends of your rope to prevent fraying.

Closure - Making The Loop:

ONE: to make the hook portion of your closure, first you'll need to cut roughly 4 1/2 inches of your brass wire using your wire cutters. Bend one end of your wire slightly.
TWO: clamp the bent end of your wire around the looped end of your rope.
THREE: wrap your wire around your rope 3-4 times, clamping as you go.
FOUR: use your wire cutters to clip any extra wire.

Closure - Making The Hook:

ONE: now for the hook portion of the closure, cut 7 inches of brass wire with your wire cutters. Using your round nose pliers, gently bend the wire about 3 inches from the bottom. Squeeze the loop you made a little smaller with your pliers to make it more narrow.
TWO: 1 1/4" down from the loop you just made, use your round nose pliers to bend the longer wire at a 90 degree angle sideways as shown above.
THREE: this is what your wire should look like so far.
FOUR: place the piece you just made on the ends of your rope as shown above.

FIVE: clasp your hook and rope with your flat nose pliers and begin to wrap your rope with the end of the wire that is sticking out.
SIX: wrap the rope 3-4 times, or until secure, and snip the ends with your wire cutters.
SEVEN: grasp the middle of your loop with your round nose pliers and fold down as shown above to complete your hook.

It's a simple piece, but it can be customized however you want depending on the color and pattern of rope you choose! I also made several in blue (because blue is my favorite color and I couldn't help myself.)