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Beads of Courage


 
  #121  
Old 2009-02-16, 11:18am
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playswithfire104 playswithfire104 is offline
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I need a little help here. When you make something that isn't a mouse, like your spiders or birds or what have you. Do you sketch it out first? How do you know how to bend the wires and how long to make them? I'm not asking to be hand lead through how 'you' do 'your' thing but how just how to get started planning an object. I want to do some Easter Bunnies and I really don't want to waste a lot of wire and solder messing up.

Any advice?
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  #122  
Old 2009-02-16, 11:40am
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HONEYBUNNY72_99 HONEYBUNNY72_99 is offline
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OK I finally ordered mine woohoo!!!
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  #123  
Old 2009-02-16, 10:01pm
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whimzicalities whimzicalities is offline
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Hey Nancy,

Prototypes of anything can be tough. I'm pretty comfortable with pretty much flying by the seat of my pants with each one, but if I'm doing a production run of anything where I need some size consistency, I will sketch it out first. I have a new tutorial in the works for an item I've made often, but in a different scale and have found that drawing thumbnail sketches of the angles I want arms and legs helps a lot with wire proportion in the long run. As much as I hate to say it, its often a matter of trial and error.

Its always better to make your wire longer than you think that it needs to be...its much easier to cut some off than to add some on. I often will assemble a several parts together before even approaching it with the soldering iron, just to make sure sizes are right. Even so, I have frequently made fingers and toes the wrong size, but I toss them back into my scrap box to be used on a future project. I rarely throw anything out. In the grand scheme of things, recycled copper is fairly cheap, so I've never balked at using it to "doodle" with, like many artists do with pencil and paper. It helps to look at it as research and development for a new creation. It really it helps to do a practice run at parts of a project with scrap wire sometimes, just to make sure that the points of contact in the wire will make a decent connection to one another when they're soldered.

For example, if you want to make bunnies, play around with the part that is different than what you've already done. Make a couple of sets of ears or what have you and make sure they look right for the size bead you have in mind.

I don't know if that answers your questions, but if you still find yourself stuck, drop me a pm. Maybe we could talk over the phone and I could help explain it a little better.


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Originally Posted by playswithfire104 View Post
I need a little help here. When you make something that isn't a mouse, like your spiders or birds or what have you. Do you sketch it out first? How do you know how to bend the wires and how long to make them? I'm not asking to be hand lead through how 'you' do 'your' thing but how just how to get started planning an object. I want to do some Easter Bunnies and I really don't want to waste a lot of wire and solder messing up.

Any advice?
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  #124  
Old 2009-02-16, 11:47pm
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Did I read that right? You have a new tutorial coming out! Anytime soon?
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  #125  
Old 2009-02-17, 7:11am
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Thanks so much Maria! I also got the brainstorm to use pipecleaners to practice.

I'm looking forward to that new tut!
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On a Cheetah with a hurricane Still have my Lynx as a back up.
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  #126  
Old 2009-02-19, 7:36pm
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First attempt! I had a hard time getting the solder to stick to the copper. The squiggley stuff coming from the tail is fine silver wire - does it look like string?? I have a long way to go, but it was fun fun fun!! Thanks for the tut!
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  #127  
Old 2009-02-20, 5:10am
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He's a cute kitty! Great job! And, yes, on my monitor, it looks like kitty is all tangled up!
Always remember that the solder will flow to the heat.....so make sure your wires are hot enough to accept the solder.
Looks great!
Jeanie
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  #128  
Old 2009-02-20, 5:18am
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What a great kitty, Nancy! He definitely looks like he's wrapped up in string!

Jeanie makes a good point about the heat, but also make sure you're cleaning your wire well with fine steel wool and fluxing generously. If you still have trouble after that, it may be that your wire has a fine coating on it(craft wire often does, unfortunately. It's great to prevent oxidation, but renders the wire difficult to solder.)
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  #129  
Old 2009-02-20, 8:02am
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I did not clean the wires, but I did use a lot of flux. I think it I am concentrating on the solder and not heating the wires as much. Thanks for the tips.
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  #130  
Old 2009-03-10, 11:21pm
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OK here is another one, it is not finished yet. I am not sure what to do with the arms and legs to get a cute personality, any suggestions.
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  #131  
Old 2009-03-11, 3:27pm
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He's great, so far, Nancy! I love the hair. I like that you've twisted the small gauge wire together. It gives it more strength and also makes it unique.

From the position of the arms, he looks like he's dancing...maybe show some movement with his legs, too?
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  #132  
Old 2009-12-19, 8:38pm
cricket cricket is offline
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Hi Maria...

Just tried to find your tut in your etsy store with no luck, still there? If you are selling it anywhere else, I'd love to know where...finally ready to buy, but can't find it ARRGGGHH!

Thanks for any help you can give!!

Cricket
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  #133  
Old 2009-12-19, 8:53pm
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Hi Cricket,

I just sold one earlier today, and didn't realize it was the last. I've listed more in my Etsy store, if you're still interested.

Thanks for letting me know they were all gone,
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  #134  
Old 2009-12-20, 9:51pm
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Wow Maria...Thanks for your quick reply!! I'll be buying in a few days...thanks again!

Cricket
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  #135  
Old 2010-03-21, 4:41pm
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Maria,

I finally gathered all the materials and carved out some time for myself this afternoon to try the tutorial. It's so well done, easy to follow and fun all at the same time.

Thanks so much for making this tutorial. Here's my first mouse. While there are lots of things I learned today and plenty for me to work on next time, I love it and can't wait to try again.

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  #136  
Old 2013-08-10, 7:05am
Cherri Cherri is offline
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Default email. miceies...

Maria


I hope you see my message soon..

I want to make a mouse....

Cherri
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Last edited by Cherri; 2013-08-10 at 10:16pm.
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  #137  
Old 2013-08-11, 5:25am
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Hi Cherri,

I saw your message and will get a reply out just as soon as the coffee kicks in.
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