Tutorial: Swarovski Crystal and Sterling Silver Butterfly Pendant Necklace – Part 2

by Leah C. Eastman.

Swarovski crystal and sterling silver butterfly pendant necklace by Leah C. Eastman

Swarovski crystal and sterling silver butterfly pendant necklace by Leah C. Eastman

. . . Continued from Part 1.

Creating the Butterfly in Wire:

So, once I sketched out how I wanted my butterfly to look, I decided to use 14 gauge sterling silver wire to create the shape of the body, head and wings.

I followed the lines of my sketch, manipulating and bending the wire around the outline I had drawn.

I then cut the wire once I had completed each of these shapes. This is what is called “wire-wrapping”.

I then had to make sure the ends are cut at the right angle and flush so that they will connect fully with the other pieces of metal I am soldering them to.

I used little satin pins to hold the shapes in place on my ceramic firing brick and worked on one section at a time until all of the pieces were soldered together.

Soldering an Easier Way:

Although I used some of the procedures discussed above, I have adapted them as well.

Instead of a propane torch, I use a mini-butane torch that is small enough to be held in my hand.

Additionally, I have found a wonderful group of products on the market that replace the hard sheet solder for me.

Instead, I use a paste for hard, medium and easy that is packaged in a syringe. Even though there is a point on the end, I still use a reamer tool for a finer tip to better control where I am putting my paste.

The paste is made of solder and flux, which saves me a step in my process.

I also now use a fine mist spray/sprayer on my wire before soldering to help stop firescale.

Although it helps significantly, I still need to pickle, sand, buff and polish my pieces.

Creating a Color Scheme:

I then had my own little brainstorming session where I thought about the colors I wanted to use on the butterfly’s wings.

Of course, this was the most exciting part for me – figuring out the colors to use.

I knew I wanted to use Swarovski Crystals, but I also had to decide what sizes looked best in the design.

Because they are warm colors and they are an analogous color scheme (the 3 colors are next to each other on the color wheel), I chose Red, Orange and Yellow.

I really wanted to create a gradiated look and so I really tried to spread out these colors in a way that it seems they flow from one color to the next.

Since often times on butterfly wings, you can see a separate design on the bottom tips, I decided to use the same color scheme but to use one size larger Swarovski Crystals for a more interesting effect.

The Wirework Inside the Wings:

I used 24 gauge sterling silver wire and wrapped it around the outside of the wing a few times, strung the Swarovski Crystals on the wire, then wrapped the wire around the inside body a few times as well for stability and separation/design.

I followed this same technique all the way down the butterfly until I had completed the design.

Although the wire is very secure, I wanted to make sure the wire would not unravel.

I couldn’t solder the wire because I would break the Swarovski Crystals in the process (trust me, I have learned this the hard way!), so I used crystal clear jeweler’s bond glue to secure the tips of the wrapped wire.

Sometimes this is necessary, sometimes it is not, depending on the intricacy of the design, the thickness of the wire and where the wire ends ….

Creating the Antennas:

This whole process took me over 15 hours to achieve (2 full days of work considering prep time and clean up).

Now, I was nearing the end of the project.

What to do about those antennas??

After thinking of a few alternatives, the final design concept I came up with was to use my sterling silver wire head pins as the antennas.

To embellish them to make them more realistic, I chose to create bullions (French wire – coiled wire) and string them on the head pins, as well as sterling silver round, shiny beads as the top of the antennas.

I created a top and bottom loop so that they could be attached to the head on one side and the sterling silver chain on the other.

This is why jewelry is so much fun for me -> the brainstorming, creation and achieving solutions.

I absolutely love that the antennas move as the necklace moves – like the butterfly is really ALIVE!

A Chain and Clasp for the Necklace:

I had some beautiful sterling silver cable chain that was substantial enough (and weighty) to hold my butterfly pendant and balance out the visual look of the necklace.

I finished the chain with large sterling silver jump rings and a handmade sterling silver hook enclosure that has been hammered for a really cool look/finish.

I really love these enclosures because they are much easier to hook on and take off, yet they are sturdy and safe (as long as you are NOT doing cartwheels or flips!!).

The Final Touch:

And lastly, I found one more beautiful little Light Siam (red) Swarovski Crystal Butterfly in my stash!

I thought this is kismet, meant to be!

So, I attached it as a decorative dangly on the last jump ring to finally complete this project.

It was a labor of love and I am so happy I created this piece of handmade jewelry!!

I like the look of shorter necklaces (sometimes even choker style) and I made sure to create this pleasing length for this jewelry design.

Swarovski crystal and sterling silver butterfly pendant necklace by Leah C. Eastman

Swarovski crystal and sterling silver butterfly pendant necklace by Leah C. Eastman

I hope you love it like I do and I hope I taught you something in the process!

Leah Comanor-Eastman

Savvy Silver Jewelry
Savvy Silver Jewelry on Etsy

Comments:

Beautiful, inspiring project.
by: Rena

I LOVE the tiny butterfly dangle on the clasp – one of those lovely kismet design moments!

I so enjoyed reading about your creative process here in Part 2. I get excited about choosing colors too, so I felt exactly what you meant when you said that! :o)

I admired your beautifully smooth wraps with your 24-gauge wire, where it attaches your crystals to the butterfly’s wings.

Thank you so much, Leah, for sharing your insights, creative process, and knowledge in this tutorial!

Thank YOU!
by: Leah

Rena,

Thank you so much for getting back to me so quickly after I sent you my email. As you can probably tell, I was very anxious to share this project and this piece with everybody! I figured that my instructions were just too verbose to tackle and am always willing to listen to constructive criticism. 🙂

But, more importantly, thank you for these wonderful, informative websites featuring jewelry design. I first learned of Home Jewelry Business Success Tips when doing research on starting my business. Your articles, with the help of all the great artisans and buyers out there, were a wealth of information, and I found myself coming back to your site often! I then found out about “Making Jewelry Now”, and as you can see, I have already submitted to instructional posts/articles in hopes of helping others out there and to be a part of the jewelry community.

I appreciate your kind words immensely and hope to continue contributing in the future!

Truly Creative
by: suzan Evans

Leah

Your ingenious design is so unique and we can all relate to the hours, dedication and perserverance you put into this piece.

Congratulations on your creation, it is lovely and so well made.

Suzan Evans

Much appreciated!
by: Leah

Thanks Suzan for your support! 🙂

Beautiful Days
by: Marilyn

Leah,
Your beautiful butterfly makes me appreciate the pretty, sunny days of the summer. Thanks for sharing the product of your inspiration-it makes me smile!

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