How to make you own Zip Pulls...

As promised here is a little guide as to how I make the little zip pulls on my pouches.

First up I assemble all of the bits, the beads, head pins, pliers and wire cutters.

It might look really hard and like you need loads of equipment but it's really not and you can get the pliers and cutters for about £3-5 a pair. If you fancy giving this a go you can get the bits I have used here from lots of suppliers, or maybe have a look on ebay for a starter kit with the pliers, beads and wires to get you started. I bought most of my bits from Jillybeads, Totally Beads and Rosarama Beads.

(check out my posh tupperware lid tray)

This is the best bit and the bit that takes ages, sorting out what you want to use and in what order, I usually faff with this bit for a while:

Next you grab the head pin with the round nose pliers just above the top bead and bend the wire to a 90 degree angle:

Next move the pliers up to the straight bit and grab hold again just past the bend, then using another pair of pliers wrap the wire around the pliers until it touches the starting point:

Once its at this stage this is the time to add any other embellishments and add it to the zip pull:


This is not the best picture but what happens next is that you grab the loop with one pair of pliers and with another pair you grab the end of the wire and start wrapping:

Coil the wire round and round keeping the wire taught and neat, the general rule is wrap it twice to be sure and three to be secure :)


Too many wraps will smash the delicate glass beads so just judge the space available. Once its done, snip the wire off as close to the edge as possible.


Using the crimping pliers I nip the end of the exposed wire to neaten it up and if it's still a bit raggy file it with a metal nail file.


and that's it, all done your own personal little zip pull. This method is the same for adding beads to bracelets, necklaces and earrings, once you have the basic tools you can make all kinds of stuff, and it is so addictive.

p.s. thanks to Dana for the beautiful 'made with love' tags x


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Daring to play with wrapped loops...

Shopping for felt in Hobbycraft last week, I found a lovely green mix set of glass foil beads from Beads Unlimited (I couldn't help it, honest!). I have been trying to stop buying beads until I use up the ones I already have, which should take me a while as I have lots!!!

Generally I am attracted to anything purple and pink and always go for mixes in those colours, so I thought I would step out of my comfort zone and create something with green for a change.

Rather than the usual I have been keen to learn how to do wrapped loops, it makes such a difference to the finish and it is so much more secure than a normal loop. Getting the loops the same size is difficult and I kept wrapping the loops and forgetting that I had to add them to each other. It was so frustrating, when I finished my necklace I found that I had a small compartment on my bead tray full of wrapped loops that I had snipped off in frustration. Here is the finished item, necklace, bracelet and earrings:

I have a box of pink mix seed beads, and many of them are what I would consider girly pink and was not sure how to use them, my lovely friend (who also makes jewellery) visited us yesterday and she suggested that the bronze metal beads I recently liberated from an old necklace would work well with it, so this is what came of that collaboration:

Once I get sat down making stuff I find it difficult to stop, and ended up trawling through my beads for something else to make, and found this old necklace from New Look that I bought last year. I wore it to death until it snapped and all the spacer beads had worn away so I have made it into another necklace and stolen a couple of it's original beads to make some earrings to wear with it:

Been spending time tidying the garden up today, it's first real tidy since autumn, and whilst the sun is still out I should get out there and enjoy it.

Back soon

Luv Kandi x