Modern Doesn’t Have to Mean Dainty | A Unique Bracelet Design with Wire-Wrapped Beads

When we hear the word modern, we often picture tiny chains, delicate charms and barely there jewelry. But modern design isn't about size, it's about clean lines, thoughtful composition and having the confidence to try something unexpected. Today I'm sharing a bracelet that combines a unique sculptural metal component and wire wrapped gemstones to create something contemporary that still looks trendy and fun to wear. Hey everyone, welcome to Misty Moon Designs, my name is Louisa. Today we're going to step outside our comfort zones and create something a little different. I'm going to show you how to make a stunning bracelet using gemstone beads and a unique curved metal component from the July edition of Diddy's Deluxe Bead Box. Now if you're not familiar with that box, I'll leave some information in the description section below including a link to the website and a coupon code if you'd like to check it out. And here's the best part, even if you missed out on this month's box, you can still make this project because I'll be showing you a beautiful alternative that you can use in place of the curved metal component, so you can recreate the design with supplies you may already have. But before I show you how to make today's bracelet, we're going to start with a quick unboxing so you can see what comes in these boxes and then we'll jump into the project. And if you want to skip forward to any portion of the video, I'll leave some timestamps down below as well. We'll be creating this stunning modern bracelet inspired by this month's bead collection, Desert Meets the Sea. We'll be using a unique organic curved component, wire wrapped beads, and a geometric triangle dangle. Whether you're new to wire wrapping or an experienced jewelry maker, I hope this project encourages you to step outside your comfort zone and help you design jewelry that's uniquely yours. And I can't wait to show you how to make it, but first let's take a look at the contents of the July box. I promise you'll be very impressed. And here we have Diddy's Deluxe Bead Box for the month of July, and don't you just love the sunshine? I'm so lucky because I'm right by a window, and once in a while when it's not cloudy, I get some delightful sunshine coming through the windows. It certainly does put me in a good mood. But anyway, as you can see, they're based out of Canada, and it's not a subscription. It's a limited edition box, and I like that because then you can buy them at any time without being committed. But anyway, it sells for $49.99 in Canadian dollars. In U.S. dollars, it depends on the exchange rate at the time that it goes on sale, and right now it's listed as $35.98, but of course they're sold out. These boxes sell out very quickly, so if you don't want to miss out, what I recommend you do is to join their Facebook VIP group page, and that way you can stay tuned and get announcements about new releases. They usually release new boxes on the 12th of each month at 9 a.m., and that's when they put the following month's box on sale. So in other words, the July box was put on sale on the 12th of June, so on the 12th of July, which is when you're seeing this video, sometime after that date, the August box will get put on sale. I hope that makes sense. But anyway, you can get all this information on the website, and like I said in the beginning, I'll leave a link down below. And by the way, they do ship internationally. I'm not sure exactly what countries, but that information is also on the website. So let's go ahead and open it up. I can't wait. We have some very pretty blue tissue, and the name of the box is Desert Meets the Sea. It says, inspired by the place where rugged desert cliffs meet clear turquoise waters, this palette blends warm browns, sandy creams, ocean blue, and refreshing turquoise. A peaceful mix of earthy warmth and coastal beauty, perfect for creating nature-inspired jewelry. That sounds absolutely marvelous. As you can see, they list all the materials. They list the size of the beads, the length of the strands, and a brief description of each one. And down here, it says, I hope this month's edition has inspired you. Happy beading. And once again, I'm absolutely awestruck by these colors. Look at these. These are so beautiful. Wow, look at this. How gorgeous are these? We have gorgeous turquoise colors, earth tones, sparkle. Let me get organized, and we'll go through each item. And here we have the first five strands. There's a total of nine strands in this month's box. And of course, I had to change off my decor, since this one's ocean themed. But actually, there aren't any ocean themed beads or components, just the colors are ocean themed. And that's good enough for me. I like to set the mood by using different things for my decor to help me get inspiration. But anyway, I love the combination of the turquoise and the browns. It's so pretty. Let's take a look at this first one. This is the Inspired by Czech Designer strand. Each box comes with one. And of course, the beads are always different, depending on the theme. And of course, the name of the strand is Desert Meets the Sea. We have a bicone right here at the end in a turquoise color. We have a flower bead with a gold wash, it looks like. We have a bead cap right there. We have a metal spacer bead. Or it could be hematite, I'm not sure. And look at this one. This one is so pretty. It's transparent. I'm not sure if you guys can see that, but it has a turquoise effect on the sides. And then it has a gold wash as well. And I think the glass has a Picasso finish. I'm not sure. But here we have another bicone, another flower bead, bell flower bead, another bead cap, another metal spacer bead, another one of these beautiful square shaped beads. They're square, but they look a little bit like art deco beads if you turn them this way. And here's another bicone, another bell flower, another bead cap, another metal bead, another one of these square beads, bicone right there, bell flower, bead cap, and metal spacer bead. So you have four bellflowers and three of the square beads. They're so pretty, they really are. I love the colors. Let's take a look at this one right here. These are six millimeters in size and they're listed as copper, bronzite, and turquoise composite gemstone. So that's kind of cool. Each bead has two different kinds of stones. I'm not sure how they do that actually. I doubt that it's natural, it's probably man-made, but that's okay. These are still very pretty. Look at the gorgeous colors. Lots of variation. I love that. And this is an eight inch strand. Let's take a look at these. These are also copper, bronzite, and turquoise composite gemstones. And these measure four by two millimeters, which I love. I love to have the option of using small beads. I love the way the bronzite shimmers. I'm not sure if you guys can see that. It's difficult to see under these lights, but they do shimmer a little bit. But anyway, I really like these. And of course, I love that they're a perfect match for these. Let's take a look at these chips. Very earthy looking chips. These are all natural bronzite chips. And the description says that they measure three by six or eight by twelve. Maybe they mean that they measure anywhere between three by six to eight by twelve. I'm not sure. But anyway, this is a fifteen inch strand. So you're getting lots of chips here. Aren't they pretty? I just absolutely love this color. It's so gorgeous. They definitely remind me of a rocky coastline. I love them. And here we have a touch of sparkle. These are faceted crystals in a turquoise color with an AB finish. They're listed as teardrop or strawberry shaped crystals. I guess you could view them either way, teardrop or strawberry. Very, very pretty and very dainty. I don't know how long they are, but they measure four millimeters across. They look like maybe five millimeters in length, something like that. But anyway, that's a nine and a half inch strand, and the strand of chips is 15 inches in length. I forgot to mention it. Let me get the next four strands. And here they are. As you can see, Dee Dee's Deluxe Bead Boxes always come with different shapes and sizes, and that really helps with inspiration. I don't know about you, but if I get a box that has beads that are all the same, for example, if they're all round beads, I don't get as much inspiration. It's just really hard to be creative. But anyway, let's take a look at this one. These are interesting looking. Look at the shape. Very different. These are called irregular hematite chips. The color is listed as KC Gold, which is supposed to be a really nice finish, resembling real gold. I really do like this color. It's so beautiful. But anyway, this is measuring from four to ten millimeters, and I think what they mean by that is that they're four millimeters at this end, this narrow end, and ten millimeters wide. I'm not sure. I'd have to measure them. But anyway, this strand measures five inches. It's very heavy, too, because it's hematite. I like that. It's a nice substantial bead. Let's take a look at this one. These are halite beads. So it's another type of stone, and these are drilled diagonally, as you can see. Isn't that cool? I like that. And I love the color of this halite. It's a very warm sandy color, but it's very light, almost like a creamy color. And these beads measure 12 millimeters across, and this is an eight and a half inch strand. I really like these. Let's take a look at these. These are natural riverstone gemstones, and they measure four millimeters across. Another tiny bead. It's nice to have them because you can combine them with larger beads to make beaded components, for example, or you can use them as spacer beads or in dainty designs. They're really, really cute. I love these. And that's an eight inch strand as well. And let's take a look at these. Lots of sparkle, as you can see. Aren't these pretty? They're faceted crystal cubes in a champagne color, and these measure six millimeters across. And this is a 10 inch strand. So that's very generous. Nice and long. So those are the strands. Let me get the rest of the items. Here are the rest of the items. And look at this component. Isn't it unique? It's listed as a curved bracelet or pendant linked with a clasp. I've never seen anything like this before. Look at that. How unique is this? I love it. Let me see how it works. There we go. That is so unique looking. I really like this. Now, you could use it as a bracelet, which is what we're going to do today, but you could also work it into some necklace design if you wanted to. You'd have to use your imagination, but maybe you could hang it like this with dangles down below. I'm not sure, but today we're going to use it in a bracelet design. It measures 50 millimeters across from one end to the other. So that's the perfect size for a bracelet. And look at these gorgeous beads. I love the shape. Let me show you how they're drilled. Here they are on my rod. I have four like this, and then I have these two back to back like that. So you could string them either way. But anyway, they're listed as triangular copper, bronzite, and turquoise composite beads. And these measure 10 millimeters across. They're so beautiful. They really are. I've never seen beads like these before. And let's look at this gorgeous pendant. Wow. Look at that. Of course, it's also copper, bronzite and turquoise composite, and it measures 45 by 30 by four millimeters. There's the back and there's the hole, as you can see. The back is flat and this side is slightly rounded. The edges rounded. And I'm pretty sure you can see that beautiful bronzite shimmering. Look at that. So pretty. I love it. So now let me arrange everything on my table and we'll take a look at the whole collection. Well, here's everything. I think all the different finishes, the vibrant turquoise, the earthy browns and the crystals makes this collection feel kind of rustic but elegant at the same time, if that makes any sense. I love the incredible natural patterns in the bronzite and turquoise composite beads and this pendant too. It's absolutely stunning. And I also love the chips for adding some texture. And if you design like I do, I like to add a little bit of sparkle as well. I think overall this is a very versatile collection and I wouldn't call it beachy exactly, even though it's called Desert Meets the Sea. You could actually work it into some kind of southwestern design and definitely boho. And if you wanted something ocean themed, I guess you could find some ocean themed charms or something if that's what you want. But anyway, you can see the possibilities are endless. You've got all kinds of sizes to work with and shapes as well. And I would love to hear your opinion. I'd love to hear what your favorite is. I actually have two favorites. I like the composite six millimeter beads and the matching rondelles. I think they're super cute. But anyway, if you could leave some comments down below, I'd really appreciate that. Let me know what your favorite is. So now that we've taken a quick look at everything, let's go ahead and jump into today's project. Here are the materials for today's bracelet. Now, if you didn't buy the box, you can do one of two things. You can create a component like this using 16 gauge wire, which I actually did. And I'll show you that at the end of this video. Of course, it's not as nice as this one. It's a little bit more plain looking, but it still works. And your other option would be to take a screenshot of this component and do a Google search to see if you can find something similar. I don't think they sell them in Didi's online shop because usually these pieces are exclusive to the box. But you could always go check it out just in case. So I guess you have three choices. Make one out of 16 gauge wire, do a Google search for something similar or go check Didi's online shop. And I'm going to put it on the mat in a few moments so you can take a screenshot. Now, in addition to these items, we're going to use two gauges of craft wire. We're going to use 22 gauge and 18 gauge, both of them in a gold color. So let's get started. I'll go ahead and place the component here so you can take a screenshot. Now would be a good time to do it. When I get my wire, I'm going to cut myself a four inch piece of the 18 gauge wire. Let me straighten it out. And now we're going to form a loop. Let me just snip off this end to make it flush. Using my flat nose pliers, I'm going to grab the end like this at about three eighths of an inch, maybe a little bit more. Bend it. Using round nose pliers, I'm going to grab the end and form a loop. Make sure my loop is closed and I want to make sure it's centered as well. Just like that. Let me flatten it. So that part's done. And now I'm going to cut myself a 12 inch piece of the 22 gauge wire. Let me use my ruler. And trust me, guys, you don't want to do this with 20 gauge because I tried doing it with 20 gauge and it just didn't work out. It's much easier using 22. Let me straighten it out a little bit more. And now I need to find the center. Let me bring my ruler back. So the center is about here somewhere and I'm going to create a kink just like this. Let me squish it a little bit and put those beads off to the side so my camera focuses and this too. And I'm going to slide this wire through it like this across my wires. This part is a little tricky. I'm not going to lie. It's a little tricky to get started. Let me just wind this one this way. Straighten it out a little bit. Push it up. So this is what you want. So far, so good. And now I'm going to slide on some beads, push it down. I'm going to hold it this way because it's a little bit easier for me. And I'm going to take this wire, wrap it around the side of the bead like this and hook it around. And you don't have to coil it. You just hook it around. That's all you do. And now I'm going to take this one, wrap it around. But this time I'm going underneath and hooking it around this way. So that's what we have so far. And now I'm going to slide on another bead and I'm going to do the same thing. I'm going to take this wire, wrap it around and hook it around the main post. Take this one, wrap it around and go behind or underneath and hook it around. So now we have two beads on. I think that looks so pretty, doesn't it? Let me straighten this wire a little bit and this one to slide on another bead. Take this wire, wrap it around and this one this way going underneath. Let me arrange them a little bit to make sure they look uniform. So now we have three beads sliding another one on. I need a total of seven beads and I need one more bead and I just dropped it. Let me get it. Hold on. Here it is. And now let me do this side. Actually, let me wrap this around one more time and snip it off. Let me tuck in that little end and now I'm going to wrap this one this way. There we go. Cut off the excess and tuck it in. Make sure there's nothing sharp there. Arrange my beads a little bit. Doesn't that look adorable? I love that. And now before I curve it, I'm going to form a loop at this end. So I'm going to grab it right above the wraps like so, bend, cut off the excess leaving three eighths of an inch, grab it and form a loop. And you do want it perpendicular to this one. Let me close this one a little bit more and that's all there is to it. And now we're going to bend it, but I think I'm going to bend it this way because I like how these wire wraps look on this side, but it really doesn't matter. Let me bring that component. That looks good. And now we're going to open up this loop, slide this end into it like this, actually like this. There we go. And close it up. And now we're going to connect the clasp to this loop. Unhook it. I did have to open it up a little bit and that's very easy to do because it actually does bend. I used my round nose pliers and I very gently opened it up this way. So now we just hook it on like this and close up the loop. And I like the hook to face the wrist because it makes it much easier to put on like that. I did try it the other way around earlier today and it was much more difficult to hook on. Another reason I like it like this is because of the shape. When you hook it on like this, it looks really nice from this side. It looks much nicer this way than to have the hook facing out. I hope that makes sense. So now we just need a little dangle. Here's the bead I'm going to use. I like the idea of using a geometric type of bead because I think it creates a really interesting contrast between the organic shape and the angular. Now to tie in the gold, I'm going to use a spacer bead on a ball head pin and then the bead like this. And the spacer bead came from a DD Select speed box and I don't remember which one, unfortunately. I'm going to do a simple loop. I'm going to grab the pin with my flat nose pliers, bend it, cut off the excess, leaving three-eighths of an inch or so. Grab the end for my loop. Let me straighten that. And now I'm simply going to open it up and I'm going to slide it into this loop right here and close it up. And there we go. Super cute. It really is. And it looks really nice on. Let me show you. Here it is. Isn't it adorable? I really like it and I like this dangle too. Cute. So let me show you the other one that I made. And here it is. It's a little plainer than this one, obviously, but it still looks okay. I took a long piece of 16 gauge wire, bent it in half, and then at this end I formed a loop and wrapped both ends with 26 gauge wire and I made the clasp as well. So there's your option in case you don't have this component. Now another thing you could do to dress this one up is to add some dangles on this side and that would dress it up a little bit more. But anyway, we have two choices. We have this one for those of you who got the box and this one for those of you who didn't because you can use pretty much any six millimeter size bead. So anyway, I hope you enjoyed today's tutorial. And if you did, please consider giving me a thumbs up because it really helps my channel. I want you to come back and check for future tutorials because I will be making something else with the contents of the July box. Thank you so much for watching. I'm looking forward to seeing you again. Stay creative. Stay inspired. Have a great day and I'll see you next time. Bye.