Messy in the Nesty...

Yesterday I went to tackle the rat's nest in my bird cage studio. I have a case of the I can't put it back where it goes after I use its. Lord help me. Believe it or not, it didn't take too long once I got moving to put it all away. However, I also have an equally bad case of I'd rather be making somethings. Do you know what I mean?

So as I was cleaning my work table I kept finding little parts and pieces, scraps, and experiments of sorts that were begging to be used. Here's assemblage number one:

Six of One, made Aug. 16-2007

And then I thought, hey, how about a quick nest bead tutorial? I made two different versions of nests. The one above was made with approximately 18 in. of 26g. wire. I first made the bowl shape coil and then back tracked looping the wire in and out of the coil. Nest #2, that I'm about to show you, was made with 10 in. of 18 g. wire to make the bowl shaped coil base. Then 26g. wire was worked in and out of the base coil to give it a more nesty feel. It's easy! Just cut the wire, and make a small loop at one end with round nose pliers. Continue coiling the wire tightly around the loop and use your thumb and fingers to form it into a bowl shape as you go. See here:

You could leave it this way....

for a very stylized look. For the modern bird, perhaps. Or you can make it messy and more nesty by weaving thinner, 26g. wire in and out like this:

Weave a lot of wire or a little in an organized or messy fashion.

And there you have it. It's your nest, make it however you like.

Now you may be wondering...Where'd ya get that?

Blue Bird Bead from Ornamentea
18 and 26g. Colourcraft gold wire, bead mat and tools from Beadalon
Cherry blossom charm-a back alley here in Ch!na
Shell bird-Spores's close-out sale 5 years ago-ish (I'm still kicking myself for not buying the lot!)

Hey, it's Friday everybody! Have a happy and relaxing weekend.