Making My Own Chain

 

I've been working with rebar wire a lot lately. I like that juxtaposition between rough/unpolished/rusty and shiny/pretty. Regular rebar wire (the kind that you buy at Home Depot in a big giant roll) is usually 16 or 16.5 gauge steel. It's a little too big to fit through most beads, although it works perfectly with some of my old buttons, as you can see above. I found some 19 gauge wire, which is a little thinner, on Amazon. That seems to work with most beads.

I've also been experimenting with making my own beads using polymer clay, as you can see on the top right. I'm playing with translucent clay mixed with colored clay, trying to get some depth to the beads.