Look what I discovered...Oh....and a Giveaway, too!

If you have EVER visited my blog, you know I love my wire - the thicker the better.  Well, I got my hands on some 6 gauge copper wire and I wanted to show you this stuff - up close and personal!

The picture below shows two gauges of wire - 18 gauge on the top, and 6 gauge on the bottom. 

(Click on the pictures to zoom in and you can really appreciate the thickness of the 6 gauge wire).

I do not personally own wire cutters that can cut through this stuff, and I really do need all of my fingers to work.  So, this is how I cut it to size.

I took the handle off of my tube cutter and inserted the tube cutter into my vice and used the jewelers saw.  I use my vice often for twisting wire, so I coat the vice with a couple of layers of painters tape - it aides in not marking the wire while working with it (well, not marking it as much as without the tape!)

I have never made cuff bracelets before - bangles - yes - but cuffs, no.  So I cut the wire into 6" lengths.  Each bang of my hammer hardened the wire, so annealing is required OFTEN in the construction of these bracelets.

Last weekend, I made a set of 3 cuffs, shown below. Two have hammered textures, and one features a twist in the center.

The best thing about these cuffs is they are adjustable.  Though very thick, squeeze lightly once on the wrist, and it's on there all day long!

I absolutely loved making these - so I made my favorite of the bunch (the twisted cuff) to giveaway.

I added a liver of sulfur patina, buffed, and threw it in my tumbler for an hour.  

HOW TO ENTER

If you'd like to be entered to win this cuff bracelet, here's how! For each entry below, you must make a separate comment on this blog post for it to count! ALSO - if you leave a comment, please make sure I can get a hold of you via email- thanks!

1)  Enter a comment on this blog (counts as one entry).

2) Post a link to this blog post on Face Book (counts as one entry - you must come back and leave a separate comment on this blog post for this entry to count)!

3) Pin an item from my Etsy shop to your Pinterest Board (counts as one entry - you must come back and leave a separate comment on this blog post for this entry to count).

Even if you have entered and won a Giveaway from me in the past - don't let that stop you from entering again!  Please! :)

I will choose a winner in a few days!

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Lastly, I am fundraising for Miracle Horse Rescue - they recently relocated from Nevada to Idaho.  So, I am having a 20% OFF FLASH SALE in my shop.

Thanks for stopping by today!!!

xo

Patti