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@perrythehomosapien Glad you found the tutorial useful. 18g copper wire would need to be hardened for it to be able to support a bunch of keys. A larger copper gauge would also need hardening because copper is just so soft (which is why it's a great place for beginners!) One technique I've used before to make wire stronger is to twist two strands together like I've done in the wire hook tutorial here: th-cam.com/video/w6RXgCTbgxI/w-d-xo.html This twisting will help if you're using 18g copper but further hardening would be needed (very gentle hammering with a rubber/nylon hammer - don't hit it hard as it will dent/mark the wire). Thank you for the list of tutorials, there's some good ones in there. And if you need a more detailed guide to tools and materials, my new eGuide "Get Started with Wire Art in 48 hours" has come out this week and there's a 50% discount available until 23:59 Monday 9th September (tomorrow as I'm typing this). Details are below: You can find more information about the eGuide here: www.etsy.com/listing/1762895104/quick-start-wire-art-guide-for-beginners Or you can get a time limited 50% DISCOUNT on the eGuide (as a thank you) when you sign up to my newsletter via the link here: spiralcw.wixsite.com/spiralcrafts/free-tutorials

Hi @gregfam6250, I'm glad you both enjoyed your workshop! Wire art is such an easy craft to get started in (you don't need many tools or materials) and yet the topic is soooo broad that you can make just about anything. There are some great facebook groups to join (search *wire art*) that can give you lots of inspiration and help too. Hope you have oodles of fun with your wire, Sandy@Spiral

@@SpiralCraftsandWorkshops Thank you, I will definitely do that! Thank you for taking time out to help a beginner 😁😁

Hi @christinecooper4585, I'm in the UK and I'm not aware of any wire suppliers who do samples. I have a local chicken wire company who I've bought from before and I went down in person to ask for some mesh samples, which they kindly supplied but I think it helps if you're already a customer. My advice would probably be to approach a company and politely ask them. If you are already a customer then tell them that too. And if you can go in person, great - but that's not always easy to do that. Alternatively, aluminium is just soft at most sizes; copper is stronger at 2mm/12ga and larger but probably need hardening to support a significant weight; and 2mm to 2.5mm galvanised steel is strong but difficult to bend. All the best with the design and hope you get hold of some samples, Sandy@Spiral

Thank you so much.

You're welcome!

@GinaWainwright-k5r Welcome to the lovely world of wire art! Owls are a lovely idea, thank you. I'll see what I can do. Cheers, Sandy@Spiral

Thank you! Sandy@Spiral

@WendyBandurskiMiller Glad you enjoyed it! x Sandy@Spiral

@carolwright7503 My pleasure! Sandy@Spiral

@videoettaceo8900 You're very welcome! 🙂

@user-sl4fu9pr4m I can only make recommendations based on my own experience. I know my glasses have saved my eyes on several occasions and I will continue to wear them. I wish you well. Sandy@Spiral

@MMM172310 Hello! Glad the tutorials are useful for you! Good luck with the animal making and do post a photo of the finished float if you get a chance! Cheers, Sandy@Spiral

@zaidagrace2263 You're welcome! Sandy@Spiral

@noelleboehm1142 I couldn't agree more! Have you tried it yet? Cheers, Sandy@Spiral

@noelleboehm1142, glad they were useful for you! Have fun, Sandy@Spiral

Hello @patriciaarmstrong9214, what a lovely flower to make! Sooo, a few tips... Firstly if you're making for the garden I'd use galvanised steel because it's stronger (to cope with inclement weather) and the galvanised coating will protect it for a while against rusting. Secondly, your stem is going to be the most vulnerable part of sculpture as it will have all the weight and need to be ok in strong winds. I often twist two wires together to make them stronger so you might want to do this too. And finally, check around on TH-cam for the same or similar tutorials (making alliums) to see if they've had to do something that you will need to do too. Search YT with "DIY Allium Garden Art" and there's at least one tutorial making alliums that might be useful for you. Hope that helps, Sandy@Spiral And PS do post a photo of your completed Allium if you get a chance!

Hello, @kevnolan2842, the copper wire in the tutorial is from the Jewellery Channel on TV. They have some good clearance deals in January but also sell wire through the year. But to give you a bit more choice - I've also purchased from wires.co.uk and they have a huge selection of wire on their website. And a third alternative is to just type "aluminium wire" into ebay (and tick the UK only filter box on the left hand side) and have a look at all the suppliers in their Jewellery Supplies category. I've bought off eBay but the seller was wires.co.uk so obviously I can't vouch for any other seller on eBay - just do the normal checks before buying. What are you going to make? Cheers, Sandy@Spiral

@@SpiralCraftsandWorkshops Thank you very much for your reply , for some reason it went to Gmail . I'll try the sources you mentioned . In answer to your question , I'm going to try my hand at making wire bonsai trees

@kevnolan2842 Bonsai trees are a great place to start. It's worth checking some of the wire tree tutorials on TH-cam here to get a good idea about what size wire you need to order because if the wire diameter is too small, it won't support the weight of the leaves and bend out of shape really easily. UK wire sizes are in millimeters (mm) and US sizes are in gauges (ga) but a quick google will help you convert between them. All the best (and do post a photo of your finished tree!), Sandy@Spiral

Hello @barbaragrant2749, glad you enjoyed the butterfly video. I made that tutorial a while back and these days I'm focusing mostly on my chicken wire sculptures so I'm unlikely to make copper wire outline tutorials soon. HOWEVER, all is not lost. There is a lovely lady on TH-cam who has wire dragonfly and bee tutorials already available and she's called Heather Boyd. Her channel is here: @www.youtube.com/@HeatherBoydWire and it's full of wonderful wire outline to make. I'm not affiliated or anything btw, I just love Heather's work. Hope that helps, Sandy@Spiral

Hi @FabulousCooki, the copper wire in the tutorial is great for beginners because it's soft and easy to shape. But I think for driftwood sculptures you'll need something with a bit more strength to support the weight of the pieces as well. Don't limit yourself to one sort of wire. Use the right wire in the right place. So when support is needed, use galvanised steel - between 1mm and 2mm (but be aware this wire isn't easy to bend so no good for detail stuff). 3mm galvanised steel is stronger but much more difficult to bend but may be best for heavier driftwood. Where you need to shape the wire to add details, or don't have any weight to support, use copper wire or aluminium wire. Even 2mm aluminium is easy to bend (although not for fine details). And think about mixing your colours. Galvanised steel is mostly sold in silver but aluminium and copper can be bought in lots of colours. Hope that helps and let me know if there's anything else. Have fun with the driftwood, Sandy@Spiral.

@@SpiralCraftsandWorkshops thank you so much for the reply I’ve just seen this 😊 I have watched more of your videos since they are very interesting and informative 😊

Thank you for the kind words @FabulousCooki, glad they're useful. All the best, Sandy@Spiral

Hello @banglarsen81, the process of making the ball should be ok to make larger balls, but as sculptures grow you need to consider weight. If I was making much larger balls than the ones shown, then I would change from a 13mm hole chicken wire to a smaller hole chicken wire. This will give you more wire per square centimeter and help support the extra weight. If you try a bigger version, I'd love to see a photo of the results! Hope that helps, Sandy@Spiral Hello @banglarsen81, prosessen med å lage ballen bør være ok for å lage større baller, men når skulpturene vokser må du vurdere vekten. Hvis jeg skulle lage mye større kuler enn de som er vist, ville jeg byttet fra en 13 mm hullsnett til en hønsenetting med mindre hull. Dette vil gi deg mer ledning per kvadratcentimeter og bidra til å støtte den ekstra vekten. Hvis du prøver en større versjon, vil jeg gjerne se et bilde av resultatene! Håper det hjelper, Sandy@Spiral

@sandramillberger1365 Thanks for letting me know! There are tutorials for bees and swan sculptures here on the channel if you want to check them out. No wire hangings yet, but it's a good idea. Cheers, Sandy@Spiral🙂

@lisamck1960 You're welcome! I've been hit in the face many times by the other end of the wire/sheet I'm working on. So I've been glad to have glasses/goggles on!

@MsMicheleRobinson Hello, the sound seems to play ok on my laptop so possibly it's your phone/laptop/pc? Have you got sound muted? Might be worth switching your gadget off and on to see if that helps (old tech support trick!) If none of that works then you could try switching subtitles on in the TH-cam window (close to the play button) and watch that way. Hope you get sorted! Sandy@Spiral

@MsMicheleRobinson Hello, the sound seems to play ok on my laptop so possibly it's your phone/laptop/pc? Have you got sound muted? Might be worth switching your gadget off and on to see if that helps (old tech support trick!) If none of that works then you could try switching subtitles on in the TH-cam window (close to the play button) and watch that way. Hope you get sorted! Sandy@Spiral

You are very welcome! Happy making! 🙂Sandy@Spiral

@user-lg6tf2ib9c Thankfully, I learned BEFORE anything disastrous happened! And yes you're right, metal shavings are also a hazard. Glad to hear you're getting into wire art, it's good fun. Let me know if there are any topics you would like a video about. And good luck with the Patreon shop! Cheers, Sandy@Spiral

Which wire to use will depend on what you want to make. However, for simple wire art shapes as a beginner I'd suggest using a copper or aluminium wire with a diameter of 0.9mm (19gauge) to 1.1mm (17gauge) because these wires are easy to bend and shape. Let me know if there's anything else you want to know. Cheers, Sandy@Spiral

@@SpiralCraftsandWorkshops thanks 🙏

@mistformsquirel So happy I could help! All the best with the classes and I'd love to see the final sculpture if you get time to post a photo! Cheers, Sandy@Spiral

@nadiaalrakami8274 Hello, that's a good question! There's no easy answer to this one because you want both stability so they stay in shape, and wire that's easy to shape - and there's no obvious answer. A 3mm galvanised steel wire is going to be the best for stability. If you have heavy duty wire cutters and feel strong enough to shape the wire (it takes a bit of muscle to bend it and will be best suited to simple outlines) then 3mm stainless steel is the way to go. However, 2mm aluminium wire will be easier to cut and shape but will be soft and change shape easily unless you harden it. To harden it, hammer it gently (or it will mark the wire) with a rubber headed hammer. Would love to see a picture of the wings when they're done and find out which wire you used! Cheers, Sandy@Spiral

@@SpiralCraftsandWorkshops thank you so much for your reply we’ve gone with the 2mm gauge wire that came in the post today

@@SpiralCraftsandWorkshops I’ll try with the rubber headed hammer and see if that works, this is all new to me from making a dress to wings so I will absolutely take a pic to show you when it’s all complete

@@nadiaalrakami8274 if you don't have a rubber headed hammer then you could possibly use a normal hammer but with material over the wire so it's between the wire and the hammer head. Aluminium is so soft it marks really easily. And well done on taking on a project where there's two making projects (the outfit as well!) - I'm sure you'll surprise yourself at how well it comes out! Looking forward to the photos <3 Sandy@Spiral

@@nadiaalrakami8274 I just remembered that Fantasywire did a tutorial on making fairy wings. I hope it'll help: th-cam.com/video/PkwvbJ4GFMo/w-d-xo.html

@mariposasrizadas Hi, it will depend on which country you are in. In the UK, there's wires.co.uk who do most types of wire. For copper and aluminium, there's beads direct or the jewellery making channel. Ebay has lots of sellers doing wire too and of course there's Amazon. For chicken wire in the UK, try Hobbycraft or mesh direct.Co.Uk. Hope that helps, Sandy@Spiral

@vyveannefrancis7170 You're very welcome! Let me know if there are any other topics you'd like me to cover. Sandy@Spiral

You're welcome 😊 Sandy@Spiral

You're very welcome! Sandy@Spiral

@daisyrapp4602 apologies, your message slipped through the net and I've only just seen this. However, to answer the question, I tend to use percentages. So if I know my current measurements but I want it bigger, I multiply everything by, say, 50%. This method is not perfect by any means so I'll often either draw the new dimensions out or even cut out card and make a (lite) paper version first. I'll often make a maquette with a single layer of chicken wire for occasions where the actual sculpture is "expensive" to make (either in time or materials). The more expensive the final sculpture is the more mini/full size test runs I'll do (because that's cheaper than getting the real sculpture wrong). Hope that helps! Sandy@Spiral

Glad it was useful! Sandy@Spiral

You're welcome! Sandy@Spiral

@nurseeve4987 Excellent! Do post a photo here when you've done it! Cheers, Sandy@Spiral

@tanya... Glad you liked the swan and thank you for the feedback. I have tried to do an overhead/overshoulder viewpoint with my current kit but I've never managed to make it work. I will try again as I have been gifted another table (lighter and smaller) and it may give me other options that I didn't have with the big white table. Happy making! Sandy@Spiral x

@sweetpapate2729 Glad the tips were useful for you! If you have any other questions just drop me a comment. Have fun with your wire art, Sandy@Spiral

@carolgrey2340 Thank you! Glad it helped. Let me know if there are any other tutorials you would like to see. Cheers, Sandy@Spiral

@annilhull6373 Thank you! If there's anything else you'd like to see, let me know. Cheers, Sandy@Spiral

@smallnuts2 when shaping animals etc, the sculpture is usually built up with lots of small sheets on top of each other. Each sheet would be shaped for that part of the body then attached. I use a plastic egg/ruler to help shape the small pieces before attaching. Alternatively you can make shapes out of air drying clay and use those. I would also be possible to make a whole clay animal, mold the wire around it, then dissolve the clay afterwards, although I haven't tried this personally. Also, check out the swan tutorial on my channel for a simple animal shape. Sandy@Spiral

@clrwilson thank you! Sandy@Spiral x

@shubhgada8709 Thanks for asking! The softer the wire, the easier it is to work with, so I'd certainly suggest starting with either aluminium or copper wires (0.8mm or 1mm diameter (20ga or 18ga)). My best tip for beginners is to not go mad when ordering wire - just order a small reel of wire to start with to see if you like making wire art/jewellery/sculptures first. That way if you decide it's not for you, you won't have overspent. There will be plenty of time to order in bulk once you know you'll use it. Have fun and if there's anything else, drop me a comment. Sandy@Spiral

@patriciawhite7489 I did a tutorial for a swan last year that is "roughly" the same shape as an emu, although my swan didn't have an emu's long legs! The long legs are quite tough as they make the sculpture harder to stabilise and stand up - I did an egret during the first lockdown in the pandemic that also had this problem. But they're lovely animals!

@@SpiralCraftsandWorkshops it could sitting or partially sitting, with the legs out in the front

@patriciawhite7489 I've just googled a sitting emu - although in all of googledom I couldn't find a cross legged emu picture at all, which was my first image when you said sitting! I think I'd have to take a bit of artistic license for a sitting emu, lovely birds but they look a little awkward when sitting to me. The other way to stabilise a standing emu would be a sculpture when the bird has both legs on the floor and it's head in the sand (ostrich-like) which would give you 3 points of contact with the floor for more stability. Where does your love of emus come from, if I may ask?

@anniegette That's a very interesting suggestion! Glad the tutorial was useful to you! Sandy@Spiral :)

Hi @GlassBeadLady, glad the tutorials are useful for you! A hare is a tricky one. They're quite a complicated shape which makes it a tough project for a beginner to take on. Also, the tutorial would need to be broken down into several parts and that approach doesn't seem to be very popular when I've done it in the past. But I will bear it in mind and if I figure out a way of doing it, I'll pop the tutorial on the channel. Have fun, Sandy@Spiral

@anjaryk9587 Thank you for your kind words. Are there any tutorial topics you would like to see covered?

@debbiepettry Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. Are there any other shapes you'd like to make? Sandy@Spiral

@Graydon 🙂

@Viva Las - Hi, No there isn't a detailed tutorial at the moment although I am considering running some in-person workshops in the UK to make them. Full sculptures take many hours to complete and it's difficult to compress them in short TH-cam videos. Sandy@Spiral