Tips on using Memory Wire End Beads

Have you ever had the experience of buying a product because the description makes it sound like it will make life easier for you? After getting it though, you feel stupid for not knowing how exactly to use it to your advantage?

That was me tonight... I bought some memory wire end beads a while ago but had not had the time to try it. Or rather, I kinda forgot I had them while I was putting together a pearl bracelet, suitable for babies or toddler as baptism gift. I had made loops to hide the ends of the wire from the wearer before I remembered about my packet of end beads. These end beads have half drilled holes, so can act as a end stopper. This was what I had before using the end beads.

For those who are lost already, memory wire is a very hard coil of metal wire on which you can string pretty stuff on. They have standard size for necklaces, bracelets and rings. It is the kind of jewelry that goes round and round and doesn't need a clasp to put on because you can just uncoil it and it will coil back like a spring. They are called memory wire because they retain their original shape so well. They are so hard a need a pair of specialized memory wire shears.

Here comes the problem. I had put on one end of the end bead and allowed the hypo-cement to cure overnight, and I tested to make sure it was secured enough to string on now. At the end of the stringing though, I thought long and hard about how to put on the other end of the cap. Well, the glue will be too wet to let the rest of the beads go back on the wire. It will definitely be pushed out. I could hold the pearls further down with pliers when applying the cap, but does that mean I have to hold on to it the whole night?!

Haha! I think I can share this tip with fellow crafters out there feeling frustrated with this little thingy. What I did was to put on a 3mm crimp bead as far down as possible to hold the string back! Note that I can comfortably push the rest of the pearls back because the other end was allowed to cure overnight. So no shortcuts!

Now you can apply the end cap and sit back, relax and allow the hypo-cement to do its job. Once it is secured, the crimp bead can be easily chewed off! 

And tada! The bracelet is now securely sealed on both end with no sharp wire poking out! (I will add the picture tomorrow after I remove the crimp bead) No marks, no trace that a crimp bead was ever there.

Enjoy the new technique!