How to Make a Multi-Colored, Beaded Crystal Cluster Ring

Make a multi-colored beaded crystal cluster ring with glittering Swarovski crystal beads and bright silver or gold head pins. The beads are attached to jump rings, which are in turn attached to beading ring bases. A beading ring base consists of a ring with loops on the top. A beading ring base with three loops, positioned close together, is used to hold the beads together in a tight cluster in a brilliant shining bouquet of crystal beads.

Things You'll Need

• 12 head pins, 1-inch
• 12 Swarovski crystal beads, 3 mm, assorted colors
• Wire cutters
• Round-nosed pliers
• Jump rings
• Chain-nosed pliers
• Three-loop ring base

Instructions

1. Place a crystal bead onto a head pin. Add a different colored bead to each of the other nine head pins. Trim the wire ends of the head pins down to 1/3 inch above the top of the bead with wire cutters.

2. Pick up the first beaded head pin. Hold onto the wire of the head pin, just above the bead, with round-nosed pliers. Bend the wire away from you at a 90-degree angle to the top of the bead. Bend the tip of the wire up around the pliers, toward you, until it meets the wire end that is sticking up out of the bead and forms a loop. Trim off the excess wire with wire cutters. Repeat this process to make loops at the ends of the other beaded head pins.

3. Open three jump rings. A jump ring is a small ring with a cut on one side that is used in jewelry findings to connect clasps, pendants and charms to a piece of jewelry. Hold the jump ring with round-nosed pliers and chain-nosed pliers; place the round-nosed pliers on the right side of the cut and the chain-nosed pliers on the left side of the cut of the jump ring. Twist the ends of the jump ring apart with the pliers to open the jump ring.

4. Slide the looped end of four beads onto the open jump ring. Slide the beaded jump ring onto the first loop of the ring base. Close the jump ring by twisting the ends back together with the round-nosed and chain-nosed pliers.

5. Add four beads to the other two jump rings. Slide the beaded jump rings onto their corresponding loops on the ring base and close them to finish making your cluster ring.

Tips & Warnings

• Select head pins with an ornate head or bottom to create a unique embellishment at the top of the bead.

• Use crystal beads in complementary colors, or bright shades for an eye-striking cluster ring.

• A variation of the beaded cluster ring can be made by wire-wrapping the beads before placing them on the jump rings.