A Dragon in Sheep’s Clothing

Oh happy day! I’ve found a wire cage pendant design that works well with marbles!

I followed a tutorial from Studio Heath to make this prototype out of regular “craft” wire:

There is just enough room to turn the marble within the cage, so you can turn the best side to the front.

The tutorial calls for half hard square and half round wire. I would like to try the half hard wire, so I purchased some at a good price from a seller on eBay.

For those who don’t know:  half hard wire is in between “dead soft” and “hard” or “full hard” wire in terms of stiffness or hardness. “Soft wire is flexible and doesn’t break as easily when you work it as hardened types. However, hardened wire will hold its shape better than softer wire.” (explanation courtesy of “All Info About“). Wire becomes more “hardened” as you work with it (bending it).

By using half hard wire on the cage pendant, the spirals and the loop of the bail will stay in place much better. It may also allow me to use only four strands to wrap the marble instead of six. Hmm, maybe four strands for standard 5/8″ marbles and six strands for the heavy shooters.

Studio Heath has some other nice tutorials that you may want to check out. I know I will!