Brooch Flowers Part 1

So far I have received 4 of the 7 lots I bid on through Ebay. I have separated through the items and decided which ones I will be using for now. Unfortunately, some of my favorite pieces are missing rhinestones. Either I spend the money to fix them, or I spend the money to buy more pieces. We shall see.

Of all the items that are in good condition, I have about 12 brooches already attached. I used floral wire from Michaels and cut it to about 20 inches in length for each. I looped it around a secure section and used pliers to twist the loose ends around each other. The finished length of wire should be strong enough to hold the weight of the brooch. Altogether, it should look like a stemmed flower. Below is a picture of one of the semi-finished pieces. After twisting them all. I added floral tape to keep it all together. It also helps to protect against the sharp ends of the cut wires.

Originally, I had planned on solely using gold. It seemed like it would be so easy to just get gold pieces that were embellished with rhinestones. Not so much. The more I looked, the super jeweled pieces had a silver setting. A seller also added some enamel flowers into one of my "wins" so I ended up with some enamel daisies and some other retro flower pieces. I am anxious to see how it all comes together.

So that is my progress so far with the flowers in the past week. As I continue to get all the brooches finished with wire, I get more excited about creating a bouquet... my bouquet. I am also getting a little more worried that I wont be able to pull it off. Fingers crossed it will all turn out!