Pearl Tendrils

i created this hair piece for my sister's wedding.  it was made entirely out of pearls that one of my friends tracked down for me wholesale.

ingredients:

*freshwater pearls (if you are in nyc fun-2-bead is a great place - they have a ton of inventory to choose from. http://www.fun2bead.com)
*long freshwater pearls
*very small pearls - think the size of a small seed
*silver wire
*wire hair comb
*small pliers

(1) the design is structured by taking 4-5 inch strands of silver wire, creating a tiny loop at the end with pliers to hold the pearls.  put one large pearl on the end of each tendril, and then fill with tiny pearls until you have a strand.  repeat this process for all five tendrils.

(2) for the petals - use pliers to create a tiny loop at the end of three inch strands of silver wire again, but this time, put a tiny pearl at the end of each wire and then put the large pearls in to create the petals. repeat for  15 petals.

(3) loop all of the ends of the wire together and twist to hold - then use the remaining silver wire to wind around the wire toothed comb.  place one final large pearl on a strand of silver wire and loop it to the comb in the middle to create the center of the flower.

i think that some of the best gifts in are handmade.