Easy Copper Wire Portrait

Working with wire has become a new passion for me. Before, I never did wire crafts because I thought I would need all sorts of snips, and pliers, and other implements. But after I discovered pliable, copper wire, I realized that I could make gorgeous, rustic wall hangings that I'm proud to display. You'll find it fun to work with wire, too. Get a spool of copper wire from your nearby home improvement store and you'll easily be able to make just the portrait - or other picture - you want.

Decide on the picture you want to portray in the wall hanging. It can be an image of your child, a palm tree, a pet, a lighthouse, or any other image. The best image is one that is simplistic, close up, and not too detailed. Choose an image online and print it out or print out a picture you already have. Print it to be as large as you want for your particular wall hanging.

Lay the picture on a flat surface and begin making the wall hanging. First, form the wire into a rectangle that creates the perimeter for the picture. Bend the wire at each corner and, when you get back to where you started, twist the two wires together.

Within the rectangle, begin making horizontal lines with wire, so that you create something that looks like notebook paper. Position the wires closely together but space them evenly apart. After your notebook paper design is finished, slide the picture under it.

Following the lines of the picture, begin shaping wire to look like the image. Just bend the wire to form a head and face, a tree, or any other image you might have. As you shape the wire, take tiny pieces of additional wire, and wire the image to the lines of the "notebook paper". Right now, don't worry about trimming the wires; just leave the excess sticking out of the back. Once the picture looks like you want it to, flip it over, and trim away any excess wire.

The lightweight wire picture is easy to hang by tapping a couple of nails in the wall. The notebook paper design makes it easy to hang the top edge of the "paper" on the wall nails.

You don't necessarily have to use copper wire to make the unique portrait. When you shop at a home improvement store you'll find that they have pliable wire in many colors. Use one color for the notebook paper design, and another color for the actual image, or create your own combinations. You'll absolutely love the finished wire wall hanging, which is rustic and one-of-a-kind.