I’ve seen a number of bird’s nest jewelry designs, but they’re usually a little flimsy for my taste. My design is very sturdy and has a good weight. I also really like that these little nests are always unique and can be customized with different metals and different "eggs". They make beautiful pendants – especially for moms.

Step 1:

You'll need:

Freshwater pearls – 3, about 6mm
22 gauge silver square wire – 4’
24 gauge silver round wire – about 2’
Matching jumpring
Chain or cord

Step 2:

1) Twist about 3 feet of square wire with a drill (Take out the bit and put in a wire end. Hold the other end with pliers.) And set aside.

Twisting square wire with a drill:
1) Open the drill jaw (where a bit goes) so the gaps between the sections are about 4mm
2) Set an end of the wire (a good practice length is about a foot) in a side gap and close the jaws, trapping the wire. Make it tight.
3) Hold the other end of the wire with flat pliers with one hand and hold the drill with the other hand
4) Start the drill at a slow speed and gradually increase. Any speed is fine as long as everything seems tight and under control. I like to go just slow enough to see the wire twisting so I can check for spots that are getting overly twisty.
5) Stop when you like the look and remove your twisted, straightened wire.

Step 3:

2) String 2-3 medium pearls on about 9” of round wire and form a circle about 2/3 of the way down the wire. Twist the wire gently a couple of times (too tight and you may break the wire) to secure. Leave ends free and set aside. These are the eggs.

Step 4:

3) LOOSLY spiral the square twisted wire until the spiral is wider than the egg cluster. You must leave gaps in the spiral to pull the binding wire through later.

Step 5:

4) Affix the egg cluster to the center of the spiral with the round wire ends. Don’t worry about centering or being neat – that comes later. Start using the egg wire ends to bind the twisted spirals together. I usually do this in a haphazard way perpendicular to the twisted spiral wires.

5) Wind more of the twisted wire up and around the eggs into a nest shape. The height and thickness is up to you. Leave gaps. Don’t be neat.

Step 6:

7) Bind nest together with more round wire, moving in and out through gaps. Cut more if you need more round wire. Pull wires a tight as you want now. The nest should be getting fairly dense.

8) Pull out a loop of twisted wire and attach a jumpring