Catch The Love Bug

Featured in the February 2011 edition.
Written by Mirribeads


Feeling all giddy? Is your stomach filled with the fluttering of butterflies? Oh yes, you’ve caught the love bug all right. With valentines just around the corner, it’s high time you pass
it on to this special someone that’s making you float on cloud nine. To help you I’ve created a gorgeous love bug, for you to make.




This is what you need:
0.315 mm thick coloured copper wire in dusky pink or red:
 -3 pieces of 7 cm for the legs
Ÿ -40 cm for the body
1 flat oval red glass bead, 2 cm long, 1 cm wide
2 crystal AB glass hearts, 1 cm
1 red AB glass heart, 8 mm
12 red bugle beads, 7 mm
6 facetted red AB 4 mm fire polished beads
11 size 8 metallic peach seed beads
16 size 11 silver lined clear seed beads
Cutter for the copper wire

Step 1. The body
Take the 40 cm piece of wire and fold it in half. Thread on one size 8 seed bead through one end and let it sit in the fold. Through both ends pushed together thread the oval bead.


Push it up to the seed bead.

Step 2. The wings
Take one end of the wire and thread through one of the 2 larger hearts, pointy end first. Now take another size 8 seed bead and thread it on. Now thread the wire back through the heart, making sure it is pushed tight to the oval bead.


This is your first wing, now repeat with the other wire end. 

Step 3. The head

Put both wire ends back together again. You can twist them round each other for about 5 mm to secure the wings. Now thread on the red smaller heart, pointy side first. Push it tight towards the wings, so they are firmly in place. Split the wire ends again and, on one of them, thread 8 size 11 seedbeads. Finish off with a size 8 bead. Push the beads right up to the heart. Loop the wire round the size8 bead, then push it through again. Snip the wire as close to the bead as you can. Now repeat with  the other wire end.

Step 4. The legs 
Take one of the 7 cm lengths of wire. Thread on one of the facetted beads. Push it towards the end of the wire and then loop the wire through the bead again. Snip off any excess wire at the back end of the bead. Thread on 1 bugle bead, 1 size 8 seed bead and another bugle. Now wrap the wire round 
the base of the head of the love bug, pulling the beads as tight as you can to the bug. Thread on the third bugle, another size 8 bead and then the last bugle bead. Put on a faceted bead and push all the beads as close as you can to the body. Thread the wire in a loop through the facetted bead again and snip of as close as you can to the bead. The love bug now has its front legs. 

To create the other four legs, repeat this process, making sure you wrap the legs closer to the oval body rather than the head.

Step 5. Finish off

Shape the legs and wings in the position you want them to be. To attach this bug to a brooch, you can take another piece of wire and wrap the bug with it to a brooch base. Alternatively you can hang it on a piece of chain by using another piece of wire to loop round the head and shape a loop with it, to thread some chain through.  

I hope you will enjoy your love bug and pass it on to someone special.

Once you’ve made the bug, you can attach it to a brooch, make it into a pendant or even make two for a cute pair of earrings.