Closetful of Crafts Friday?

I don't think I'll be able keep up with this every Friday, but we'll see. This is actually about what I did yesterday - my first attempt at wire jewelry. Although my husband says it's good, what I did wasn't any where close!! I'll admit, what should I expect? I am just a beginner, no less a wire jewelry virgin, and tried something that was labeled as being intermediate. But it was the only one I could think of doing! And had the least amount of things you used.

This is what the picture showed I should make it look similar to, aside from my colors I used:
As shown in Creative Wire Jewelry by Kathy Peterson Page 40 (Giving credit where credit is due).


Well, this is what I came up with..
I swear I hear silent chuckles. First attempt? Not bad... but I do have some complaints on what she tells you to do! She says to use 20 gauge wiring. Well her picture and mine don't look like the same wiring! Mine is 20 gauge - the picture looks more like the 16 gauge wiring I have! Another complaint is she tells you to use a metal mandrel (the exact one I have) and you make one long coil around it that's wrist size and add 1/2 inch for ease. Well... I did what was said. I did a 7 inch wrap (all the mandrel could hold) which was 1/2 inch more than my 6 1/2 inch wrist. This won't fit it!! She didn't take in for the fact some of us have big hands so fitting it into something, no less wire, is kind of tough. If this fits someone with a 5 inch wrist I'd be shocked. So craft failure yesterday. Not all on my part though.. "decent" for a beginner, though.. right?

Added: I decided to actually edit it a bit again in attempts to make it fit my hand. I decided to pull lightly on the part that makes the wrist band to make it a little bigger. Then I decided to put one more wire piece through it that was longer, curl the sides and then connect them together. By making the one wire piece that went through longer it also allowed for more room.
Here it is now:

I can at least roll it onto my wrist - but of couse it means it's very wiggly and won't stay still. I think I'll be sticking to earrings, rings, bracelets that have a latch, and necklaces!